Abstract
Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) has demonstrated promising potential for widescale use in the power distribution network, especially where renewables are concerned.Current plants are inefficient when compared to other technologies such as battery and pumped hydro. Presently, the greatest round-trip efficiency of any commercial CAES plant is 54% (McIntosh Plant), while the highest energy efficiency of any experimental plant is 66-70% (ADELE Project). So far, Adiabatic CAES systems have yielded promising results with round-trip efficiencies generally ranging between 65-75%, with some small-scale system models yielding round-trip efficiencies exceeding 90%. Thus far, minimal research has been devoted to analysing the thermodynamic effects of the thermal energy storage (TES) insulation. This metastudy identifies current industry and research trends pertaining to ACAES with a focus on the TES insulation supported by model simulations. Charged standby time and insulation of the TES on overall system efficiency was determined by performing a thermodynamic analysis of an ACAES system using packed bed heat exchangers (PBHE) for TES. The results provide insight into the effect various insulators, including concrete, glass wool and silica-aerogel, have on exergy loss in the TES and overall system efficiency. TES insulation should be carefully considered and selected according to the expected duration of fully charged standby time of the ACAES system.
 Keywords: Compressed air energy storage; adiabatic compressed air energy storage; thermal energy storage; thermodynamic efficiency; renewable energy storage, packed bed heat exchanger
Highlights
Power generation from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind has been increasing significantly over recent years
Thermal conductivity is a function of temperature which varies depending on the material
The objective of the analysis was to determine the effect of varying thermal conductivities on the efficiency of an adiabatic CAES (ACAES) system
Summary
Power generation from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind has been increasing significantly over recent years. In contrast to other energy storage technologies, CAES has several important advantages. It is clean and sustainable with the potential for high energy capacity and longterm energy storage capabilities. It may be implemented in geological locations where other energy storage technologies such as pumped hydro may be unsuitable. These advantages, coupled with its reasonable cost of implementation, have contributed to the significant attention CAES has received over recent years [5]
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