A technical feasibility study of a liquid carbon dioxide energy storage system: Integrated component design and off-design performance analysis

Abstract

Liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) energy storage (LCES) system is emerging as a promising solution for high energy storage density and smooth power fluctuations. This paper investigates the design and off-design performances of a LCES system under different operation strategies to reveal the coupling matching regulation mechanism of the charging and discharging processes. An off-design performance prediction model is developed based on preliminary designs of turbomachinery components and heat exchangers to evaluate the feasibility of the LCES system. The performances of the charging and discharging processes are analyzed under different load levels with two operation strategies: constant pressure charging and constant pressure discharging (CP-CP) operation strategy, and constant pressure charging and sliding pressure discharging (CP-SP) operation strategy. Results show that the LCES system has a round trip efficiency of 61.83% and an energy storage density of 21.92 kW·h·m−3 under the rated condition. As the input load level increases from 80% to 120%, the maximum charging time of the system decreases from 5.15 h to 3.36 h under the constant pressure operation strategy. When the output load level increases from 70% to 120%, the maximum discharging time of the system decreases from 5.48 h to 3.31 h under the constant pressure operation strategy and from 5.60 h to 3.30 h under the sliding pressure operation strategy. Besides, the round trip efficiency of the LCES system increases first and then decreases as both input and output load levels rise, while the energy storage density of the system follows a parabolic curve only with an increase in the output load levels. For better system performance, the CP-SP operation strategy and CP-CP operation strategy are more suitable for the system with output load levels of 70–100% and 100–120%, respectively. These achievements will provide a valuable reference for the stable operation of the LCES under off-design conditions.