Cryogenic liquefied air energy storage: A study on cold storage

Renewable energy has been gaining popularity to replace fossil fuels as an energy source but it is often generated at off-peak and in locations away from the demand. Therefore the development of energy storage systems is important. Recently, liquefied air has gained popularity as an energy storage. Air is liquefied using renewable energy, and the energy is stored in the form of liquid air, which can then be stored and used wherever and whenever required. The expansion of air releases energy as well as cold. There is also a worldwide demand for cold energy which is increasing. Hence, there is a need to capture cold released from the expansion of air and a method in which the captured cold can be used. The study employs the use of computational fluid dynamics to model phase change materials using the exhaust from the power recovery process. The non-eutectic water-salt solution, n-Nonae is found to be the best phase change material from the materials tested to store cold from the expansion of liquid air.