Storing Energy. With Special Reference to Renewable Energy Sources

547 Pages·2016·40.03 MB·English

by  Trevor M. Letcher

Storing Energy
with Special Reference to Renewable Energy Sources
Trevor M. Letcher
Emeritus Professor, Department of Chemistry
University of KwaZulu-Natal
Durban, South Africa
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List of Contributors
Aliakbar Akbarzadeh, School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing
Engineering, RMIT University, Australia
[email protected]
Christopher Baldwin, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Carleton
University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
[email protected]
Stephan Bauer, Innovation and Development, RAG Oil Exploration Company, Vienna,
Austria
[email protected]
Donald Bender, System Surety Engineering, Sandia National Laboratories, California,
United States of America
[email protected]
Pierrick Bouffaron, MINES ParisTech, PSL Research University, Centre de
mathématiques appliquées, France; Berkeley Energy & Climate Institute, University of
California, Berkeley, United States of America
[email protected]
Matt Brown, ARES, Santa Barbara, CA, United States of America
[email protected]
Jens Burfeind, Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety, and Energy Technology
UMSICHT, Oberhausen, Germany
[email protected]
Francesca Cava, ARES, Santa Barbara, CA, United States of America
[email protected]
Haisheng Chen, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Beijing, China
[email protected]
Greig Chisholm, School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United
Kingdom
[email protected]; [email protected]
José Luis Cortina, Departament d’Enginyeria Química, Universitat Politècnica de
Catalunya; Water Technology Center CETaqua, Barcelona, Spain
[email protected]
Leroy Cronin, School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
[email protected]
xvii
xviii List of Contributors
Fritz Crotogino, R&D Department, KBB Underground Technologies GmbH, Hannover,
Germany
[email protected]
Cynthia Ann Cruickshank, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering,
Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
[email protected]
Louis Desgrosseilliers, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
[email protected].
Yulong Ding, Birmingham Centre for Cryogenic Energy Storage, School of Chemical
Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK
[email protected]
Paul E. Dodds, UCL Energy Institute, University College London, London, UK
[email protected]
Christian Doetsch, Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety, and Energy
Technology UMSICHT, Oberhausen, Germany
[email protected]
Sabine Donadei, KBB Underground Technologies GmbH, Hannover, Germany
[email protected]
Frank Escombe, EscoVale Consultancy Services, Reigate, Surrey, United Kingdom
[email protected]
Leuserina Garniati, Centre for Understanding Sustainable Practice (CUSP), Robert
Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom
[email protected]
Seamus D. Garvey, Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing
Engineering; Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United
Kingdom
[email protected]
David Greenwood, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Newcastle
University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
[email protected]
Dominic Groulx, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
[email protected]
Fengjuan He, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Beijing, China
[email protected]
Shan Hu, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Beijing, China
[email protected]
Samer Kahwaji, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
[email protected]
James Kelly, ARES, Santa Barbara, CA, United States of America
[email protected]
List of Contributors xix
Henner Kerskes, Research and Testing Centre for Solar Thermal Systems (TZS), Institute
for Thermodynamics and Thermal Engineering (ITW), University of Stuttgart, Germany
[email protected]
Trevor M. Letcher, Emeritus Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of
KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa; Laurel House, FosseWay, Stratton on the Fosse,
United Kingdom
[email protected]
Yongliang Li, Birmingham Centre for Cryogenic Energy Storage, School of Chemical
Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK
[email protected]
Chang Liu, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Beijing, China
[email protected]
Stephan Lux, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Freiburg, Germany
[email protected]
John A. Noël, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
[email protected]
Alan Owen, Centre for Understanding Sustainable Practice (CUSP), Robert Gordon
University, Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom
[email protected]
Charalampos Patsios, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Newcastle
University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
[email protected]
William Peitzke, ARES, Santa Barbara, CA, United States of America
[email protected]
Andrew Pimm, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham,
United Kingdom
[email protected]
Jonathan Radcliffe, Birmingham Centre for Cryogenic Energy Storage, School of
Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK
[email protected]
Gregor-Sönke Schneider, KBB Underground Technologies GmbH, Hannover, Germany
[email protected]
Catalina Spataru, Energy Institute, University College London, United Kingdom
[email protected]
Steve Sullivan, ARES, Santa Barbara, CA, United States of America
[email protected]
Trevor Sweetnam, Energy Institute, University College London, United Kingdom
[email protected]
Philip Taylor, Institute for Sustainability, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne,
United Kingdom
[email protected]
xx List of Contributors
Robert Tichler, Department of Energy Economics, Energy Institute, Johannes Kepler
University Linz, Linz, Austria
[email protected]
Lige Tong, School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Science & Technology
Beijing, Beijing, China
[email protected]
César Valderrama, Departament d’Enginyeria Química, Universitat Politècnica de
Catalunya, Spain.
[email protected]
Stalin Munoz Vaca, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Newcastle
University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
[email protected]
Matthias Vetter, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Freiburg, Germany.
[email protected]
Neal Wade, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Newcastle University,
Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
[email protected]
Huanran Wang, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University,
Xi’an, China
[email protected]
Li Wang, School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Science & Technology
Beijing, Beijing, China
[email protected]
Mary Anne White, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
[email protected]
Guang Xi, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an,
China
[email protected]
Yujie Xu, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Beijing, China
[email protected]
Chi-Jen Yang, Center on Global Change, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
[email protected]
Erren Yao, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an,
China
[email protected]
Peikuan Zhang, School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Science &
Technology Beijing, Beijing, China
[email protected]
Preface
Renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and solar panels for electricity
generation have become commonplace in our society. Their aim is to supply
energy that is free from carbon dioxide production while sustainable and not
dependent on a finite energy supply. Unfortunately their full potential is reduced
by their intermittency. For these and other developing renewable technologies,
such as tidal current energy and wave energy, to make a real difference we need
to find effective ways to store this energy. This book is a showcase for the cur-
rent state of the different methods that are being explored to store energy and
make it available not only when the Sun is shining, the wind is blowing, the
tides flowing, the sea currents moving or when the waves are breaking. These
new storage methods will also be useful in times when demand for electricity
is low and electricity can be bought cheaply and stored until demand rises and
the stored energy can be used. At present the chief way of storing energy is
through pumped hydroelectric storage. Most countries have now exhausted the
places where large reservoirs can be built so this new focus on storing energy is
both timely and necessary as the world moves towards sustainable carbon-free
energy.
Some chapters in the book are concerned with developments of well-known
energy storage techniques, others are concerned with new techniques which
are being tested and researched for the first time, and a few involve tech-
niques which have yet to leave the drawing board. Unfortunately a few inter-
esting and novel processes are missing as authors were unavailable to write
the chapters. One process is that of superconducting magnetic energy storage
(SMES) which has recently been reviewed by Weijia Yuan and Min Zhang
in A Handbook of Clean Energy System published by Wiley (2015) (DOI:
10.1002/9781118991978.hces210). Two other links are: http://link.springer.
com/book/10.1007%2F978-0-85729-742-6 and http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
doi/10.1002/9781118991978.hces210/abstract. Facilities for SMES exist all
round the world for use in power quality control and for grid stabilization and
units of 1 MW h are not uncommon.
Another technology which is not represented here is that involving super-
capacitors which are very effective at relatively small-scale energy storage
(thus in competition with batteries) and which is particularly useful in transport
vehicles. Its applications are reviewed by Yank, Yeh, and Ramea et al. of the
University of California, Davis at: http://www.its.ucdavis.edu/wp-content/themes/
ucdavis/pubs/download_pdf (document 2014-UCD-ITS-RR-14-04).
xxi
xxii Preface
A third process not covered in this volume is the pumped heat electrical en-
ergy storage system currently being developed by Isentropic Ltd. in Hampshire,
UK. This is a grid scale storage system, and the short term goal is to develop
a 1.5 MW unit. The method has great promise but has yet to be commercially
available. A good introduction to the topic is the paper by Derues, Ruer, Marty
and Fourmigue in Applied Thermal Engineering, 2010; 30:425–432. Yet an-
other explanation of the process is given by staff of Isentropic Ltd. http://www.
isentropic.co.uk/our-phes-technology.
Our book Storing Energy: with Special Reference to Renewable Energy
Sources, is a natural follow-up to Future Energy: Improved Sustainable and
Clean Options for our Planet (2nd ed.), which was published by Elsevier in
2014. In Future Energy the case was made for developing new and sustainable
energy sources in the light of climate change and increasing levels of green-
house gases. In many ways, Storing Energy also goes hand in hand with another
book we published recently: Climate Change: Observed Impacts on Planet
Earth (2nd ed.) (Elsevier 2015).
The present book is divided into four sections, namely an Introduction;
Electrical Energy Storage Techniques; Integration; and International Issues and
the Politics of Introducing Renewable Energy Schemes. The Electrical Energy
Storage section is divided into further sections headed: Gravitational, Mechani-
cal, and Thermomechanical; Electrical; Thermal; and Chemical. The Gravita-
tional, Mechanical, and Thermomechanical storage methods include chapters
on: pumped hydroelectricity storage (PHES) as well as novel hydroelectricity
processes; liquid air (LAES); compressed air (CAES); pumped hydro com-
bined with compressed air; and finally advanced rail energy storage (ARES).
The Electrical section has chapters on: rechargeable batteries and vanadium
redox flow batteries. The Thermal section has chapters on: phase changes; solar
ponds; and sensible thermal energy storage and the Chemical section includes
chapters on: hydrogen and water electrolysis; chemical reactions including zeo-
lite–water reactions; power to gas; traditional energy storage (gas oil and coal)
and large scale hydrogen storage. The Integration chapters are on network in-
tegration, smart grids and off-grid energy. The three chapters in the section on
International Issues and the Politics of Introducing Renewable Energy are: on
energy storage in China; energy storage worldwide; and on the politics of in-
vesting in renewable energy.
Many governments and people of influence throughout the world are sup-
porting the drive to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels with interesting and
innovative programmes. One such programme is the Global Apollo Programme,
spearheaded by Sir David King, which calls for £15 × 109 (£15 billion) a year
to be spent on research, development and demonstration of green energy and
energy storage. Significantly this amount is the same, in today’s money that the
US Apollo programme spent in putting astronauts on the moon. Professor Mar-
tin Rees, former head of the Royal Society and another member of the Apollo
group, explains the reason for using the name Apollo: “NASA showed how a
Preface xxiii
stupendous goal could be achieved, amazingly fast, if the will and the resources
are there.”
This book has been produced in order to allow the reader to have an under-
standing and insight into a vital aspect of our future use of energy—its storage.
The final decision as to which option should be developed in a country or region
must take into account many factors including: topography, for example, are
there suitable sites for reservoirs to tap into PHES?; are there convenient salt
caverns available for gas storage?; is the amount of sunlight available suffi-
cient?; is it possible to take advantage of thermal energy storage?; is the chemi-
cal industry infrastructure sufficiently mature?; is it possible to install electrol-
ysis plants for hydrogen production or develop chemical reaction storage or
install a sophisticated battery system?; is the density of population important
and should off-grid technologies be incorporated or can network integration and
smart grids be used?
It is also to be hoped that the book will act as a springboard for new devel-
opments. One way that this can take place is through contact between readers
and authors and to this effect mail addresses of the authors have been included.
The book is supported by IUPAC through its Physical Chemistry Divi-
sion and both the logos of IUPAC, and our publisher Elsevier, appear on the
front cover. The adherence of IUPAC to the International System of Quanti-
ties through its Interdivisional Committee for Terminology, Nomenclature and
Symbols (ICTNS), is reflected in the book with the use of SI Units throughout.
The index notation is used to remove any ambiguities; for example, billion and
trillion are written as 109 and 1012, respectively. To further remove any ambi-
guities the concept of the quantity calculus is used. It is based on the equation:
physical quantity = number × unit. To give an example, power = 200 W and
hence, 200 = power/W. This is of particular importance in the headings of tables
and the labelling of graph axes.
This volume is unique in the genre of books of related interests in that each
chapter of Storing Energy has been written by an expert scientist or engineer,
working in the field. Authors have been chosen for their expertise in their re-
spective fields and come from ten countries: Australia, Austria, Canada, China,
France, Germany, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States.
Most of the authors come from developed countries as most of the research and
development in this fast moving field, presently, come from these countries. We
look forward to the future when new approaches to storing energy from scien-
tists and engineers working in developing countries will be developed which
focus on their local conditions.
A vital concern related to future energy and storing energy is: what is to
be done when it appears that politicians misunderstand or ignore and corpora-
tions overlook, the realities of climate change and the importance of renew-
able energy sources? The solution lies in sound scientific data and education.
As educators we believe that only a sustained grassroots movement to educate
citizens, politicians and corporate leaders of the world has any hope of success.
xxiv Preface
This book is part of this aim. It presents options for readers to consider and we
hope that not only students, teachers, professors, and researchers of renewable
energy, but also politicians, government decision makers, captains of industry,
corporate leaders, journalists, editors, and all interested people, will read the
book, take heed of its contents and absorb the underlying message that renew-
able energy sources are our future and storing energy is a vital part of it.
I wish to thank all 59 authors and coauthors for their cooperation, help and
especially for writing their chapters. It has been a pleasure working with each and
every one of the authors. I thank my wife Valerie for all the help she has given me
over these long months of putting the book together. I also wish to thank Elsevier
for their professionalism and help in producing this well presented volume. Fi-
nally I wish to thank Professor Ron Weir of IUPACs Interdivisional Committee
for Terminology, Nomenclature and Symbols for his help and advice.
Trevor M. Letcher
Stratton on the Fosse
Somerset
Sep. 2015