New energy storage fluid can control temperature

Can liquid metals be used as heat transfer fluids in thermal energy storage?

The use of liquid metals as heat transfer fluids in thermal energy storage systems enables high heat transfer rates and a large operating temperature range (100°C to >700°C, depending on the liquid metal). Hence, different heat storage solutions have been proposed in the literature, which are summarized in this perspective.

What are liquid metal thermal energy storage systems?

Liquid metal thermal energy storage systems are capable of storing heat with a wide temperature range and have, thus, been investigated for liquid metal-based CSP systems 3, 4 and in the recent past also been proposed for industrial processes with high temperature process heat. 5

What type of heat transfer fluid is used in a heat storage system?

For the discharge process (H2P), steam, organic and CO 2 Rankine cycles, Brayton cycles or Stirling engines are used. 69 In comparison with gases as heat transfer fluids, the use of liquid metals in the heat storage system enables an efficient heat transfer to a secondary medium in the power cycle, for example, gas or steam.

Which liquid metals can be used in thermal energy storage systems?

Based on their liquid temperature range, their material costs and thermophysical data, Na, LBE, Pb, and Sn are the most promising liquid metals for the use in thermal energy storage systems and evaluations in section 4 will focus on these four metals.

Can a latent heat storage material be used as a heat transfer fluid?

Using latent heat storage material (Table 4) can lead to higher storage densities by making use of the high melting enthalpies at the melting point. In the literature, aluminum silicon and sodium chloride have been proposed as phase change material for heat storage with liquid metals as heat transfer fluids.

Can liquid metal be used as a heat storage medium?

The perspective is focused on thermal energy storage systems using liquid metal as heat transfer fluids, but not necessarily as heat storage medium. For the latter, the interested reader is referred to several reviews available on latent heat storage systems using liquid metal as a phase change material. 6, 7