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.