A review of the applications of phase change materials in cooling, heating and power generation in different temperature ranges (original) (raw)
Related papers
Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification, 2008
The present article reports on the research work carried out within the framework of the European project DISTOR. The objective is to conceive, analyze and test systems of storage of thermal energy of the type PCM (phase change materials) adapted to DSG (direct steam generation) technology for electricity production. A detailed model of heat transfer and fluid flow has been reported for numerical simulation of latent heat storage unit which takes into account the solid/liquid and water/vapour phase change processes occurring simultaneously in the PCM and heat transfer fluid with appropriate coupling between them. Reasonable and justified assumptions are then proposed in order to define the most significant process controlling parameters and derive a useful simplified model. Design and optimization procedure have been advised based on the present detailed and simplified models. The influences of various parameters on the operation of the system as well as the potential of new PCM composites are studied.
Solar Energy, 2018
Solar thermal energy has the potential to cover the heat demands of industrial processes. However, there may be a time mismatch between energy supplied by the solar field and the process demand. In this case, a thermal energy storage (TES) allows the use of heat at hours without solar irradiation available. Thermal energy storage for solar hot water or heating systems using low temperatures have been optimized since many decades and are in a mature stage. Developments at high temperatures (above 200°C) for CSP applications have also been deeply studied. However, until this present paper, limited attention has been paid to TES for solar thermal industrial applications at medium-high temperatures (120-400°C), where there is a potentially huge demand. When talking about TES several aspects have to be discussed: the heat demand that TES is going to be designed to supply, the material where the energy will be stored and the performance of the TES system which includes not only the material but also tanks, piping and connections. In this review, food, brewery and chemical industries were identified as the industries with higher potential in which TES and solar energy could be integrated. Heat integration methodologies have been reviewed to optimize the use of the solar energy in the industrial processes. Regarding the material, latent heat storage or phase change materials (PCM) were selected for this study because they are a very promising type of storage to be integrated in thermal industrial processes, although the state of the art of latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) systems is still far from broad commercialization. Until now, no reviews of latent heat storage for industrial applications at medium-high temperatures (120-400°C) have been published. Therefore, literature related to PCM and latent heat storage (LHS) systems to be used in industrial thermal processes is here reviewed in order to have a general overview of the available technologies for their integration together with solar thermal energy in industrial processes at both experimental and numerical level. More than 100 potential PCMs for heat storage applications in the range of temperatures 120-400°C have been found. Inorganic eutectic compositions are the group with more potentially available PCM for these applications, with values of heat of fusion between 74 and 535 kJ/kg. Finally, the works related to the performance of the system from the experimental and modelling point of view were presented. The review of experimental TES systems which include PCM in the studied range of temperatures 120-400°C showed that most of the experimental setups were developed for direct steam generation for CSP applications. Regarding numerical modelling, the type of configuration more simulated is the shell and tube configuration.
Maximization of performance of a PCM – based thermal energy storage systems
EPJ Web of Conferences
Phase change materials (PCMs) are significant in terms of applicability for the thermal energy storage (TES). Thanks to the high thermal storage density and wide range of phase transition temperature they are promising storage mediums for a large number of applications. PCMs can be used to support efficient use of waste or excess heat. Selection of adequate material as well as design of optimal TES magazine are crucial. It is important to choose material which is characterized by suitable temperature range of phase transition, possibly high latent heat of transition, specific heat and thermal conductivity. Also important features are: ability to work properly after many operation cycles, minimum volume change and gas generation during the phase transition. It is also advantageous when PCM is non-toxic and non-corrosive, non-flammable, non-explosive, environment friendly and easy to recycle. Even the best designed PCMs would not be able to store heat efficiently if the whole magazine...
A review of phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal storage in solar air heating systems
Elsevier, 2020
The surging energy requirements and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission have directed the research towards the utilization of renewable energy sources especially solar energy. Most of the energy part in domestic and commercial consumption is utilized for air heating and drying which can be improved significantly by utilizing solar air heating applications. The main drawback associated with the solar air heating system (SAHS) is the fluctuation in the availability of solar radiations which can be mitigated by a greater extent with the help of thermal storage. Phase change materials (PCMs) are generally utilized for latent heat storage. The present study reviews the various PCMs utilized in thermal storage with SAHS. Numerous types of PCM materials, their properties and applications in solar air heating system have been reviewed. Heat transfer characteristics enhancement techniques like encapsulation, extended surfaces and conductive particle dispersion have also been studied. The air conditioning demands in the future could be significantly mitigated by utilizing these materials.
Applied Energy, 2015
The objective of this paper is to review the recent technologies of Thermal Energy Storage (TES) using Phase Change Materials (PCM) for various applications, particularly Concentrated Solar Thermal Power (CSP) generation systems. Fiveissues of the technology will be discussed based on a survey to the state-of-the-art development and understandings. The first part is about various phase change materials (PCM) in thermal storage applications and recent development of PCM encapsulation technologies.The second is the current status of research and application of latent heat storage systems in CSP plants.The third is the mathematical modeling and numerical simulations to the phenomenon of latent heat thermal storage. The fourth is about the issues of integration of a PCM-based TES unit into a power generation system and the operation.The last part is a discussion about the cost issues and comparison between sensible and latent heat TES systems.The surveyed information will be very helpful to researchers and engineers in energy storage industry and particularly solar thermal power industry.
Thermal energy storage with phase change material—A state-of-the art review
Sustainable Cities and Society, 2014
Recently, thermal energy storage (TES) has received increasing attention for its high potential to meet cities' need for effective and sustainable energy use. Traditionally, energy was stored in the form of sensible heat which requires large volume of storage material. The storage volume can be significantly reduced if energy is stored in the form of latent heat and thus can benefit enormously practical applications. The existing approaches in the design, integration and application of phase change materials (PCMs) in domestic hot water tanks (HWT) and transpired solar collector (TSC) using water/air as the heat transfer media are reviewed. Crucial influencing factors are considered, including thermo-physical properties of different PCMs, different configurations of PCMs in HWT and TSC, and the limitations of each technique. This paper also discusses the existing simulation, design tools and experimental studies related to PCMs usage in HWT and central thermal storage.
This study proposes a phase change material for use in radiant cooling panels integrated with thermoelectric modules (PCM-TERCP) and evaluates its performance characteristics during the solidification and melting process of phase change materials in design conditions. The PCM-TERCP consists of phase change materials (PCMs), thermoelectric modules (TEMs), and aluminum panels. TEMs operate to freeze the PCM, and PCM stores the cooling thermal energy to maintain the constant surface temperature of the panel for radiant cooling. The main purpose of thermal energy storage systems is the shift of the electricity consumption from daytime to night-time during the summer season. Therefore, PCM-TERCP can implement off-peak operation according to which energy is expected to be saved. The melting temperature of PCM and the target surface temperatures of the bottom panels of PCM-TERCP were designed to be 16°C. Additionally, the room temperature and mean radiant temperature (MRT) was set to 24°C, while the thickness of the PCM pouch was 10 mm. As a result, the solidification process required 4 h and the total input power was 0.528 kWh. Correspondingly, the melting process can operate passively over a period of 4 h. In most cases, the operating temperature was lower than 19°C, which validates the temperature response of PCM-TERCP.
Review on latent thermal energy storage using phase change material
Journal of Thermal Engineering, 2023
One of the appealing technologies that contributes to raising the energy storage density is latent heat thermal energy storage. The heat of fusion is isothermally stored at a temperature representing the temperature at which a phase-change material transitions between phases. The current research provides a review of how phase transition materials are used in melting and solidification. Generally, the range of working temperature extends from-20 °C to 200 °C for solidification and melting applications. The first range (-20 to 5 °C) is employed for commercial and domestic refrigeration. The second range (5 to 40 °C) is utilized to lower the energy requirements for airconditioning applications. The applications includes in third range (40 to 82 °C) are solar collector and heating of water. Applications of absorption cooling, waste electricity generations, and heat recovery are operated at high temperature range (82 to180 °C). There are various types of PCMs for all the above temperature ranges. The present review paper will discuss the application fi eld, Ge ometry, PCM ty pe, he at transfer augmentation technique and their effects on the performance. The conclusions are mentioned to give more insight about the PCM behavior in various applications.
The fast growing problem of the depletion of the available non renewable energy resources has focused the world's attention on the need of proper use and harvesting of the renewable energy resources. One of the important renewable energy resources is solar energy. In recent times the use of PCM (phase change materials) for storage of thermal energy in solar water heaters has come forward as an efficient way for trapping and storing solar energy. This paper is a summary of the analysis made on how efficiently thermal energy can be stored using PCM in thermal energy storage systems of solar water heaters. The solar water heater is so constructed that it is a combination of two working systems, the first of the two absorbing systems is the solar water heater and the second is TES (thermal energy storage system). TES systems which have paraffin as the PCM are under study here. These systems trap and store the solar energy during daytime with the help of PCM (paraffin) which can later be used during night time to heat water. This heated water can then be used for domestic as well as industrial purposes. TES with PCM has been termed as an effective way to store thermal energy on the basis of the recent experimental studies highly due to their large heat trapping capacity and also because of their isothermal characteristics. These systems are examined properly to check their efficiency.
Review On The Design Of Pcm Based Thermal Energy Storage Systems
—Thermal Energy Storage has become very important in the recent years since it balances the energy demand and improves the efficiency of the solar systems. It is important that the thermal energy storage systems have the necessary characteristics to improve the performance of the storage systems. Usage of Phase change materials for energy storage provides a great benefit but their low thermal conductivity becomes a major drawback. This can be compensated with the use of phase change material in an appropriate design for effective functioning of the system. This review article summarizes the recent designs of thermal energy storage systems containing Phase Change Material that has been adopted for effective energy storage.