Dynamic characteristics of a novel liquid air energy storage system coupled with solar heat and waste heat recovery

Abstract

Liquid air energy storage (LAES) is a promising energy storage technology for its high energy storage density, free from geographical conditions and small impacts on the environment. In this paper, a novel LAES system coupled with solar heat and absorption chillers (LAES-S-A) is proposed and dynamically modeled. A power-speed control system is established for this system. Two operating control strategies are developed for the solar heat collection process. The transient characteristics of the novel system during the start-up, load-up process and encountering different disturbances are investigated. Besides, the dynamic responses when the waste heat is used for producing heating energy are also studied. The results indicate that the power-speed control system can guarantee a very short equilibrium time and a very small overshoot. The energy efficiency of the LAES-S-A system is 65.84 %, while that is 75.32 % when the waste heat is used for producing heating supply. When a disturbance occurs, the equilibrium times of the absorption chiller, air turbines and heating device are 1500 s, 40 s and 38 s, respectively. Compared with the absorption chiller, the heating device can better cooperate with the air turbines. The results can provide a reference for future studies.