Search results for "Thermal energy storage"
showing 10 items of 37 documents
Biorefinery process for hydrothermal liquefaction of microalgae powered by a concentrating solar plant: A conceptual study
2017
Abstract A conceptual analysis of coupling a concentrating solar power plant with a biorefinery process consisting in the hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of microalgae to biocrude was performed. The configuration of the CSP-HTL plant was designed to allow continuous operation considering 10 kT of microalgae processed each year using, for the first time, a ternary nitrate mixture as heat transfer fluid and storage medium in the temperature range of 340–410 °C. With adopted models, the capital and operating costs of the solar plant marginally affect the minimum fuel selling prize (MFSP) of biocrude that decreases with the size of the solar field and of the thermal storage system provided that…
A solar assisted seasonal borehole thermal energy system for a non-residential building in the Mediterranean area
2019
Abstract Solar heating and cooling systems are reliable and feasible solutions among renewable energy technologies. Indeed, solar thermal devices help reduce primary energy consumption and can reduce electricity demand, thus representing one of the best options for satisfying heating and/or cooling energy supply. The Borehole Thermal Energy Storage (BTES) represents one of the best promising option among the various storage technologies, because the size of the storage can be easily extended by drilling additional boreholes and simply connecting the pipes to the existing boreholes; the overall energy efficiency of this system is about 40–60%. In this paper, the authors present an applicatio…
Estimating energy balance fluxes above a boreal forest from radiometric temperature observations
2009
Abstract The great areal extent of boreal forests confers these ecosystems potential to impact on the global surface-atmosphere energy exchange. A modelling approach, based on a simplified two-source energy balance model, was proposed to estimate energy balance fluxes above boreal forests using thermal infrared measurements. Half-hourly data from the Solar-Induced Fluorescence Experiment, carried out in a Finnish boreal forest, was used to evaluate the performance of the model. Energy balance closure, determined by linear regression, found all fluxes to underestimate available energy by 9% (r2 = 0.94). Significance in the energy balance of the heat storage in the air and in the soil terms w…
A numerical solution that determines the temperature field inside phase change materials: application in buildings
2013
The use of novel building materials that contain active thermal components would be a major advancement in achieving significant heating and cooling energy savings. In the last 40 years, Phase Change Materials or PCMs have been tested as thermal mass components in buildings, and most studies have found that PCMs enhance the building energy performance. The use of PCMs as an energy storage device is due to their relatively high fusion latent heat; during the melting and/or solidification phase, a PCM is capable of storing or releasing a large amount of energy. PCMs in a wall layer store solar energy during the warmer hours of the day and release it during the night, thereby decreasing and sh…
Arylazopyrazoles for Long-Term Thermal Energy Storage and Optically Triggered Heat Release below 0 °C.
2020
Arylazopyrazole derivatives based on four core structures (4pzMe, 3pzH, 4pzH, and 4pzH-F2) and functionalized with a dodecanoate group were demonstrated to store thermal energy in their metastable Z isomer liquid phase and release the energy by optically triggered crystallization at -30 °C for the first time. Three heat storage-release schemes were discovered involving different activation methods (optical, thermal, or combined) for generating liquid-state Z isomers capable of storing thermal energy. Visible light irradiation induced the selective crystallization of the liquid phase via Z-to-E isomerization, and the latent heat stored in the liquid Z isomers was preserved for longer than 2 …
Energy and economic assessment of desiccant cooling systems coupled with single glazed air and hybrid PV/thermal solar collectors for applications in…
2009
Abstract This paper presents a detailed analysis of the energy and economic performance of desiccant cooling systems (DEC) equipped with both single glazed standard air and hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/t) collectors for applications in hot and humid climates. The use of ‘solar cogeneration’ by means of PV/t hybrid collectors enables the simultaneous production of electricity and heat, which can be directly used by desiccant air handling units, thereby making it possible to achieve very energy savings. The present work shows the results of detailed simulations conducted for a set of desiccant cooling systems operating without any heat storage. System performance was investigated through h…
A review of thermochemical energy storage systems for power grid support
2020
Power systems in the future are expected to be characterized by an increasing penetration of renewable energy sources systems. To achieve the ambitious goals of the “clean energy transition”, energy storage is a key factor, needed in power system design and operation as well as power-to-heat, allowing more flexibility linking the power networks and the heating/cooling demands. Thermochemical systems coupled to power-to-heat are receiving an increasing attention due to their better performance in comparison with sensible and latent heat storage technologies, in particular, in terms of storage time dynamics and energy density. In this work, a comprehensive review of the state of art of theore…
A novel renewable polygeneration system for a small Mediterranean volcanic island for the combined production of energy and water: Dynamic simulation…
2014
Abstract This paper investigates the integration of solar and geothermal energy in a novel polygeneration system producing simultaneously: electricity, thermal energy, cooling energy and fresh water. The polygeneration system under analysis includes concentrating photovoltaic/thermal solar collectors (CPVT), a Geothermal Well (GW) a multi-effect distillation (MED) system for seawater desalination, a single-stage LiBr–H2O absorption chiller and additional components, such as: storage tanks, heat exchangers and balance of plant devices. The CPVT produces simultaneously electrical energy and thermal energy, at a maximum temperature of about 100 °C. The electrical energy is delivered to the gri…
PCM thermal storage design in buildings: Experimental studies and applications to solaria in cold climates
2017
Abstract As energy availability and demand often do not match, thermal energy storage plays a crucial role to take advantage of solar radiation in buildings: in particular, latent heat storage via phase-change material is particularly attractive due to its ability to provide high energy storage density. This paper analyzes the performance of a building-integrated thermal storage system to increase the energy performances of solaria in a cold climate. A wall opposing a highly glazed facade (south oriented) is used as thermal storage with phase change materials embedded in the wall. The study is based on both experimental and simulation studies. The concept considered is particularly suited t…
On the Efficacy of PCM to Shave Peak Temperature of Crystalline Photovoltaic Panels: An FDM Model and Field Validation
2013
The exploitation of renewable energy sources and specifically photovoltaic (PV) devices have been showing significant growth; however, for a more effective development of this technology it is essential to have higher energy conversion performances. PV producers often declare a higher efficiency respect to real conditions and this deviation is mainly due to the difference between nominal and real temperature conditions of the PV. In order to improve the solar cell energy conversion efficiency many authors have proposed a methodology to keep the temperature of a PV system lower: a modified crystalline PV system built with a normal PV panel coupled with a Phase Change Material (PCM) heat stor…