Project 158: Thermal Storage and Energy Conservation

Contact Information:

Assoc. Prof. Huijin Xu

Project Description and Objectives:

The increase in energy consumption has resulted in the increased demand of fossil fuels and increased pollutant emissions. Efficient energy utilization and renewable energy provide solutions to these issues. Energy storage technology can feasibly recover industrial waste thermal energy, enhance the use of solar energy, and balance the demand and supply of energy in time and place. There are three categories of thermal energy-storage systems: sensible heat storage, latent heat storage, and chemical heat storage (CHS). Compared with the first two types, CHS systems show great advantages, such as high energy density and long-term storage with negligible energy loss. CHS is also called seasonal heat storage because of the possibility of satisfying the demand for thermal energy in winter with the strong solar thermal energy in the summer. CHS works on the basis of reversible thermochemical reactions to store and release thermal energy.

In addition, adsorption seawater desalination is a technology based on low-temperature evaporation under negative pressure and adsorption/desorption coupling of porous media.

Eligibility Requirements:

Students should be in the major of Engineering, and have an interest in exploring the knowledge of thermal energy storage for practical applications.

Main Tasks:

Test and analyze the curve of inorganic salt doped Mg(OH)2.

By heating and melting the PCM, and then cooling the PCM, obtain the supercooling phenomenon and the distribution of supercooling degree during the solidification.

Prepare the composite heat storage materials with good thermal properties and stable properties.

Understand the seawater desalination system based on adsorptive materials.

Website:

Lab: N/A

School: https://lcc.sjtu.edu.cn/En