Energy-efficient high-pressure steam generation using latent heat storage and high-temperature heat pump
CHASE
A latent heat storage system is being set up for operation with steam at a pressure of over 20 bar. The aim is to map real operating cycles and optimise the technology combination for high efficiency.
Latent heat storage in the laboratory of the Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics
In the laboratory of the Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics, the latent heat accumulator is constructed and tested on a relevant scale for operation with water vapour. The double-tube finned profile allows decoupled charging and discharging of the latent heat accumulator. Water vapour or water flows through one of the central tubes and condenses or evaporates, while the PCM around the fins melts or solidifies.
Under high pressure: Real operating conditions with steam
The provision of process steam accounts for a large proportion of the process industry's energy requirements. New, efficient and scalable technologies are required in the context of decarbonisation. High-temperature heat pumps and latent heat storage systems offer technical solutions. While heat pumps can provide steam at a high temperature level, latent heat storage systems allow continuous process operation both with fluctuating electricity supply and fluctuating heat demand. The optimisation of this technological symbiosis therefore represents a high market potential for the fossil-free generation of steam.
Latent heat storages have the property of changing their phase state rather than their temperature when absorbing and releasing energy. This offers the advantage that heat can be provided at a constant temperature level, which is particularly suitable for evaporation processes, as these also take place at a constant temperature. For such an application, a storage tank with a corresponding phase change material (PCM) is designed and virtually coupled with the steam-driven high-temperature heat pump, which is being developed in parallel at the DLR Institute for Low-Carbon Industrial Processes.
International consortium fuelling the spirit of innovation
The CHASE (Combined Heat pump And thermal Storage for Energy efficient industry) project, coordinated as part of the CET partnership initiative, is being carried out together with technology institutes and academic and industrial partners from the Netherlands, Denmark and Spain. In addition to the construction of several test plants, the project also covers the development of corresponding simulation tools and the implementation of business case analyses, whereby the collaborative knowledge acquisition of the project partners is at the forefront.
Aim of the project
Testing the coupling of a high-temperature heat pump and latent heat storage for the provision of process steam.
CHASE at a glance
Project
CHASE (Combined Heat pump And thermal Storage for Energy efficient industry)
