An Experimental Investigation of a Thermochemical Reactor for Solar Heat Storage in Buildings

Solar energy, as a promising renewable energy resource, is of great interest for building heating applications. However, the mismatch between supply and demand of heating should be tackled by thermal energy storage techniques with high energy density and low thermal losses. A promising technology to meet the requirements is thermochemical energy storage. Within a thermochemical energy storage system, reactor is one of the critical components to achieve optimal performance. The present study designed and tested a novel thermochemical reactor based on a solid–gas reaction between water and zeolite 13X. In terms of the reactor design, it features 4 segments, side air path, and integrated copper water pipe. During the experiment, the zeolite and water temperature are measured for the effect of segmentation and reactor performance. Using the measurements, the reactor thermal power and temperature profile in charging and discharging have been obtained. With 18 kg zeolite, an average temperature lift of 25 °C has been achieved in discharging with inlet airflow at 18.5 °C, specific humidity at 12.27 g/kg, and flow rate at 0.024 kg/s.