Thermal Energy Storage Evaluation Program: 1986 annual report. [Economic planning, technical assessment, field tests]

The Thermal Energy Storage Evaluation Program activities were initiated to provide economic planning, technical assessment and field testing support for the thermal energy storage program, as well as management of the overall program for the DOE. Economic planning included two assessment studies. In technical assessment, issues that might affect an assessment were outlined for the development of a standard methodology to conduct assessments; work is underway to establish ''market-based'' cost and performance goals for cool storage technologies in residential applications; planning has begun for investigation of benefits in incorporating aquifer thermal energy storage with heat pumps; and plans are being formulated to evaluate the potential benefit of using aquifer thermal energy storage to augment power plant cooling. Field testing to develop technologies for the recovery and reuse of industrial waste heat began with the instrumentation design for the ceramic/salt matrix in an operating brick-making plant. Work in advanced studies by Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory continued on thermochemical conversion and storage using small particles as the heat exchanger catalyst. In SO/sub 3/ dissociation experiments at 645/sup 0/C using light and dark conditions, results clearly demonstrated the benefit in directly radiantly heating the catalyst to accomplish the endothermic step of a thermochemical storagemore » reaction.« less