Low-Cost High Energy Density Material for Solar Thermal Heat Storage

Abstract

A low-cost and enhanced thermal properties composite material for sensible heat storage in solar thermal energy storage applications is introduced. The proposed material is produced primarily for small scale solar thermal applications. However, it can be utilized for large scale solar thermal plants. The material has the advantages of high thermal conductivity and large energy storage density. The introduced material is composed of a mixture of cement and cast-iron particles. To obtain an optimal mixture, different samples of the material are prepared with different ratios of the cement-iron weights. The thermal conductivity of the produced samples is measured by using the linear heat conduction method. The specific heat capacity of the produced mixtures is calculated by using the Rule of the mixture. The obtained results show that the introduced material has a significant enhancement in thermal conductivity. Where, thermal conductivity as high as ~6.0 W/m.K and energy storage density as high as ~788 Joule/cm3 are achieved. The estimated volume energy density is ~89% higher than that of water. The produced material has the advantage of high energy volume density, being unhazardous, chemically stable, eco-friendly, easy to fabricate, and integrate with solar thermal energy systems and is a low-cost material.