High power thermal energy storage using phase change material slurries.

In this work we propose the use of Phase Change Slurries (PCS) based on salt hydrates to act as heat transfer fluids and storage media in industrial applications. The goal is to deliver high and flexible thermal power output at temperatures between 50 - 90 °C, which are key temperatures for a number of industrial processes. In this project a proof-of-concept test-rig was developed to demonstrate the feasibility of a continuous slurry production using mixtures of water and aluminium ammonium sulfate dodecahydrate (NH4Al(SO4)2·12H2O) as PCM. The effect of key parameters such as the composition of the salt hydrate mixture, the inlet temperature of the heat transfer fluid as well as the slurry mass flow rate on the system performance was shown.