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8th Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference (TFEC)
March, 26-29, 2023, College Park, MD, USA

LAB-SCALE DEMONSTRATION OF THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE USING DESALINATION WASTE SALT

Get access (open in a dialog) pages 665-674
DOI: 10.1615/TFEC2023.eap.046082

Abstract

The by-product of desalination processes can potentially be repurposed as a thermal energy storage medium while simultaneously preventing the discharge of this waste into the environment. This study presents a lab-scale demonstration of repurposing desalination waste salt as a Thermal Energy Storage (TES) medium. The design is based on a shell and tube heat exchanger to simulate the charge (heating), storage, and discharge (cooling) of a thermal energy storage tank that is charged and discharged by a heat transfer fluid. The thermal cycling experiments were executed at three temperatures, 200 °C, 300 °C, and 400 °C. Compressed air as the heat transfer fluid was heated by an electric heater and was routed in the shell side and provided the heat for the heat storage medium, i.e., processed desalination salt. In the storage cycle. The thermal energy is recovered by flowing low-temperature heat transfer fluid to the storage tank. The results of this study show the feasibility of storing thermal energy in desalination waste salt on a laboratory scale.