Cryogenic Storage Research Articles

Low-temperature stable ferroelectric–antiferroelectric transition for cryogenic energy storage application

The capacitors are in rising demand for cryogenic applications. As for now, it still remains an ongoing challenge for simultaneously achieving high energy storage density and cryogenic temperature stability. Herein, the strategy of stable backward phase transition was demonstrated in the antiferroelectric composition of (Pb0.9175La0.055)(Zr0.975Ti0.025)O3. As a result, we achieved high recoverable energy density about 10 J/cm3 with exceptional low-temperature stability from −160 to 25 °C. Multi-layer ceramic capacitors designed for pulse discharge applications also demonstrated high performance in cryogenic conditions, with the peak current fluctuations of less than 4%. Through in situ characterizations using x-ray diffraction, Raman spectra, and transmission electron microscopy, we discovered that the anisotropic structural evolution is responsible for a stable backward phase transition, providing the material with robust stability at cryogenic temperatures. These results offer a good paradigm for improving the temperature stability of antiferroelectric multi-layer capacitors to meet the rigorous demands of energy storage applications.

Experimental and Computational Study of the Thermal Insulation Properties of Hollow Glass Microspheres

Hollow glass microspheres (HGM) are expected to be used in cryogenic liquid storage tanks as an insulating material with better insulation performance and lower maintenance cost instead of perlite. Obtaining the effective thermal conductivity of HGM can help to improve the insulation performance of cryogenic tanks. Herein, a test system based on the transient plane source method is designed and constructed, and the effective thermal conductivity of six models of HGMs from four suppliers at 200–300 K is measured. The results show that under atmosphere pressure of 200 K, the effective thermal conductivity of HGM is only 25.87–35.84 mW m−1 K−1. The effective thermal conductivity at room and low temperatures is calculated using the derived system of equations for integrated thermal conductivity and radiative heat transfer, with the error of no more than 13% from the current experimental results. The integrated thermal conductivity is still dominant in low pressure and low temperature, and the reduction of the true density contributes to the improvement of the HGM insulation performance.

Design and simulation of 30 000 tons per year of cumene plant from natural gas field

Abstract The research considers the design and simulation of 30 000 tons per year of cumene plant using Aspen HYSYS as the simulation tool. The feed (material content) used is the characterized natural gas from Utorogu Gas Field with composition of 0.9019 methane, 0.0694 ethane, 0.0209 propane, 0.00361 n-butane, 0.00414 i-butane, 0.00005 n-pentane and 0.00007 i-pentane. The cumene plant consist of the cryogenic distillation column, de-hydrogenator (Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor), Alkylator (Plug Flow Reactor), storage tanks, separators, pumps, heat exchanger and mixers. The size/design models of basic plant units such as de-hydrogenator, alkylator, separators, storage tanks and distillation column were developed using the principles of mass and energy balance. The result of design or size specifications in terms of equipment diameter of basic plant units obtained from HYSYS simulation are 0.8 m and 0.319 m for the cryogenic and cumene columns; 1.931 m, 2.244 m and 1.366 m for the propane, propene and cumene storage tanks; 1.868 m and 2.076 m for the de-hydrogenator and alkylator; 1.931 m and 2.146 m for propene and cumene separators respectively. The power or capacity of propane and propene pumps configured in the plant are 0.02 kW and 0.005 kW respectively. The result of the reactor and distillation column thickness specification to withstand corrosion, pressure or stress during plant operation in terms of cylindrical shell and ellipsoidal doomed head are 17.36 mm and 4.31 mm respectively. The economic evaluation (overall cost) including the cost of utilities, catalyst, operating, and maintenance for entire plant is $ 3.004 M.

Optimal energy storage system design for addressing uncertainty issues in integration of supply and demand-side management approaches

The primary goal of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) is to increase renewable energy use to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and mitigate climate change. Energy-intensive industries can benefit from in-house renewable power generation, reducing their reliance on fossil fuel-based grid power and making processes greener. However, integration among power generation/purchase, energy storage systems (ESS), and power consumption is crucial to overcome the intermittent nature of renewable power sources. ESS plays a vital role in increasing resilience and optimizing material production based on power availability and pricing. The efficacy of ESS needs critical evaluation considering cost, efficiency, and uncertainties related to renewable power generation and material product demand. The paper proposes two scenario-based optimization approaches to assess the impact of uncertainties on the integrated supply and demand side management (ISDM) system, focusing on lithium-ion batteries and cryogenic energy storage (CES). Compared to the conservative approach of the scenario-based robust optimization (SRO) method, the proposed stochastic simulation optimization (SSO) method provides a ‘risk-neutral’ solution, which is 6.45% less than the minimum expected cost solution. The analysis also suggests that lithium-ion batteries are more economically effective for the proposed integrated framework than CES, resulting in almost a 29% reduction in operating costs compared to no battery option. The proposed framework could contribute to sustainable and economically viable energy management practices in energy-intensive industries. Further research and implementation of such frameworks could accelerate the adoption of renewable energy and energy storage technologies in industrial processes.

H2-sCO2 direct-fired power system coupled with electrolysis and storage

To maintain a global zero-emission policy and a high standard of living, new energy systems with higher system efficiency and net zero-emission productions need to be designed and deployed. This paper describes a novel integrated system between a direct-fired supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) power system with hydrogen and oxygen for zero-emission power generation and storage. sCO2 power cycles offer higher thermodynamic efficiencies than conventional gas-fired Brayton cycles. Heat is added to the system from the combustion of hydrogen and oxygen. The system consists of an electrolyzer unit and two cryogenic storage systems for hydrogen and oxygen. The proposed system is designed as a medium/long-term battery that can use excess electricity from the grid to produce hydrogen (electrolyzer) and supply to the grid (hydrogen combustion) in times of higher demand. Nitrous oxide emissions are mitigated by oxy-combustion and water separation from the post-combustion products allows for a closed-loop water cycle. The optimization of cycle parameters suggests a turbine inlet temperature of 1473 K and a pressure of 30 MPa for a specific net power output of 348 kJ/kg electrical. This results in an H2-sCO2 direct-fired power cycle efficiency of around 53 % with an overall system round-trip efficiency of up to 35 %.

A low-cost multiscale model with fiber/matrix interface for cryogenic composite storage tanks considering temperature effects based on self-consistent clustering analysis

Matrix (including interface) failure is a typical form of failure in the composite laminates for cryogenic storage tanks causing functionally useless of the structure. In this work, a low-cost multiscale model based on the Self-consistent Clustering Analysis (SCA) method is developed to predict the matrix failure process of the composite storage tanks. First, a reduced order model modeling method with fiber/matrix interfaces is proposed. Then, in conjunction with Progressive Failure Analysis (PFA), a reduced-order model is used to predict matrix failure and interface failure of the composites, mesh sensitivity analyses were carried out, and strength damage envelopes were obtained for unidirectional composites subjected to a combination of transverse stresses and in-plane shear. Compared with the prediction results of the Puck criterion, the errors in predicting damage strength for compressive-shear load and tensile-shear load do not exceed 10% and 30%, respectively. And finally, the thermal-mechanical load analysis of the composite storage tanks is carried out and the effect of homogenous temperature field and heterogenous temperature field on the load-bearing performance of the composite structure is analyzed. The method is proved to have good accuracy and to be very efficient. Its main feature is the ability to rapidly predict the stiffness and strength properties of composite structures under different environmental conditions, in agreement with experimental results, showing the potential to reduce the time and cost required for structural design.

Influence of Porous Inserts and Compact Resonators on Onset of Taconis Oscillations

Abstract Taconis oscillations represent excitation of acoustic modes due to large thermal gradients inside narrow tubes penetrating cryogenic vessels from a warm ambient environment. These oscillations are usually harmful, as they may drastically increase heat leakage into cryogenic vessels and result in strong vibrations of measuring instruments. Placing a porous material inside a tube with a goal to increase acoustic damping or attaching a small resonator to the main tube are some of the possible ways to suppress or mitigate Taconis effects. However, when the porous inserts are positioned in locations with large temperature gradients or the resonator parameters are selected incorrectly, these components may augment thermal-to-acoustic energy conversion and enhance Taconis oscillations. A low-amplitude thermoacoustic model has been extended and applied in this study to determine the effects of the insert location and pore radius, as well as the resonator dimensions, on the onset of Taconis phenomena in a hydrogen-filled tube of relevance to lines used in cryogenic hydrogen storage tanks. The presented findings can assist cryogenic specialists interested in suppressing or exciting Taconis oscillations.

Design and optimization of cryogenic supercritical hydrogen storage system coupled with mixed refrigerant and gas expansion cycle

Cryogenic supercritical hydrogen, as a physical hydrogen storage method, is used to increase the volume and weight of hydrogen storage density without phase change by means of a combination of cooling and pressurization. In this study, a cryogenic supercritical hydrogen storage system coupled with mixed refrigerant and gas expansion cycle is proposed for the cryogenic supercritical hydrogen cooling thermodynamic process. The cryogenic supercritical hydrogen storage system proposed in this paper can compress and cool hydrogen at ambient temperature and pressure to 70 K and 30 MPa, and the hydrogen storage density at this state point is 72.53 kg/m3. Aspen HYSYS software is used to simulate and analyze the system process, and 29 key variables in the system are optimized by genetic algorithm with specific energy consumption (SEC) as the objective function. The system performance is analyzed by varying the expansion refrigeration cycle work gases, and helium, hydrogen and neon are selected for horizontal comparison, and the energy, exergy and heat transfer performance of the three gases are analyzed in detail at the end of the optimization. The results show that neon has the best performance as the expansion cycle working medium, with the SEC of5.87 kWh/kgH2.The theoretical minimum SEC is 2.92 kWh/kgH2 and the exergy efficiency (EXE) is 49.74 %.

The mutual neutralization of hydronium and hydroxide.

Mutual neutralization of hydronium (H3O+) and hydroxide (OH-) ions is a very fundamental chemical reaction. Yet, there is only limited experimental evidence about the underlying reaction mechanisms. Here, we report three-dimensional imaging of coincident neutral products of mutual-neutralization reactions at low collision energies of cold and isolated ions in the cryogenic double electrostatic ion-beam storage ring (DESIREE). We identified predominant H2O + OH + H and 2OH + H2 product channels and attributed them to an electron-transfer mechanism, whereas a minor contribution of H2O + H2O with high internal excitation was attributed to proton transfer. The reported mechanism-resolved internal product excitation, as well as collision-energy and initial ion-temperature dependence, provide a benchmark for modeling charge-transfer mechanisms.

Extension of Interaction Geometric Aggregation Operator for Material Selection Using Interval-Valued Intuitionistic Fuzzy Hypersoft Set

A recently emerged area of research named intuitionistic fuzzy hypersoft set (IFHSS) attempts to describe the internal limitations of intuitionistic fuzzy soft sets on multiparameter functions. A computation of such a type connects a power set of the universe with a tuple of sub-parameters. The strategy shows the allocation of attributes to their respective sub-attribute values in distinct groupings. The above features make it a unique methodical tool for handling obstacles of hesitation. The aggregation operators have an important role in the assessment of both types of potential and in identifying problems from their assessment. This research extends the use of the interaction aggregation operator to the interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy hypersoft set (IVIFHSS), which is an entirely new structure generated through the interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy soft set (IVIFSS). The IVIFHSS significantly condenses information that is inaccurate and imprecise compared to the frequently utilized IFSS and IVIFSS. Fuzzy reasoning is recognized as the prevalent strategy for improving imperfect data in decision-making processes. The core objective of the research is to develop operational rules for interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy hypersoft numbers (IVIFHSNs), which promote interactions. This research is designed to broaden the utilization of the interaction geometric aggregation operator in the framework of IVIFHSS. In particular, we propose a novel operator known as the Interval-Valued Intuitionistic Fuzzy Hypersoft Interactive Weighted Geometric (IVIFHSIWG) operator. The aggregation operator indicates industry professional support for the implementation of a robust MCGDM material selection technique in order to address this need. The practical application of the intended MCGDM technique has been introduced in selecting materials (MS) for cryogenic storage containers. The influence advocates that the anticipated model is more operational and stable in demonstrating anxious facts based on IVIFHSS.

A novel cryogenic air separation unit with energy storage: Recovering waste heat and reusing storage media

The combination of the air separation unit and cryogenic energy storage enhances system efficiency; however, there are still significant irreversible losses in the energy conversion process and high investment costs. This paper explored the potential for deep integration of these two process and proposed a novel air separation with liquid nitrogen energy storage process recovering waste heat and reusing storage media process. The proposed process improved the liquefaction and power generation processes and recovered the compression heat for air purification processes. Taking an actual plant as a research case, the integrated system was simulated using Aspen Plus software. The round-trip efficiency, exergy efficiency, and power generation of the proposed process are 0.537, 0.722, and 10.52 MWh respectively, which are 6.2 %, 20.9 %, and 68.3 % higher than those of conventional process. By reusing storage nitrogen and recovering compression heat, the proposed process reduces the initial investment cost by half while achieving a dynamic payback period of 6 years with a levelized cost of electricity at $82.8/MWh. Furthermore, it is worth noting that media reuse operations have a greater impact on economy when off-peak electricity cost is low; whereas utilization of compression heat has a greater impact when off-peak electricity cost is high.

Composite aerogel incorporating low temperature phase change microcapsules for enhanced thermal insulation

Cryogenic transportation and storage confront significant challenges from harsh weather conditions, heightened energy consumption, and epidemic situations, compelling the need for the creation of exceptionally efficient thermal insulation materials. To address this demand, a composite phase change aerogel was designed in this study through incorporating low-temperature microencapsulated phase change microcapsules (MPCM) into a cellulose nanofiber/polyvinyl alcohol (CNF/PVA) system. The MPCM, consisting of a polyurethane-acrylate (PUA) shell and an n-tetradecane core, exhibited excellent encapsulation performance with leak-proof capability. Remarkable low-temperature phase change energy storage properties were observed, including a phase change temperature of approximately 6 °C and an impressive phase change enthalpy of 112 J/g. The MPCM also demonstrated stability during successive heating–cooling repetitions, maintaining its heat storage capacity and morphology for at least 300 cycles. These exceptional thermal characteristics endowed the resulting aerogel with effective thermal insulation and temperature retardation abilities. Meanwhile, the integration of CNF/PVA as the matrix in the composite aerogel led to minimal degradation of thermal storage performance compared to pure MPCM. Moreover, the addition of MPCM significantly enhanced the compressive strength, reaching 5.6 times that of the neat CNF/PVA aerogel. The composite aerogel showed a notably low density of 0.165 g/cm3 and could be reshaped through heating. This work provides a simple yet effective idea for designing bulk materials with low-temperature phase change capabilities, offering promising prospects in the field of thermal insulation.

Pre-design assessment and selection of optimal parameters for low-temperature power plants of cryogenic energy storage systems

Pre-design assessment and selection of optimal parameters for low-temperature power plants of cryogenic energy storage systems

TRANSIENT ANALYSIS OF LIQUID-HYDROGEN TRANSFER IN CRYOGENIC STORAGE TANKS

Efficient transfer of liquid hydrogen is critical for a myriad of processes in terrestrial and extraterrestrial applications. The objective of this study is to model and quantify the amount of liquid parahydrogen vaporized during a discharging/charging process in a cryogenic storage system. The effects that are included include geometrical effects (storage tank volume), two-phase compressible flow, choking/unchoking, and wall-fluid heat transfer. A brief description of other physical boil-off mechanisms is also presented. This study provides a foundation for applicationspecific optimization. The storage system studied comprises two interconnected tanks whose transfer line has a variation in the flow area. This simulates current liquid-hydrogen storage and transportation systems. The model tracks the temperature- and pressure-time histories of liquid hydrogen as it flows between storage tanks, in both the choked and unchoked flow regimes. The transfer of liquid is induced solely by the pressure differential that exists between the two storage tanks. An iterative technique helps account for choking, which is likely to exist at the throat in two-phase flow. Cases of zero and infinite tank-wall thermal mass are also discussed. By analyzing the behavior of fundamental variables during the transient transfer of liquid hydrogen, boil-off losses may be minimized if the variables with the greatest effect on boil-off losses are controlled.

Hypothermic and cryogenic preservation of cardiac tissue-engineered constructs.

Cardiac tissue engineering (cTE) has already advanced towards the first clinical trials, investigating safety and feasibility of cTE construct transplantation in failing hearts. However, the lack of well-established preservation methods poses a hindrance to further scalability, commercialization, and transportation, thereby reducing their clinical implementation. In this study, hypothermic preservation (4 °C) and two methods for cryopreservation (i.e., a slow and fast cooling approach to -196 °C and -150 °C, respectively) were investigated as potential solutions to extend the cTE construct implantation window. The cTE model used consisted of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes and human cardiac fibroblasts embedded in a natural-derived hydrogel and supported by a polymeric melt electrowritten hexagonal scaffold. Constructs, composed of cardiomyocytes of different maturity, were preserved for three days, using several commercially available preservation protocols and solutions. Cardiomyocyte viability, function (beat rate and calcium handling), and metabolic activity were investigated after rewarming. Our observations show that cardiomyocytes' age did not influence post-rewarming viability, however, it influenced construct function. Hypothermic preservation with HypoThermosol® ensured cardiomyocyte viability and function. Furthermore, fast freezing outperformed slow freezing, but both viability and function were severely reduced after rewarming. In conclusion, whereas long-term preservation remains a challenge, hypothermic preservation with HypoThermosol® represents a promising solution for cTE construct short-term preservation and potential transportation, aiding in off-the-shelf availability, ultimately increasing their clinical applicability.

Study on the Comparison of Electron Beam Welding and Hybrid Laser-Arc Welding of Thick High-Manganese Steel Plate for Cryogenic Applications

Environmental protection policies have led to a focus on clean energy from Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and thus, its demand is increasing. Several studies for the development of cryogenic materials and fabrication technologies for storage and delivery of LNG are presented worldwide. Recently, International Maritime Organization (IMO) acknowledged that high-manganese steel was one such cryogenic material for application in LNG storage. Thus, high-manganese steel is expected to be increasingly used in the cryogenic storage industry because of its excellent material properties such as low-temperature toughness and tensile strength. A variety of researches on the welding technologies are available, including arc welding, laser welding and hybrid laser-arc welding. However, electron beam welding (EBW) has not been widely studied. In this work, EBW was investigated for the thick high-manganese steel plate and its mechanical properties were evaluated and compared with the characteristics of hybrid laser-arc welding. Our study indicates that EBW exhibits better mechanical properties than the hybrid laser-arc welding and it can be an effective potential candidate technology for welding of thick high-manganese steel plate with application in cryogenic storage tank.

A computational analysis of cryogenic hydrogen release under various conditions

Cryogenic liquid hydrogen offers a promising solution for achieving high-density hydrogen storage and efficient on-site distribution. However, the potential hazards associated with hydrogen leakages necessitate thorough investigations. This research aims to model cryogenic hydrogen release from circular and high aspect ratio (HAR) nozzles tested by Sandia. The test conditions cover reservoir pressures and temperatures corresponding to cryogenic hydrogen storage. The study conducts computational simulations using OpenFOAM to examine hydrogen concentration, temperature fields, mass fraction, and temperature distributions, achieving good agreement with the experimental data. To further explore, the study of velocity variations shows a consistent decay rate with room-temperature jets. The numerical data reveals comparable inverse centreline hydrogen mass fractions (0.254 for HAR and 0.26 for circular) and normalised centreline temperature decay rates (0.031 for HAR and 0.032 for circular). The present computational model holds the potential for further analysis of cryogenic hydrogen in large-scale facilities.

Numerical modeling and optimization of thermal insulation for liquid hydrogen storage tanks

Liquid hydrogen storage is one of the effective hydrogen storage methods due to its high density of 70.8 kg/m3 compared to gaseous hydrogen of 0.0838 kg/m3 at atmospheric pressure. Liquid hydrogen requires cryogenic storage technology, which minimizes heat flux by stacking multiple insulation layers in a high vacuum (10−1–10−5 Pa). However, large-scale tanks use a medium vacuum (100–10−1 Pa) to reduce maintenance expenses. Solid insulation is applied to prevent liquefaction of residual gas up to 150 K, followed by the stacking of multilayer insulation (MLI) with a vapor−cooling shield (VCS) to minimize the insulation thickness. In this study, a numerical model was developed to calculate the heat flux of a storage tank based on the physical tank shape. The insulation thickness was also optimized for two insulation systems (solid insulation + MLI and solid insulation + MLI + VCS). Optimal VCS placement on solid insulation, determined through sensitivity analysis, reduces 64.2 % of MLI layers under 5 Pa vacuum pressure. Total insulation thickness reduction of 51.4 % at 1 Pa vacuum pressure was obtained based on a hydrogen storage tank volume of 4200 m3. The effects of insulation thickness reduction are remained even when the vacuum pressure is increased to 5 Pa.

Design and optimization of high-density cryogenic supercritical hydrogen storage systems integrating with dual mixed refrigerant cycles

To address the low density of high-pressure gaseous hydrogen and evaporation issues associated with liquid hydrogen storage, cryogenic supercritical hydrogen storage method is presented in this paper. Based on a dual parallel mixed refrigerant cycle (DPMR) and a dual cascade mixed refrigerant cycle (DCMR), the density of supercritical hydrogen product is 70.74 kg/m3, closely approaching liquid hydrogen. The processes are simulated in Aspen HYSYS, optimized by genetic algorithm for lower specific energy consumption (SEC). Thermodynamic analysis is conducted to compare with hydrogen liquefaction processes, demonstrating the feasibility and superiority of proposed process. The results show that the DPMR process has an SEC of 6.422 kWh/kgH2 and exergy efficiency of 52.66%, while DCMR is 6.872 kWh/kgH2 and 49.24%. Additionally, the inclusion of ortho-para convertors in DPMR process is investigated to further analyze the impact of heat release for ortho-para conversion. Furthermore, a techno-economic analysis is conducted on three processes, validating the economic feasibility. The study indicates that cryogenic supercritical hydrogen storage system is of great significance to the development of high-density hydrogen storage technology. The DPMR and DCMR presented in this paper can significantly improve the energy efficiency and provide valuable information for the design of high-density hydrogen storage system.

Adsorbed Gas Storage Digital Twin

One possibility for energy storage are fuels. With gaseous fuels like hydrogen or methane, significant efforts are necessary for a feasible storage in terms of compression or liquefaction. This is of particular importance in the mobility sector. An alternative to high-pressure or cryogenic gas storage is the storage by adsorption in porous media using nano-carbons, metal–organic frameworks, or metal hydrides as adsorbents. In order to assess the performance of the charging and discharging of adsorption tanks, the mass and energy balance as well as the phase equilibrium (adsorption isotherm) and, if present, the spatial distribution of properties has to be considered. In order to simplify the analysis and prediction of these models, an attempt is made to develop digital twins based on machine learning. Neural networks and Gaussian process regression are applied to replace the system of coupled nonlinear and differential equations. The data basis used is generated by simulations. Thus, it is possible to easily predict the performance of a storage tank for different gases or to determine an optimum storage device (material selection and tank design).