WO2017201421A1 - Procédés et systèmes de stockage et de récupération d'énergie thermique - Google Patents

Procédés et systèmes de stockage et de récupération d'énergie thermique Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2017201421A1
WO2017201421A1 PCT/US2017/033566 US2017033566W WO2017201421A1 WO 2017201421 A1 WO2017201421 A1 WO 2017201421A1 US 2017033566 W US2017033566 W US 2017033566W WO 2017201421 A1 WO2017201421 A1 WO 2017201421A1
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Prior art keywords
fluid
heat
particulates
steam
vessel
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PCT/US2017/033566
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English (en)
Inventor
Hitesh BINDRA
Jacob EDWARDS
Dan Gould
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Kansas State University Research Foundation
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Priority to US16/302,798 priority Critical patent/US20200191500A1/en
Publication of WO2017201421A1 publication Critical patent/WO2017201421A1/fr

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Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
    • F28D—HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT
    • F28D17/00—Regenerative heat-exchange apparatus in which a stationary intermediate heat-transfer medium or body is contacted successively by each heat-exchange medium, e.g. using granular particles
    • F28D17/005—Regenerative heat-exchange apparatus in which a stationary intermediate heat-transfer medium or body is contacted successively by each heat-exchange medium, e.g. using granular particles using granular particles
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
    • F28D—HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT
    • F28D20/00—Heat storage plants or apparatus in general; Regenerative heat-exchange apparatus not covered by groups F28D17/00 or F28D19/00
    • F28D20/0056—Heat storage plants or apparatus in general; Regenerative heat-exchange apparatus not covered by groups F28D17/00 or F28D19/00 using solid heat storage material
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
    • F28D—HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT
    • F28D20/00—Heat storage plants or apparatus in general; Regenerative heat-exchange apparatus not covered by groups F28D17/00 or F28D19/00
    • F28D20/02—Heat storage plants or apparatus in general; Regenerative heat-exchange apparatus not covered by groups F28D17/00 or F28D19/00 using latent heat
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
    • F28D—HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT
    • F28D20/00—Heat storage plants or apparatus in general; Regenerative heat-exchange apparatus not covered by groups F28D17/00 or F28D19/00
    • F28D20/02—Heat storage plants or apparatus in general; Regenerative heat-exchange apparatus not covered by groups F28D17/00 or F28D19/00 using latent heat
    • F28D20/021—Heat storage plants or apparatus in general; Regenerative heat-exchange apparatus not covered by groups F28D17/00 or F28D19/00 using latent heat the latent heat storage material and the heat-exchanging means being enclosed in one container
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F22—STEAM GENERATION
    • F22B—METHODS OF STEAM GENERATION; STEAM BOILERS
    • F22B33/00—Steam-generation plants, e.g. comprising steam boilers of different types in mutual association
    • F22B33/18—Combinations of steam boilers with other apparatus
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
    • F28D—HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT
    • F28D21/00—Heat-exchange apparatus not covered by any of the groups F28D1/00 - F28D20/00
    • F28D2021/0019—Other heat exchangers for particular applications; Heat exchange systems not otherwise provided for
    • F28D2021/0061—Other heat exchangers for particular applications; Heat exchange systems not otherwise provided for for phase-change applications
    • F28D2021/0063—Condensers
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
    • F28D—HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT
    • F28D21/00—Heat-exchange apparatus not covered by any of the groups F28D1/00 - F28D20/00
    • F28D2021/0019—Other heat exchangers for particular applications; Heat exchange systems not otherwise provided for
    • F28D2021/0061—Other heat exchangers for particular applications; Heat exchange systems not otherwise provided for for phase-change applications
    • F28D2021/0064—Vaporizers, e.g. evaporators
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E20/00—Combustion technologies with mitigation potential
    • Y02E20/14—Combined heat and power generation [CHP]
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E60/00—Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
    • Y02E60/14—Thermal energy storage

Definitions

  • the present invention is generally directed to methods and systems for thermal energy storage and recovery.
  • thermal energy storage systems Due to growing energy production from intermittent energy sources such as solar and wind, and due to the increasing skewedness in energy demand patterns, there have been several studies for understanding thermal energy storage systems. Recently, there have been numerous studies where the thermal behavior of the storage systems was studied during storage or recovery processes. These studies have been performed for solid as well as liquid storage media. However, in all of these studies the heat carrier or heat transfer fluid was in a single phase (i.e., in a gas or liquid state for all scenarios). Systems utilizing single phase heat transfer fluids have experienced unacceptably slow thermal energy gain, and thus the total energy storage achieved by such systems has been similarly unacceptable. Additionally, these systems have generally exhibited less predictable heat dispersion as the single phase fluid passes through the energy storage vessel non-uniformly, resulting in variable warm and cool spots with less efficient energy storage. Therefore, improved thermal energy storage methods and systems are needed.
  • a method of storing thermal energy contained within a condensable fluid for later use comprises feeding a gaseous heat transfer fluid into a vessel comprising a packed bed of inert particulates.
  • the method further comprises contacting the gaseous heat transfer fluid with the inert particulates and condensing at least a portion of the heat transfer fluid on the inert particulates.
  • the contacting and condensing step transfers at least a portion of the latent heat contained within the gaseous heat transfer fluid to the particulates.
  • the method also comprises storing the portion of the latent heat within the particulates for a period of time until at least a portion of the stored latent heat can be recovered from the particulates.
  • a thermal energy storage system comprising an evaporator adapted for vaporizing a fluid stream, a vessel comprising at least one packed bed of inert particulates and having at least one fluid inlet and at least one fluid outlet, and a conduit configured to direct the vaporized fluid stream from the evaporator to the at least one fluid inlet.
  • the at least one fluid outlet is configured to remove a condensate of the vaporized fluid stream from the vessel.
  • Figure (Fig.) 1 is a schematic drawing of one embodiment of the present invention, wherein solid lines represent fluid flow during normal system operation and dashed lines represent fluid flow during heat recovery operation.
  • Fig. 2 is a schematic drawing of another embodiment of the present invention, wherein solid lines represent fluid flow during normal system operation and dashed lines represent fluid flow during heat recovery operation.
  • Fig. 3 is a is a schematic drawing of another embodiment of the present invention, wherein solid lines represent fluid flow during energy storage operation and dashed lines represent fluid flow during heat recovery operation.
  • Fig. 4 is a schematic drawing of an experimental setup of a packed bed heat sink.
  • Fig. 5 is a series of images showing the experimental packed bed vessel (top left), as well as X-ray images of the internal fluid flow (top) and thermal images of the external surface of the vessel (bottom) during the energy storage process.
  • Fig. 6 is a temperature plot showing the results for the slow injection steam experiments.
  • Fig. 7 is a temperature plot showing the results for the fast injection steam experiments.
  • Fig. 8 is a temperature plot showing the results for the air injection experiments.
  • Fig. 9 is a schematic drawing of drawing of one embodiment of the present invention. DET AILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMB ODEVIENT
  • inventive methods and systems for storing thermal energy are provided herein.
  • the inventive methods and systems utilize a thermal energy storage vessel comprising a packed bed of inert particulates.
  • the particulates are capable of storing thermal energy transferred from a hot gaseous heat transfer fluid. Thermal energy can then be recovered from the particulates by passing a heat recovery fluid through the packed bed. The warmed heat recovery fluid can then be utilized in a number of applications requiring a source of heat.
  • FIG. 1 One embodiment of the present invention is shown schematically in Fig. 1.
  • an evaporator 110, thermal energy storage vessel 120, and heat exchange unit 130 are provided in a system. These components are described in greater detail below.
  • a heat transfer fluid stream 112 is fed to evaporator 110, which provides gaseous heat transfer fluid streams 114a and 114b.
  • Stream 114b is fed to heat exchange unit 130 to provide necessary thermal energy for normal system operation.
  • heat exchange unit 130 may form a part of a building heating system or an absorber refrigeration system.
  • the spent heat transfer fluid exits unit 130 as outlet stream 132.
  • Stream 114a is fed to vessel 120, wherein thermal energy from the heat transfer fluid is transferred to solid particulates contained within vessel 120.
  • thermal energy from the heat transfer fluid is transferred to solid particulates contained within vessel 120.
  • at least a portion of the gaseous heat transfer fluid is condensed within vessel 120 thereby transferring latent heat to the particulates contained therein.
  • the condensed fluid exits vessel 120 via outlet stream 122. This heat is stored by the particulates until it is desired to recover that energy for use within heat exchange unit 130, such as when evaporator 110 is offline.
  • the output of gaseous heat transfer fluid from evaporator 110 is reduced or ceased.
  • a heat recovery fluid stream 126 is fed to vessel 120, wherein thermal energy stored in the solid particulates is transferred to the heat recovery fluid, thereby forming a warmed heat recovery fluid stream 128.
  • Warmed heat recovery fluid stream 128 is then fed to heat exchange unit 130 thereby ensuring a continuous supply of heat energy to the process or system of which unit 130 is a part.
  • FIG. 2 Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in Fig. 2.
  • the embodiment of Fig. 2 operates similarly to the embodiment of Fig. 1, except for the arrangement of process equipment.
  • a heat transfer fluid stream 212 is fed to evaporator 210, which generates gaseous heat transfer fluid stream 214.
  • Stream 214 is fed to thermal energy storage vessel 220, wherein thermal energy from the heat transfer fluid is transferred to solid particulates contained within vessel 220 resulting in the at least partial condensation of stream 214.
  • thermal energy storage vessel 220 wherein thermal energy from the heat transfer fluid is transferred to solid particulates contained within vessel 220 resulting in the at least partial condensation of stream 214.
  • a certain amount of thermal energy is transferred to the particulates and stored within vessel 220, a substantial amount of useful thermal energy may remain in the heat transfer fluid and be passed through vessel 220.
  • the heat transfer fluid exits vessel 220 and is fed to heat exchange unit 230 via stream 222 to provide necessary thermal energy for normal system operation.
  • the spent fluid exits heat exchange unit via stream 232.
  • the necessary thermal energy required by heat exchange unit 230 is provided by feeding a heat recovery fluid stream 226 to vessel 220. Similar to the process of Fig. 1, the thermal energy stored in the solid particulates is transferred to the heat recovery fluid, thereby forming a warmed heat recovery fluid stream 228. Warmed heat recovery fluid stream 228 is then fed to heat exchange unit 230.
  • FIG. 3 Yet another embodiment of the present invention is shown in Fig. 3.
  • the embodiment of Fig. 3 operates similarly to the embodiment of Fig. 2, except that the arrangement of the thermal energy storage vessel and the heat exchange unit are reversed.
  • a heat transfer fluid stream 312 is fed to evaporator 310, which generates gaseous heat transfer fluid stream 314.
  • Stream 314 is fed to heat exchange unit 330 to provide necessary thermal energy for normal system operation.
  • a certain amount of thermal energy may be removed from the fluid in heat exchange unit 330, a substantial amount of useful thermal energy may remain in the heat transfer fluid, particularly if the heat load of unit 330 is relatively low.
  • the heat transfer fluid is then passed through heat exchange unit 330 and exits via stream 332.
  • Stream 332 is fed to thermal energy storage vessel 320, wherein thermal energy from the heat transfer fluid is transferred to the particulates and stored within vessel 320, resulting in at least partial condensation of the gaseous heat transfer fluid, which exits vessel 320 via outlet stream 322.
  • the necessary thermal energy required by heat exchange unit 330 is provided by feeding a heat recovery fluid stream 326 to vessel 320, transferring thermal energy stored in the solid particulates to the heat recovery fluid (thereby forming a warmed heat recovery fluid stream 328), and feeding warmed heat recovery fluid stream 328 to heat exchange unit 330.
  • the spent heat recovery fluid exits unit 330 via stream 334.
  • thermal energy storage vessel or multiple thermal energy storage vessels
  • heat exchange unit or multiple heat exchange units
  • system equipment described here is operably connected using various conduits for transporting the working fluids.
  • the heat transfer fluid may be any of a number of fluids capable of conducting and transferring thermal energy through the system.
  • preferred heat transfer fluids are capable of being vaporized in the evaporator and at least partially condensed when contacted with the particulates in the thermal energy storage vessel in order to take advantage of latent heat energy released during condensation.
  • Preferred heat transfer fluids will have a normal boiling point above about 75 °C.
  • the heat transfer fluid has a normal boiling point temperature from about 75 °C to about 200 °C, preferably from about 85 °C to about 150 °C, more preferably from about 95 °C to about 125 °C, and most preferably about 100 °C.
  • the heat transfer fluid may comprise refrigerants, such as R134a or others that undergo phase change, organic volatile solvents including glycol-based fluids, such as ethylene glycol and propylene glycol, and steam, with steam being particularly preferred.
  • refrigerants such as R134a or others that undergo phase change
  • organic volatile solvents including glycol-based fluids, such as ethylene glycol and propylene glycol
  • steam may be particularly preferred.
  • the steam may be in the form of superheated steam or saturated steam.
  • steam is supplied to the thermal energy storage vessel as saturated steam.
  • the heat recovery fluid may similarly be any of a number of fluids capable of conducting and transferring thermal energy through the system.
  • the heat recovery fluid may be the same as or different from the heat transfer fluid.
  • the heat recovery fluid is different from the heat transfer fluid.
  • the heat transferred to the heat recovery fluid is sensible heat.
  • the heat recovery fluid is selected such that it will enter and leave the vessel entirely in the gaseous state, but should not be taken as excluding the use of liquid heat recovery fluids.
  • the heat recovery fluid is air.
  • the heat recovery fluid be any other heat transfer fluid that can recover energy in the form of sensible heat, latent heat, or a combination of both, such as water, DOWTHERMTM, heating oils, refrigerants, and others.
  • the evaporator is capable of supplying sufficient energy to the heat transfer fluid so as to vaporize the fluid.
  • the evaporator is a renewable steam generator, meaning that the energy required to vaporize the fluid is obtained from a renewable source.
  • Renewable steam generators include, for example, solar steam generators, biomass steam generators, and wind-powered steam generators.
  • non-renewable evaporators may also be used if desired or required by a particular application.
  • the heat transfer fluid may be heated using a product stream from an exothermic reaction process or a heated flue gas stream.
  • the heat exchange unit is capable of supplying heat to any number of processes.
  • the heat exchange unit may be a component in an indoor heating system, absorption refrigeration system, or any other domestic or industrial process heat, power generation, or cooling application.
  • the thermal energy storage vessel may be constructed in a variety of geometries, using a variety of materials.
  • the vessel generally comprises an outer housing, one or more fluid inlets, and one or more fluid outlets. In certain embodiments, one or more of the fluid inlets may also be utilized as a fluid outlet, so long as the vessel is configured such that the heat transfer fluid may be passed through the vessel during normal operation and that the heat recovery fluid may be passed through the vessel during heat recovery operation.
  • the vessel further comprises at least one packed bed containing the inert particulates. In certain embodiments, the packed bed comprises a cylindrical chamber and the inert particulates comprise a plurality of solid particles.
  • the particles may be a variety of shapes, including, for example, spherical, cylindrical, elliptical, irregularly shaped, or combinations thereof.
  • the particles have an average diameter of from about 0.1 mm to about 8 mm, preferably from about 0.5 mm to about 6 mm, and more preferably from about 1 mm to 3 mm.
  • the particle diameter refers to the linear distance across the particle as taken across its largest dimension.
  • the particles are spherical particles having an average diameter of less than 3 mm.
  • the particles may comprise a variety of materials. However, the materials selected should generally be chemically inert and exhibit high thermal conductivity.
  • the particles comprise at least one of alumina, graphite, silica, quartz, ceramic, or rock (e.g., pea gravel). In particularly preferred embodiments, the particles comprise alumina and/or pea gravel.
  • the vessel may also be insulated using a variety of methods and materials known in order to minimize heat loss to the surrounding environment during energy storage. Exemplary thermal energy storage vessels are described in U.S. Application Publication No. 2014/0202157 and U.S. Application Publication No. 2014/0299306, both of which are incorporated by reference in their entireties, herein.
  • Embodiments of the present invention demonstrate improved thermal energy transfer, storage, and recovery over prior art methods and systems due to the unique heat transfer phenomena taking place within the thermal energy storage vessel (and particularly within the packed bed portion of the vessel) during normal system operation and subsequent heat recovery operation.
  • the present invention preferably uses a condensable fluid that exists in both the vapor and liquid phase (e.g., saturated steam) during transport through the packed bed. It has been discovered that the use of such condensable fluids as the heat transfer fluid during thermal the initial energy transfer phase provides faster and more predictable heat transfer conditions.
  • the improved heat transfer behavior is due to the combination of two types of thermal energy transfer occurring within the vessel during this operation.
  • latent heat is generally the change in internal energy experienced by a body or thermodynamic system with no change in temperature.
  • the latent heat transfer aspect is due to the phase change (condensation) without a change of fluid temperature. This transfer of latent heat provides a rapid and more predictable transfer of a greater quantity of heat to the solid particulates as compared to a transfer of mere sensible heat from the heat transfer fluid.
  • sensible heat is transferred from the fluid to the particulates due to the difference in temperature.
  • sensible heat is generally the change in internal energy experienced by a body or thermodynamic system as measured by the temperature change.
  • the sensible heat transfer aspect is due to the temperature difference between the fluid and the particulates.
  • embodiments of the present invention comprise contacting a gaseous heat transfer fluid with inert particulates within the packed bed.
  • the particulates are generally cooler than the fluid. Due to this temperature difference, sensible heat is transferred from the fluid to the particulates, and thus the fluid temperature decreases.
  • the fluid temperature reaches the boiling point temperature within the packed bed, at least a portion of the fluid condenses on the particulates, and latent heat is transferred from the fluid to the particulates.
  • the fluid condensation does not change the fluid temperature, the temperature of the particulates and the packed bed increases significantly during this step. After condensation occurs, some additional sensible heat transfer may continue to occur if there is a temperature difference between the fluid and the particulates.
  • a condensable heat transfer fluid e.g., steam
  • a condensable heat transfer fluid e.g., steam
  • the use of a condensable heat transfer fluid allows for improved cross-sectional uniformity as the fluid is fed through the packed bed and energy is transferred to the particulates.
  • an observable and predictable thermal front is exhibited as the heat transfer fluid is fed into the packed bed and heat is being stored.
  • a sufficiently steep temperature gradient is maintained along the flow direction, which discourages exergy losses due to thermal dispersion.
  • the rate at which the gaseous heat transfer fluid is fed to the packed bed will influence that rate at which energy is transferred to the particulates. At higher feed rates, faster energy transfer is typically observed.
  • the feed rate is limited by the fact that the heat transfer fluid should have a sufficient residence time within the packed bed such that the fluid can condense and release latent heat.
  • the residence time (and related flow rate) should be selected based on other design parameters (e.g., particulate size, particulate material, and type of heat transfer fluid) such that the particulates have corresponding Biot numbers less than 0.1.
  • the heat transferred to the packed bed particulates is then stored within the particulates for a period of time until recovery is desired (e.g., during times of reduced heated vapor generation).
  • the heat recovery fluid is fed into the thermal energy storage vessel and passed through the packed bed containing the heated particulates.
  • the heat recovery fluid should have a cooler temperature than the heated particulates but should also be fed to the vessel in a single, preferably gaseous, phase.
  • the heat recovery fluid preferably passes through the packed bed in a single phase.
  • a gaseous heat recovery fluid is fed into the vessel and the fluid remains in the gaseous phase throughout the heat recovery operation in the vessel with little or no phase change.
  • the recovery fluid does not experience a change in phase, there is no energy transfer due to latent heat. Rather, thermal energy is transferred to the heat recovery fluid only in the form of sensible heat. This has the advantage of providing a longer duration of heat supply, as the particulates do not lose the stored thermal energy as quickly as they obtained it. Therefore, in particularly preferred embodiments, the heat recovery operation occurs over a greater period of time than the initial heat transfer operation.
  • valve 21 opens to allow steam from an evaporator (not shown) to flow through fluid inlet 22 and into vessel 20. As the steam contacts the particulates 29 within vessel 20, the steam condenses, thereby transferring latent heat energy to the particulates 29.
  • the condensed steam (water) then exits vessel 20 through fluid outlet 24 and valve 25, and the heat is stored in the packed bed of particulates 29 until energy recovery is desired.
  • vessel 20 is insulated or otherwise configured to minimize or eliminate heat loss through the outer surface of the vessel during heat storage.
  • valves 21 and 25 are closed, and water is introduced into vessel 20 through water inlet 26 and valve 27. When the water contacts the hot particulates 29, heat is transferred from the particulates 29 to the water, thereby vaporizing the water into steam.
  • the steam then exits vessel 20 through fluid outlet 28 and valve 23 as recovered thermal energy.
  • thermal energy storage systems have been largely ineffective due to complete mixing in the storage medium as the heat transfer fluid is introduced.
  • heat transfer fluid is introduced via mixed flow, the temperature of the energy storage medium increases; however, the temperature profile throughout the energy storage medium and storage vessel at any particular point in this process is relatively uniform.
  • Such mixed flow methods require that in order to bring the temperature in entire bed from cold to hot will require the discharge of warm to hot fluid during the entire storage process (i.e., wasting large amounts of energy).
  • a more preferred scenario is to achieve a plug flow (i.e. no mixing downstream) which enables steep temperature gradient. This is because bringing the entire bed from cold to hot temperature in such a scenario would not require any discharge of warm or hot fluid, and thus any fluid leaving the storage vessel during the storage process is always cold.
  • the spherical alumina particles were procured from Saint-Gobain NorPro under the commercial name Denstone® 99. These commercially available particles were chosen because they allowed for uniform isotropic heating and have been previously tested for chemical inertness and robust thermo-mechanical behavior with steam. Alumina particles have high heat capacity, high thermal conductivity, and chemical inertness, which allows the rapid localized equilibration of thermal energy between the fluid phase and solid phase. Alumina is also non-degradable, allowing it to last a relatively long time and to remain stable through multiple heating and cooling cycles. Large heat transfer surface area was achieved due to considerably smaller particle or packing size as compared to the overall bed dimensions. This made the thermal front propagation more predictable and along the flow direction.
  • the quartz tube was sealed with ceramic flanges at both ends to provide lowest possible energy dispersion effects from the boundaries.
  • the quartz tube was chosen because it provided for visual inspection of movement of the liquid-vapor interface and the known constant emissivity value of quartz material in temperature range of 25 °C - 100 °C allowed for easy measurement of wall temperatures with an IR camera.
  • the measurement setup to attain the temperature values along the outside wall of the heat sink vessel was a forward looking infrared (FLIR) camera.
  • FLIR forward looking infrared
  • the packed bed temperatures were measured with an Omega® multi-point thermocouple tube to record the temperature at six axial locations in the bed.
  • the multi-point thermocouple was positioned as close to the center of the bed as possible using a fitting screwed into the top flange of the vessel. Each thermocouple was numbered respective to its position from the inlet of the test chamber.
  • test chamber The downstream end of the test chamber was connected to a tube-in-tube heat exchanger where any remaining vapor was condensed. This extra step allowed for the total mass of steam that passed through the chamber to be collected and measured, enabling a value for the total amount of energy input into the system to be obtained.
  • FIG. 4 A simplified schematic of the experimental setup is shown in Fig. 4, with vessel 10 comprising a packed bed of particulates 12, fluid inlet 14, fluid outlet 16, and multi-point thermocouple 18 having thermocouples (TC-1 - TC-6).
  • the experiments were performed in two sets.
  • the first set of experiments were the slow-injection tests, wherein the steam was slowly and gradually injected into the packed bed.
  • a throttled steam supply was further regulated by a globe valve to nearly atmospheric pressure before being injected into the top of test section. This throttled condition was confirmed by the fact that the maximum temperature of the steam at the top of the cylinder did not rise significantly above 100 °C.
  • the system Prior to each test run, the system was flushed with dry cold air to ensure uniform temperature and no vapor content in the system. Steam was then continuously injected through the cylinder until such point as the thermographic camera registered that the wall of the cylinder had achieved steady state conditions.
  • the second set of experiments were the fast-injection tests.
  • the globe valve was left completely open and flow injection was initiated with a butterfly gate valve.
  • the butterfly gate valve was quickly opened to inject the steam into the system.
  • the steam was continuously injected into the system at the set pressure (i.e., atmospheric pressure) until the thermographic camera displayed a uniformly heated outer wall. While substantially all of the steam was condensed in the tube before being discharged in the slow injection tests, in the fast injection experiments the steam was allowed to flow through the packed bed and exit out the bottom into a discharge pipe.
  • the injection flow rate of the steam for each case was determined by condensing the steam, collecting the condensate, and timing how long the valve was open. Multiple experiments were run to ensure repeatability and consistent flow rate values for both the slow and fast injection cases.
  • the average condensate collection flow rates for the slow and fast were measured to be 1.25 cm 3 /s and 45 cm 3 /s. In the following section, instead of exact flow rates, discussion will be made using the terms slow and fast injection. For each experiment it was found that uncertainty in the measurement of condensation collection flow rate is within 5% of the numbers stated above.
  • the condensate was collected and measured for the experiments using an air supply to remove all of the liquid before and after the run and a beaker to collect all of the condensation during and after a run.
  • the velocity was assumed constant, and thus only flow rates were measured for experiments where the bed was completely filled. After observing the experimental results trends for the slow-injection case, it was decided to only fill the bed partially and measure the different condensing flow rates. After testing this, it was found that the velocity did change. Specifically, it was noticed that the velocity had a negative linear slope as the bed was being heated. Using this varying velocity data, the accuracy of the models' solutions was improved, as presented in the results sections.
  • V Kv— a— - (1)
  • J is the local temperature of bed and fluid stream
  • x and t are the axial dimension
  • Equation 1 Kv— — - qualitative analysis of the vapor flow.
  • the dx and 3 ⁇ 4 terms in Equation 1 are the advection and conduction terms, respectively. Assuming the temperature is zero at the exit or bottom of the bed, in the direction of the motion of the fluid, the temperature gradient, ⁇ _
  • thermocouple in the fast case was unusable because of how fast it responds to temperature change compared to the other five thermocouples. The reason for this is not clear, so it was left out of the plots intentionally for the fast temperature cases. But for the slow cases, the temperature change at this location was slow enough that this effect was unnoticeable. In comparing slow injection and fast injection, the cases showed a considerable difference in the heat transfer and thermal front propagation through the packed bed. The most noticeable difference was the reduced amount of time for the bed to reach peak temperature throughout the bed in the fast injection case.
  • the IR camera images of experimental runs show that steam condenses with cross- sectional uniformity over the packed bed of spherical particles in the directional plane normal to the steam flow, justifying the design basis.
  • the experiments were conducted with two modes of steam injection- fast and slow mode. Thermal response of the bed was found to be distinct in both of these cases.
  • slow injection mode the temporal behavior of the bed was found to be divided into two spatial zones, advection driven temperature rise in the bed near the steam injection point and conduction driven temperature rise for the regions far from the injection point. As the slow moving steam front reached the far zone, a steeper rise in the temperature was seen during later stages of the experiment.
  • Fast injection mode involved high enthalpy flux penetrating and equilibrating the bed quickly, and thus only advection driven temperature rise was observed at all spatial locations.
  • the packed bed design was able to maintain a sufficiently steep temperature gradient along the flow direction to discourage exergy losses due to thermal dispersion.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Sorption Type Refrigeration Machines (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne des procédés et des systèmes de stockage et de récupération d'énergie thermique utilisant un récipient de stockage d'énergie thermique. Le récipient comprend un lit granulaire de particules chimiquement inertes présentant une conductivité thermique élevée. Un fluide gazeux de transfert de chaleur (par exemple, de la vapeur) est introduit dans le récipient, au moins une partie du fluide se condensant sur les particules et transférant la chaleur latente aux particules. Pendant une étape de récupération de la chaleur, un fluide de récupération de la chaleur (par exemple, de l'air) est alimenté au récipient, ce qui permet de transférer la chaleur sensible des particules au fluide de récupération de la chaleur. Le fluide de récupération de la chaleur réchauffé peut être ensuite utilisé pour fournir la chaleur requise pour une variété d'applications.
PCT/US2017/033566 2016-05-20 2017-05-19 Procédés et systèmes de stockage et de récupération d'énergie thermique WO2017201421A1 (fr)

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Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20090178409A1 (en) * 2006-08-01 2009-07-16 Research Foundation Of The City University Of New York Apparatus and method for storing heat energy
US20130284394A1 (en) * 2010-08-12 2013-10-31 Highview Enterprises Limited Integration of an energy storage device with a separate thermal process
US20160084587A1 (en) * 2013-04-26 2016-03-24 Stellenbosch University Packed rock bed thermal energy storage facility

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4027821A (en) * 1975-07-18 1977-06-07 International Telephone And Telegraph Corporation Solar heating/cooling system
US6164072A (en) * 1998-10-21 2000-12-26 Battelle Memorial Institute Method and apparatus for matching a secondary steam supply to a main steam supply of a nuclear or thermal renewable fueled electric generating plant
GB2485836A (en) * 2010-11-27 2012-05-30 Alstom Technology Ltd Turbine bypass system
FR2985007B1 (fr) * 2011-12-22 2014-02-21 Saint Gobain Ct Recherches Regenerateur.

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20090178409A1 (en) * 2006-08-01 2009-07-16 Research Foundation Of The City University Of New York Apparatus and method for storing heat energy
US20130284394A1 (en) * 2010-08-12 2013-10-31 Highview Enterprises Limited Integration of an energy storage device with a separate thermal process
US20160084587A1 (en) * 2013-04-26 2016-03-24 Stellenbosch University Packed rock bed thermal energy storage facility

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