Experimental study on storage performance of packed bed solar thermal energy storage system using sintered ore particles

• Published in: Solar energy materials and solar cells 2022-05, Vol.238, p.111654, Article 111654
• Main Authors: Lai, Zhenya, Zhou, Hao, Zhou, Mingxi, Lv, Laiquan, Meng, Hanxiao, Cen, Kefa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air flow; Air resistance characteristics; Air temperature; Cycle time; Energy storage; Enthalpy; Heat; Heat storage; Heat transfer; Operating costs; Operating temperature; Packed bed; Packed beds; Raw materials; Sensible heat; Sintered ore particle; Sintering; Solar energy; Solar heating; Specific heat; Storage systems; Thermal energy; Thermal energy storage; Thermal performance; Thermal properties; Thermal resistance; Thermal storage; Thermodynamic properties
• ISSN: 0927-0248; 1879-3398
• DOI: 10.1016/j.solmat.2022.111654

To cope with the mismatch between solar energy generation and demand, developing thermal energy storage systems is necessary. Due to its low construction and operating costs and wide operating temperature range, the packed bed sensible heat storage system using air as the heat transfer fluid is becoming more and more popular. This paper proposes to use sintered ore particles as a sensible heat storage material. An experimental study is conducted to investigate the air resistance characteristics and thermal behavior of the sinter bed. Moreover, the effects of particle size, charging temperature, air flow and cycle times on storage performance of the bed are studied. The results show that the sinter bed has good thermal performance. The specific heat of the sinter is 0.86–0.98 J/g/°C in the range of 200–380 °C, which increases as the temperature rises. When the thermal storage system enters a stable operation state, the cycle efficiency of the sinter bed can reach 66.78%. In addition, due to the unique production process, sinter has the potential to improve its thermal properties by optimizing the ratio of raw materials and/or adding other auxiliary materials. •Sintered ore particle is used as the sensible heat storage material.•The permeability index JPU is introduced to study airflow resistance characteristics.•Charging and discharging tests are carried out to study storage performances of sinter bed.•Effects of operating conditions on storage performances are studied.•Sinter has the potential to improve further its thermal properties.