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New Trends in Thermal Energy Storage: Materials and Technologies

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "J: Thermal Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2022) | Viewed by 7291

Special Issue Editor

Department of Engineering, University of Messina, 98166 Messina, Italy
Interests: energy storage; thermal energy storage; thermochemical materials; carbon-based nanomaterials, materials synthesis and technologies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, attention to the environment and climate change has become more and more marked, due to the upcoming targets imposed by the European Parliament and Council, to guide society toward a low-carbon future. Thermal energy storage (TES) represents one of the highest potential solutions for a large number of benefits. Low energy costs, higher air quality for the decrease of polluting emissions, reduction of the greenhouse effect, saving of fossil fuel stocks, and leveling of the mismatch between supply and demand are some of the best-known advantages. In this Special Issue, dedicated to new trends in thermal energy storage technologies, original research papers, as well as reviews, are welcome. The aim is to collect contributions on sensible, latent, and thermochemical heat storage systems and materials, employed at low, medium, and/or high-temperature TES for heating and cooling. Studies on waste heat recovery technologies are also appreciated. In such a context, particular consideration will be given to research development in order to increase the applicability of TES technology.

This Special Issue will provide the scientific community with a thorough overview of current research on innovative thermal energy storage materials and systems and their application fields.

Dr. Elpida Piperopoulos
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Thermal energy storage systems
  • Phase change materials (PCM)
  • Thermochemical materials
  • Energy efficiency
  • Heat and cold storage
  • Waste heat
  • Sensible heat

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 3807 KiB  
Article
An Industrial Approach for the Optimization of a New Performing Coated Adsorber for Adsorption Heat Pumps
by Luigi Calabrese, Walter Mittelbach, Lucio Bonaccorsi and Angelo Freni
Energies 2022, 15(14), 5118; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15145118 - 14 Jul 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1243
Abstract
In the present work, the optimization of a new coating formulation was investigated, taking attention to an industrially focused research approach used for the engineering design of the adsorber. The adsorbent was a composite zeolite or silica-gel based coating applied by using new [...] Read more.
In the present work, the optimization of a new coating formulation was investigated, taking attention to an industrially focused research approach used for the engineering design of the adsorber. The adsorbent was a composite zeolite or silica-gel based coating applied by using new flexible polymer matrices. The FC-80 formulation represents a good compromise between mechanical stability and absorption capacity. Using the developed coating process, a new compact HEX design was developed to reach the AHP target performance with easy and fast manufacturing. The specific cooling power of the coated heat exchanger was estimated to be about 500 W/kg of adsorbent. The new coated HEX was integrated in a new adsorption chiller and has been tested by a laboratory test-rig under realistic operating conditions. Results of preliminary testing demonstrated that the prototype provides a cooling capacity of around 10 kW with a COP of 0.54. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends in Thermal Energy Storage: Materials and Technologies)
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13 pages, 4489 KiB  
Article
Organic Salt Hydrate as a Novel Paradigm for Thermal Energy Storage
by Emanuela Mastronardo, Emanuele La Mazza, Davide Palamara, Elpida Piperopoulos, Daniela Iannazzo, Edoardo Proverbio and Candida Milone
Energies 2022, 15(12), 4339; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15124339 - 14 Jun 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1540
Abstract
The use of inorganic salt hydrates for thermochemical energy storage (TCS) applications is widely investigated. One of the drawbacks that researchers face when studying this class of materials is their tendency to undergo deliquescence phenomena. We here proposed and investigated, for the first [...] Read more.
The use of inorganic salt hydrates for thermochemical energy storage (TCS) applications is widely investigated. One of the drawbacks that researchers face when studying this class of materials is their tendency to undergo deliquescence phenomena. We here proposed and investigated, for the first time, the possibility of using organic salt hydrates as a paradigm for novel TCS materials with low water solubility, that is, more resistance to deliquescence, a tendency to coordinate a high number of water molecules and stability under operating conditions. The organic model compound chosen in this study was calcium; 7-[[2-(2-amino-1,3-thiazol-4-yl)-2-methoxyiminoacetyl]amino]-3-[(2-methyl-5,6-dioxo-1H-1,2,4-triazin-3-yl)sulfanylmethyl]-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azabicyclo[4.2.0]oct-2-ene-2-carboxylate, known as calcium ceftriaxone, hereafter named CaHS (calcium hydrated salt), a water-insoluble organic salt, which can combine up to seven water molecules. The CaHS was prepared by precipitation from the water-soluble disodium triaxone. The thermal behavior of CaHS, in terms of stability and dehydration–hydration cyclability, was assessed. The material can operate in the temperature range of 30–150 °C, suitable for TCS. No deliquescence phenomena occurred upon exposure to a relative humidity (RH) between 10 and 100%. Its heat storage capacity, so far unknown, was measured to be ~595.2 kJ/kg (or ~278.6 kWh/m3). The observed heat storage capacity, thermal stability, and good reversibility after dehydration–hydration cycles highlight the potential of this class of materials, thus opening new research paths for the development and investigation of innovative organic salt hydrates. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends in Thermal Energy Storage: Materials and Technologies)
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23 pages, 6152 KiB  
Article
Experimental Validation and Numerical Simulation of a Hybrid Sensible-Latent Thermal Energy Storage for Hot Water Provision on Ships
by Andrea Frazzica, Marco Manzan, Valeria Palomba, Vincenza Brancato, Angelo Freni, Amedeo Pezzi and Bianca M. Vaglieco
Energies 2022, 15(7), 2596; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15072596 - 02 Apr 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1947
Abstract
In this study, the development and testing of a hybrid thermal energy storage (TES) including phase change material (PCM) macro-capsules inside a vertical sensible tank is presented. The storage was specifically developed for delivering hot water on board of ships. Accordingly, a commercial [...] Read more.
In this study, the development and testing of a hybrid thermal energy storage (TES) including phase change material (PCM) macro-capsules inside a vertical sensible tank is presented. The storage was specifically developed for delivering hot water on board of ships. Accordingly, a commercial PCM was selected and tested. Subsequently, the hybrid TES was designed and tested under mimicked boundary conditions at lab scale, showing the possibility of increasing the volumetric energy storage density up to 30% compared to the sensible configuration. On this basis, two numerical models were developed: a detailed one, implemented in a Fluent environment, aiming at investigating the main parameters affecting the heat transfer efficiency inside the TES and a second one, implemented in an ESP-r environment to simulate the TES as a component to be implemented inside a more complex system, thus helping its accurate design and operation through a reliable modelling phase. Both models were satisfactorily validated against the experimental results, thus being made available for future investigations and design optimization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends in Thermal Energy Storage: Materials and Technologies)
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15 pages, 3212 KiB  
Article
Synthesis of Mesoporous γ-Alumina Support for Water Composite Sorbents for Low Temperature Sorption Heat Storage
by Manca Ocvirk, Alenka Ristić and Nataša Zabukovec Logar
Energies 2021, 14(22), 7809; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14227809 - 22 Nov 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1754
Abstract
The efficiency of thermochemical heat storage is crucially determined by the performance of the sorbent used, which includes a high sorption capacity and a low regeneration temperature. The thermochemical salt hydrate– γ-alumina composite sorbents are promising materials for this application but lack systematic [...] Read more.
The efficiency of thermochemical heat storage is crucially determined by the performance of the sorbent used, which includes a high sorption capacity and a low regeneration temperature. The thermochemical salt hydrate– γ-alumina composite sorbents are promising materials for this application but lack systematic study of the influence of γ-alumina structural properties on the final storage performance. In this study, mesoporous γ-Al2O3 supports were prepared by solvothermal and hydrothermal synthesis containing a block copolymer (F-127) surfactant to design thermochemical CaCl2 and LiCl composite water sorbents. Altering the solvent in the synthesis has a significant effect on the structural properties of the γ-Al2O3 mesostructure, which was monitored by powder XRD, nitrogen physisorption, and SEM. Solvothermal synthesis led to a formation of mesoporous γ-Al2O3 with higher specific surface area (213 m2/g) and pore volume (0.542 g/cm3) than hydrothermal synthesis (147 m2/g; 0.414 g/cm3). The highest maximal water sorption capacity (2.87 g/g) and heat storage density (5.17 GJ/m3) was determined for W-46-LiCl containing 15 wt% LiCl for space heating, while the best storage performance in the sense of fast kinetics of sorption, without sorption hysteresis, low desorption temperature, very good cycling stability, and energy storage density of 1.26 GJ/m3 was achieved by W-46-CaCl2. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends in Thermal Energy Storage: Materials and Technologies)
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