Experimental study of the new composite materials for thermochemical energy storage

Thermochemical energy storage (TCES) is a promising technology to support the world's initiatives to reduce CO2 emissions and limit global warming. In this paper, we have synthesized and characterized a new three-component composite materials consisting of a mixture of calcium chloride and iron powder confined inside the expanded vermiculite. The new approaches of studying composite sorbents of ammonia using a gas flow-through microcalorimetry proposed in this work. The energetics of adsorption as a function of ammonia uptake was measured at room temperature (RT), 106 and 150 °C. The enthalpy of NH3 sorption in eight cycles tested ranged from 12.2 to 39.1 kJ mol−1. The strength of ammonia sorption on composite surface was characterized by TPD (Temperature Programmed Desorption). Based on the NH3-TPD profiles of composites it was found that the high-temperature desorption peaks of vermiculite sample shifted to lower temperature after the deposition of salt. The characterization of the composites was complemented by the laboratory analyses using XRD, WD-XRF, FTIR, TG/DTG, SEM-EDS and nitrogen sorption isotherms at −196 °C (BET method). The composite impregnated with 37 wt% of salt has the highest enthalpy and sorption capacity, thus seems to be the most promising candidates for the heat storage systems.