Thermochemical energy storage in inorganic oxides: An experimental evaluation

A thermochemical energy store using CaO (an inorganic oxide) as the storage material has been evaluated. Analysis of the experimental data showed an average deviation of about 17% and accounted for about 8% uncertainties in the primary data. Given the configuration of the rig and the experimental conditions and errors, the experiment has proved that it is feasible to utilise a fixed-bed thermochemical energy store for preheating an engine coolant during cold starting. However, for practical application purposes, it may be desirable to redesign the reaction bed in order to achieve an optimum mass and heat transfer. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.