Development of thermosyphon controlled adsorptive natural gas storage system

Abstract

Natural gas is considered a potentially available and ecologically preferable fuel, comparing to other liquid fossil fuels. Safe and sustainable energy storage device is one of the bases for changing the current energy systems. The system is to use tank packed with porous solid that can selectively adsorb methane at a gas pressure of 3.5–6 MPa. This low storage pressure in the gas tank reduces both the cost of compression and that of the storage tank, and poses less of a safety hazard than higher pressures used for compressed natural gas. The focus was the study of the effect exerted by the hybrid cooling technology and sorbent characteristics on the gas reserve. For dual-fuel internal combustion engines, a modular adsorbed natural gas (ANG) tank with an active and passive thermal control system was proposed. Dynamic charging is analyzed using a numerical model of the real properties of the sorbent and reservoir design. Novel thermosyphons with annular channels in long horizontal evaporators and a cold gas circulation loop made it possible to stimulate gas adsorption and avoid the rise of temperature in the sorbent bed during filling the tank with a gas at gas stations. They are capable of transporting energy for a distance of some meters which is difficult to be realized by horizontally disposed conventional thermosyphons and heat pipes.