Thermal energy storage in a fluidized bed of PCM

The objective of the present work was to research the storage behavior of a fluidized bed filled with a granular phase change material (PCM) with a small particle diameter (d(p) = 0.54 mm). The performance of the fluidized bed was compared to that of well-known storage methods such as fluidized beds with sand and packed beds based of sand and PCM. For this purpose, heating experiments were conducted in a cylindrical bed with air as the working fluid. The influence of the bed height and flow rate on the storage and recovery efficiencies of the fluidized bed of PCM was analyzed. Additionally, the stability of the PCM during various charging-discharging cycles was studied. The results indicate that this PCM is an alternative material that can be used in fluidized bed systems to increase the efficiency of storing thermal energy in the form of latent heat. Under the experimental conditions tested in this study, higher charging efficiencies were observed for fixed and fluidized beds based on PCM than those of sand. High gas velocity and low bed height shorten the charging time but also reduce the charging efficiency. The cycling test shows that the PCM is stable under bubbling conditions up to 15 cycles, which corresponds to approximately 75 h of continuous operation.This work was founded partially by the Spanish Government (Project ENE2010-15403), the regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha (Project PPIC10-0055-4054) and Castilla-La Mancha University (Project GE20101662).Publicad