Integrated High Operating Temperature Heat Storage System for Process Waste Heat

Statement of the Problem Being Addressed: As climate change concerns continue to grow, new technologies are necessary to reduce the environmental impact of once traditional systems. Currently, natural gas and electricity are the primary energy sources associated with residential and commercial heating applications as well as process heating. With prices of natural gas and electricity continuing to rise, a low-cost alternative for heat generation that offers advancements toward decarbonization is highly desirable. Statement of how this problem is being addressed: Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) proposes utilizing a phase change material (PCM) based thermal storage system paired with heat pipes to effectively extract, store, and redistribute waste heat generated from high temperature material manufacturing processes. This system will contain passive operating features with numerous built-in redundancies to minimize points of failure. Thus, offering an overall improvement on current designs. The proposed new high operating temperature storage (HOTS) system using a PCM paired with heat pipes is the key innovation that will increase waste heat capture, storage, and redistribution efficiency as a cost-effective alternative to current solutions. What will be done in Phase I? ACT will develop a lab-scale HOTS system to demonstrate the heat transport and storage ability of the system. Thermal and structural modeling will be conducted to predict system parameters during optimal operating conditions which will assist in design verification prior to full scale development. A ceramic material will be manufactured and tested for use in the PCM storage tank during further full-scale development. A subscale prototype will then be constructed for proof-of-concept demonstration and model validation. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: By directly utilizing waste heat from HOTS systems paired with material manufacturing processes, operating costs can be drastically reduced while simultaneously reducing the overall carbon footprint produced during such operations. This stored thermal energy can then be repurposed for applications such as district heating, process heating, or electricity generation. By redirecting and utilizing the waste heat from these manufacturing techniques, the overall carbon footprint of high temperature processes can be reduced while simultaneously offering an economically beneficial alternative to current heating sources. In Phase II, the system will be further developed as a full-scale unit which can be integrated into current high temperature material manufacturing plants for commercialization.