(453c) Adsorption Prediction and Modeling of Thermal Energy Storage Systems: A Parametric Study

Thermal energy storage allows for the storage of energy from
intermittent sources to correct for the variable supply and demand. The current
work investigates adsorption technology for thermal energy storage through the
development of a theoretical model, which describes the material and energy
transfers in the system. The theoretical model was used to conduct a parametric
study which examines the effect of column dimension, particle diameter,
adsorption activation energy, flow rate, column void fraction, and adsorbent
heat of adsorption on the thermal energy storage system performance. It was
found that an optimal column length to column diameter ratio of 1.4, a column
diameter to particle diameter ratio of 14.7, a flow rate of 24 LPM, and a void
fraction of 0.4 gave the best thermal energy performance for a column volume of
6.275 ⨯ 10^-5 m³. Also,
a low activation energy and a high heat of adsorption represent the best
adsorption parameters for optimal temperature outputs, breakthrough behavior,
and energy densities.