IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v18y2025i14p3649-d1698686.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Thermodynamic Characteristics of Compressed Air in Salt Caverns of CAES: Considering Air Injection for Brine Drainage

Author

Listed:
  • Shizhong Sun

    (China Energy Engineering Group, Jiangsu Power Design Institute Co., Ltd., Nanjing 211102, China
    School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China)

  • Bin Wu

    (China Energy Engineering Group, Jiangsu Power Design Institute Co., Ltd., Nanjing 211102, China)

  • Yonggao Yin

    (School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China)

  • Liang Shao

    (China Energy Engineering Group, Jiangsu Power Design Institute Co., Ltd., Nanjing 211102, China)

  • Rui Li

    (China Energy Engineering Group, Jiangsu Power Design Institute Co., Ltd., Nanjing 211102, China)

  • Xiaofeng Jiang

    (China Energy Engineering Group, Jiangsu Power Design Institute Co., Ltd., Nanjing 211102, China)

  • Yu Sun

    (China Energy Engineering Group, Jiangsu Power Design Institute Co., Ltd., Nanjing 211102, China)

  • Xiaodong Huo

    (China Energy Engineering Group, Jiangsu Power Design Institute Co., Ltd., Nanjing 211102, China)

  • Chen Ling

    (China Energy Engineering Group, Jiangsu Power Design Institute Co., Ltd., Nanjing 211102, China)

Abstract

The air injection for brine drainage affects the thermodynamic characteristics of salt caverns in the operation of compressed air energy storage (CAES). This study develops a thermodynamic model to predict temperature and pressure variations during brine drainage and operational cycles, validated against Huntorf plant data. Results demonstrate that increasing the air injection flow rate from 80 to 120 kg/s reduces the brine drainage initiation time by up to 47.3% and lowers the terminal brine drainage pressure by 0.62 MPa, while raising the maximum air temperature by 4.9 K. Similarly, expanding the brine drainage pipeline cross-sectional area from 2.99 m 2 to 9.57 m 2 reduces the total drainage time by 33.7%. Crucially, these parameters determine the initial pressure and temperature at the completion of brine drainage, which subsequently shape the pressure bounds of the operational cycles, with variations reaching 691.5 kPa, and the peak temperature fluctuations, with differences of up to 4.9 K during the first cycle. This research offers insights into optimizing the design and operation of the CAES system with salt cavern air storage.

Suggested Citation

  • Shizhong Sun & Bin Wu & Yonggao Yin & Liang Shao & Rui Li & Xiaofeng Jiang & Yu Sun & Xiaodong Huo & Chen Ling, 2025. "Thermodynamic Characteristics of Compressed Air in Salt Caverns of CAES: Considering Air Injection for Brine Drainage," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-23, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:14:p:3649-:d:1698686
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/14/3649/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/14/3649/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Saadat, Mohsen & Shirazi, Farzad A. & Li, Perry Y., 2015. "Modeling and control of an open accumulator Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) system for wind turbines," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 603-616.
    2. Zhao, Pan & Gao, Lin & Wang, Jiangfeng & Dai, Yiping, 2016. "Energy efficiency analysis and off-design analysis of two different discharge modes for compressed air energy storage system using axial turbines," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 1164-1177.
    3. Zhang, Yuan & Yang, Ke & Li, Xuemei & Xu, Jianzhong, 2013. "The thermodynamic effect of thermal energy storage on compressed air energy storage system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 227-235.
    4. Sciacovelli, Adriano & Li, Yongliang & Chen, Haisheng & Wu, Yuting & Wang, Jihong & Garvey, Seamus & Ding, Yulong, 2017. "Dynamic simulation of Adiabatic Compressed Air Energy Storage (A-CAES) plant with integrated thermal storage – Link between components performance and plant performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P1), pages 16-28.
    5. Wu, Di & Wang, J.G. & Hu, Bowen & Yang, Sheng-Qi, 2020. "A coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical model for evaluating air leakage from an unlined compressed air energy storage cavern," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 907-920.
    6. Courtois, Nicolas & Najafiyazdi, Mostafa & Lotfalian, Reza & Boudreault, Richard & Picard, Mathieu, 2021. "Analytical expression for the evaluation of multi-stage adiabatic-compressed air energy storage (A-CAES) systems cycle efficiency," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    7. Razmi, Amir Reza & Soltani, M. & Ardehali, Armin & Gharali, Kobra & Dusseault, M.B. & Nathwani, Jatin, 2021. "Design, thermodynamic, and wind assessments of a compressed air energy storage (CAES) integrated with two adjacent wind farms: A case study at Abhar and Kahak sites, Iran," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    8. Zhang, Yuan & Yang, Ke & Li, Xuemei & Xu, Jianzhong, 2013. "The thermodynamic effect of air storage chamber model on Advanced Adiabatic Compressed Air Energy Storage System," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 469-478.
    9. Li, Yi & Wang, Hao & Wang, Jinsheng & Hu, Litang & Wu, Xiaohua & Yang, Yabin & Gai, Peng & Liu, Yaning & Li, Yi, 2024. "The underground performance analysis of compressed air energy storage in aquifers through field testing," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 366(C).
    10. She, Xiaohui & Peng, Xiaodong & Nie, Binjian & Leng, Guanghui & Zhang, Xiaosong & Weng, Likui & Tong, Lige & Zheng, Lifang & Wang, Li & Ding, Yulong, 2017. "Enhancement of round trip efficiency of liquid air energy storage through effective utilization of heat of compression," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 1632-1642.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Roos, P. & Haselbacher, A., 2022. "Analytical modeling of advanced adiabatic compressed air energy storage: Literature review and new models," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    2. Guo, Huan & Xu, Yujie & Chen, Haisheng & Guo, Cong & Qin, Wei, 2017. "Thermodynamic analytical solution and exergy analysis for supercritical compressed air energy storage system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 96-106.
    3. He, Yang & MengWang, & Chen, Haisheng & Xu, Yujie & Deng, Jianqiang, 2021. "Thermodynamic research on compressed air energy storage system with turbines under sliding pressure operation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    4. Zhou, Qian & Du, Dongmei & Lu, Chang & He, Qing & Liu, Wenyi, 2019. "A review of thermal energy storage in compressed air energy storage system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    5. Ge, Gangqiang & Wang, Huanran & Li, Ruixiong & Sun, Hao & Zhang, Yufei, 2024. "Investigation and improvement of complex characteristics of packed bed thermal energy storage (PBTES) in adiabatic compressed air energy storage (A-CAES) systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    6. Sciacovelli, Adriano & Li, Yongliang & Chen, Haisheng & Wu, Yuting & Wang, Jihong & Garvey, Seamus & Ding, Yulong, 2017. "Dynamic simulation of Adiabatic Compressed Air Energy Storage (A-CAES) plant with integrated thermal storage – Link between components performance and plant performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P1), pages 16-28.
    7. Han, Zhonghe & Guo, Senchuang, 2018. "Investigation of operation strategy of combined cooling, heating and power(CCHP) system based on advanced adiabatic compressed air energy storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 290-308.
    8. He, Wei & Wang, Jihong, 2018. "Optimal selection of air expansion machine in Compressed Air Energy Storage: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 77-95.
    9. Fu, Hailun & He, Qing & Song, Jintao & Shi, Xinping & Hao, Yinping & Du, Dongmei & Liu, Wenyi, 2021. "Thermodynamic of a novel advanced adiabatic compressed air energy storage system with variable pressure ratio coupled organic rankine cycle," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    10. Liu, Qingshan & Liu, Yingwen & Liu, Hongjiang & He, Zhilong & Xue, Xiaodai, 2022. "Comprehensive assessment and performance enhancement of compressed air energy storage: thermodynamic effect of ambient temperature," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 84-98.
    11. Zhang, Yi & Xu, Yujie & Guo, Huan & Zhang, Xinjing & Guo, Cong & Chen, Haisheng, 2018. "A hybrid energy storage system with optimized operating strategy for mitigating wind power fluctuations," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 121-132.
    12. Wang, Tingtao & Miao, Shihong & Yao, Fuxing & Tan, Haoyu & Wang, Jie & Wang, Baisheng & He, Wu & Hou, Xinyu & Wang, Jiaxu & Li, Xianwei, 2025. "A nonlinear dispatch model and its rapid solution method for large-scale adiabatic compressed air energy storage under variable working conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 325(C).
    13. Yan, Yi & Zhang, Chenghui & Li, Ke & Wang, Zhen, 2018. "An integrated design for hybrid combined cooling, heating and power system with compressed air energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 1151-1166.
    14. Liu, Jin-Long & Wang, Jian-Hua, 2015. "Thermodynamic analysis of a novel tri-generation system based on compressed air energy storage and pneumatic motor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 420-429.
    15. Guo, Cong & Xu, Yujie & Zhang, Xinjing & Guo, Huan & Zhou, Xuezhi & Liu, Chang & Qin, Wei & Li, Wen & Dou, Binlin & Chen, Haisheng, 2017. "Performance analysis of compressed air energy storage systems considering dynamic characteristics of compressed air storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 876-888.
    16. Meng, Hui & Wang, Meihong & Olumayegun, Olumide & Luo, Xiaobo & Liu, Xiaoyan, 2019. "Process design, operation and economic evaluation of compressed air energy storage (CAES) for wind power through modelling and simulation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 923-936.
    17. Zeng, Zhen & Ma, Hongling & Yang, Chunhe & Liao, Youqiang & Wang, Xuan & Cai, Rui & Fang, Jiangyu, 2025. "Effect of the dynamic humid environment in salt caverns on their performance of compressed air energy storage: A modeling study of thermo-moisture-fluid dynamics," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 377(PA).
    18. Zhang, Tianhang & Zhang, Shuqi & Gao, Jianmin & Li, Ximei & Du, Qian & Zhang, Yu & Feng, Dongdong & Sun, Qiaoqun & Peng, Yirui & Tang, Zhipei & Xie, Min & Wei, Guohua, 2023. "Feasibility assessment of a novel compressed carbon dioxide energy storage system based on 13X zeolite temperature swing adsorption: Thermodynamic and economic analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 348(C).
    19. Zhang, Yuan & Yang, Ke & Hong, Hui & Zhong, Xiaohui & Xu, Jianzhong, 2016. "Thermodynamic analysis of a novel energy storage system with carbon dioxide as working fluid," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 682-697.
    20. Huang, Jingjian & Xu, Yujie & Guo, Huan & Geng, Xiaoqian & Chen, Haisheng, 2022. "Dynamic performance and control scheme of variable-speed compressed air energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 325(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:14:p:3649-:d:1698686. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.