Simulation-Assisted Design of Polycrystalline Zeolite Catalysts

Zeolite membranes have shown promising applications in catalytic and separation processes in chemical industry. A simulation-assisted design method based on experiments and simulations is shown to guide the development of hierarchically structured catalyst systems based on zeolite membranes by predicting the optimal catalyst structure. A cornerstone of this method is a 3-D pore network model – crystallite-pore network model for simulation of diffusion and reaction in polycrystalline zeolites

Simulation-Assisted Design of Polycrystalline Zeolite Catalysts

Zeolite membranes have shown promising applications in catalytic and separation processes in chemical industry. A simulation-assisted design method based on experiments and simulations is shown to guide the development of hierarchically structured catalyst systems based on zeolite membranes by predicting the optimal catalyst structure. A cornerstone of this method is a 3-D pore network model – crystallite-pore network model for simulation of diffusion and reaction in polycrystalline zeolites

Simulation-Assisted Design of Polycrystalline Zeolite Catalysts

A crystallite-pore network model (CPNM) was developed to simulate diffusion and reaction in polycrystalline zeolite catalysts. It has been applied to simulate the direct DME synthesis in bifunctional core-shell catalyst with an H-ZSM-5 shell, and xylene isomerization in an H-ZSM-5 membrane. The structural effects of H-ZSM-5 catalysts on these two reaction systems were studied via simulations. Some guidances on the catalyst optimization were also given from the simulation results

Grid Storage Technologies Based on Molten Salts for Carbon Neutrality

Grid Storage Technologies Based on Molten Salts for Carbon Neutrality: thermal energy storage and heat transfe

Molten Salt Thermal Energy Storage for a Net-Zero Future

An invited presentation by CIESC and GACCE for International Award for Outstanding Young Chemical Enginee

Corrosion behavior of metallic alloys in molten chloride salts for thermal energy storage in concentrated solar power plants - A review

Recently, more and more attention is paid on applications of molten chlorides in concentrated solar power (CSP) plants as high-temperature thermal energy storage (TES) and heat transfer fluid (HTF) materials due to their high thermal stability limits and low prices, compared to the commercial TES/HTF materials in CSP - nitrate salt mixtures. A higher TES/HTF operating temperature leads to higher efficiency of thermal to electrical energy conversion of the power block in CSP, however causes additional challenges, particularly increased corrosiveness of metallic alloys used as containers and structural materials. Thus, it is essential to study corrosion behaviors and mechanisms of metallic alloys in molten chlorides at operating temperatures (500-800°C) for realizing the commercial application of molten chlorides in CSP. The results of studies on hot corrosion of metallic alloys in molten chlorides are reviewed to understand their corrosion behaviors and mechanisms under various conditions (e.g., temperature, atmosphere). Emphasis has also been given on salt purification to reduce corrosive impurities in molten chlorides and development of electrochemical techniques to in-situ monitor corrosive impurities in molten chlorides, in order to efficiently control corrosion rates of metallic alloys in molten chlorides to meet the requirements of industrial applications

Progress in Research and Development of Molten Chloride Salt Technology for Next Generation Concentrated Solar Power Plants

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants with thermal energy storage (TES) system are emerging as one kind of the most promising power plants in the future renewable energy system, since they can supply dispatchable and low-cost power with abundant but intermittent solar energy. In order to significantly reduce the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) of the present commercial CSP plants, the next generation CSP technology with higher process temperatures and higher energy efficiency is being developed. The TES system in the next generation CSP technology works with new TES materials at higher temperatures (>565°C) compared to the commercial nitrate salt mixtures (<565°C). This paper presents a review of recent progress in research and development of the next generation CSP and TES technologies. Moreover, emphasis is given on the molten chloride salt technology - one of the most promising next generation TES technologies due to excellent thermophysical properties and low prices of chloride salts. This review outlines the progress in research and development of the next generation CSP and TES technologies in the last years, particularly in the molten chloride salt technology

Molten Salt Electrolytes in Next-Generation ZEBRA (Na-ZnCl2) Battery for Energy Storage Applications

Increasing share of the intermittent renewable energy resources from PV and wind energy in the energy system has led to much progress in research and development in large scale batteries like molten salt batteries (MSBs) [1-6, 8] for grid storage. Compared to other batteries like Li-ion batteries, MSBs (e.g., ZEBRA (Na-NiCl2) battery [2, 3] and liquid metal battery [4, 5]) operate at higher temperatures (generally above 200°C) by using molten salts and liquid metals as active materials, and have the advantages, e.g., longer lifetime, lower costs, larger cell storage capacity. For the commercial ZEBRA battery, replacing Ni with abundant and low-cost Zn makes it more cost effective and could also reduce the operating temperature [6]. In the EU H2020 SOLSTICE project [7], two kinds of Na-ZnCl2 batteries are investigated. One uses the commercial ZEBRA concept [2, 3], i.e., a solid Al2O3 primary electrolyte and AlCl3-NaCl-ZnCl2 secondary electrolyte are used in the battery [9], while another does not use the solid electrolyte to further improve its cost-effectivity and make it possible to have a MWh-scale storage capacity for each cell [8]. In this talk, the research and development of Na-ZnCl2 batteries in this project, particularly on molten salt electrolytes, will be presented after a brief overview on the molten salt batteries. Acknowledgements This research has been performed by funding of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 963599 (Sodium-Zinc molten salt batteries for low-cost stationary storage, SOLSTICE). References [1] https://www.flashbattery.tech/en/molten-salt-batteries-operation-and-limits/, Molten-salt batteries: Pros and Cons of a 40-year-old “Innovation” (access on 2nd of March, 2023) [2] J. Sudworth, The sodium/nickel chloride (ZEBRA) battery, J. Power Sour., 100 (2001) 149. [3] G. Graeber, et al. Rational cathode design for high-power sodium-metal chloride batteries, Adv. Funct. Mater. 31 (2021) 2106367. [4] H. Kim, et al. Liquid metal batteries: Past, present, and future, Chem. Rev. 113 (2013) 2075. [5] H. Zhou, W. Ding, T. Bauer, et al., A sodium liquid metal battery based on the multi-cationic electrolyte for grid energy storage, Ener. Stor. Mater. 50 (2022) 572–579. [6] X. Lu, et al. A novel low-cost sodium–zinc chloride battery. Energy Environ. Sci. 6 (2013) 1837. [7] EU H2020 SOLSTICE project: https://www.solstice-battery.eu/ [8] J. Xu, et al. Na-Zn liquid metal battery. Journal of Power Sources, 2016, 332 274. [9] S. Kumar, W. Ding, et al., AlCl3-NaCl-ZnCl2 secondary electrolyte in next-generation ZEBRA (Na-ZnCl2) battery, Batteries, 9 (2023) 401

Molten Salt Storage for flexibilization of the Future Energy System – Activities at the German Aerospace Center (DLR)

Thermal Energy Storage (TES) will play a crucial role for the large-scale implementation of renewable energy and the provision of dispatchable electricity in the future. In existing Solar Thermal Power plants, TES systems based on molten salts have been successfully implemented in the GWh-scale and can transform peak-load solar energy into intermediate or even base-load by storing large amounts of energy efficiently. Molten Salt storage systems exhibit an extremely high degree of flexibility in terms of sizing of power and capacity, have very low cost (20 USD/kWh) compared to electric storage solutions, and are inherently compatible with thermal processes. The inherent flexibility opens new fields of applications for Molten Salt systems, such as the flexibilization of Coal-fired power plants into Storage Plants, usage of TES as Carnot Batteries, or its use as a waste-heat recovery system. At DLR, the group "Thermal Systems for Fluids" has investigated molten salts within application-focused R&D activities since more than 30 years. Since almost a decade, research has been focusing on molten nitrate/nitrite salts and molten chloride salts for high temperature storage options and covers the value chain from material aspects to system level integration. The latest developments from materials to components and systems for Molten Salt Storage will be presented