Comparative evaluation of advanced adiabatic compressed gas energy storage systems

Abstract

Compressed air energy storage (CAES) is a mature electrical energy storage option among different types of energy storage technologies. The positive environmental attributes of the advanced adiabatic compressed air energy storage (AA-CAES) arise from a lack of the need for a combustion chamber. Taking into account the thermodynamic properties and economic considerations, a new approach has been adopted to investigate the effect of various working fluid specifications on the overall performance of the AA-CAES system. This approach involves utilizing hydrogen and nitrogen as working fluid. The technical evaluation includes energy and exergy analysis supported by economic and parametric analysis for advanced adiabatic compressed hydrogen storage (AA-CHES) systems and in addition, an advanced adiabatic compressed nitrogen storage (AA-CNES) is also considered. The results of the thermodynamic analysis illustrate the performance measurements parameters for round-trip efficiency and exergy round-trip efficiency for AA-CHES, AA-CNES, and AA-CAES are equal to 55.05 % - 63.47 %, 54.74 % - 63.16 %, and 54.5 % - 62.91 %, respectively. It is clear that changing the working fluid improves the performance of the studied system. The payback period for AA-CNES, AA-CAES, and AA-CHES are 1.2, 1.3, and 5.4 years, respectively. Additionally, the parametric investigations reveal the influential behaviors of the design parameters on the main output of the system.