Analysis of energy and exergy of a thermal storage system using multiple phase change material

Year 2025, Volume: 11 Issue: 4, 1160 - 1175, 31.07.2025

Jayaprakash V Ganesan S , Beemkumar N Sunil Kumar M

Abstract

A practical method for balancing supply and demand in renewable energy is cascade latent thermal storage. Thermal energy storage (TES) systems with phase change material (PCM) store energy at different temperature levels. This study aims to present the comparative energy and exergy efficiency analysis of single PCM and multipletemperature PCM TES using different PCM in a temperature range of 100-200°C. The analysis is carried out in three configurations: 1) single PCM with Hydroquinone, 2) single PCM with Catechol, and 3) Multipletemperature PCMs with Hydroquinone and Catechol. In the first and second configurations, heat transfer fluid, i.e. therminol 66, flows in their respective individual PCM tanks and analysis is carried out. In the third configuration, i.e. multitemperature PCMs, heat transfer fluid (HTF) flows in descending order of respective melting point. Energy and exergy efficiency were analysed regarding temperature and time during the charging and discharging cycles. From the analysis, the overall exergy efficiency using Hydroquinone and Catechol as PCM in the TES system in cascading is 38.57%, which is relatively higher than the exergy values of the single PCM, which indicates that by providing multigrade thermal energies, multiple PCMs can increase thermal performance while also expanding the thermal energy’s application scope.

Keywords

Charging-Discharging Process , Exergy Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF) , Phase Change Material (PCM) , Thermal Energy Storage (TES)

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