Methods for material activation with thermal energy storage system
An energy storage system converts variable renewable electricity (VRE) to continuous heat at over 1000° C. Intermittent electrical energy heats a solid medium. Heat from the solid medium is delivered continuously on demand. An array of bricks incorporating internal radiation cavities is directly heated by thermal radiation. The cavities facilitate rapid, uniform heating via reradiation. Heat delivery via flowing gas establishes a thermocline which maintains high outlet temperature throughout discharge. Gas flows through structured pathways within the array, delivering heat which may be used for processes including calcination, hydrogen electrolysis, steam generation, and thermal power generation and cogeneration. Groups of thermal storage arrays may be controlled and operated at high temperatures without thermal runaway via deep-discharge sequencing. Forecast-based control enables continuous, year-round heat supply using current and advance information of weather and VRE availability. High-voltage DC power conversion and distribution circuitry improves the efficiency of VRE power transfer into the system.
1 . A material activation system, including:
a thermal energy storage (TES) system configured to store thermal energy derived from a renewable energy source, wherein the TES system includes:
a heating element configured to heat a storage medium using electricity from the renewable energy source; and
a heat extraction system configured to extract thermal energy from the heated storage medium;
a heat exchanger configured to:
receive the thermal energy extracted from the heated storage medium by the heat extraction system; and
transfer the thermal energy to a material heating system;
the material heating system configured to apply the transferred thermal energy to a raw material to produce an activated material;
a second heat exchanger in a steam cycle system configured to produce steam from thermal energy recovered from the material heating system; and
a steam turbine in the steam cycle system configured to generate electricity from the produced steam.
2 . The material activation system of claim 1 , wherein the storage medium includes refractory material.
3 . The material activation system of claim 1 , wherein the material heating system is configured to produce calcium oxide and carbon dioxide from calcium carbonate added to the raw material by applying the thermal energy to the raw material, and wherein the material activation system is configured to recirculate the carbon dioxide to the TES system for use by the heat extraction system.
4 . The material activation system of claim 1 , wherein the raw material is clay minerals, and wherein the material heating system is configured to produce activated clay and hydroxide by applying the thermal energy to the clay minerals.
5 . The material activation system of claim 1 , wherein the raw material is bauxite, and wherein the material heating system is configured to transform the bauxite to aluminum oxide as the activated material through implementation of a Bayer process by applying the thermal energy.
6 . The material activation system of claim 1 , further including one or more ceramic resistive heaters in at the material heating system configured to provide additional heat to the raw material.
7 . The material activation system of claim 1 , further including a burner configured to supply combustion energy to the material heating system in addition to the thermal energy supplied by the TES system.
8 . The material activation system of claim 1 , wherein the heat extraction system is configured to radiatively extract heat from the heated storage medium.
9 . The material activation system of claim 1 , further including a thermophotovoltaic cogeneration system configured to convert at least some radiative heat from the heated storage medium to electricity.
10 . The material activation system of claim 1 , further including a recirculation system configured to recirculate an exhaust fluid output from the material heating system to an input of the TES system.
11 . The material activation system of claim 10 , further including a cooling cyclone configured to:
receive the activated material from the material heating system;
reduce a temperature of the activated material; and
collect the exhaust fluid for recirculation by the recirculation system.
12 . The material activation system of claim 10 , wherein the recirculation system includes a filter coupled to the TES system, wherein the filter is configured to remove particulate matter from the exhaust fluid prior to the exhaust fluid being provided to the TES system.
13 . The material activation system of claim 1 , wherein the storage medium includes alumina, magnetite, olivine, or a combination thereof.
14 . The material activation system of claim 1 , wherein the heating element includes a conductive ceramic material.
15 . The material activation system of claim 1 , wherein the storage medium includes a conductive ceramic material.
16 . A material activation system, including:
a thermal energy storage (TES) system configured to store thermal energy derived from a renewable energy source, wherein the TES system includes:
a heating element configured to heat a storage medium using electricity from the renewable energy source; and
a heat extraction system configured to extract thermal energy from the heated storage medium;
a heat exchanger configured to:
receive the thermal energy extracted from the heated storage medium by the heat extraction system; and
transfer the thermal energy to a material heating system;
the material heating system configured to apply the transferred thermal energy to a raw material to produce an activated material; and
a recirculation system configured to recirculate an exhaust fluid output from the material heating system to an input of the TES system.
17 . The material activation system of claim 16 , further including a cooling cyclone configured to:
receive the activated material from the material heating system;
reduce a temperature of the activated material; and
collect the exhaust fluid for recirculation by the recirculation system.
18 . The material activation system of claim 16 , wherein the recirculation system includes a filter coupled to the TES system, wherein the filter is configured to remove particulate matter from the exhaust fluid prior to the exhaust fluid being provided to the TES system.
19 . The material activation system of claim 16 , wherein the storage medium includes refractory material.
20 . The material activation system of claim 16 , further including a thermophotovoltaic cogeneration system configured to convert at least some radiative heat from the heated storage medium to electricity.
21 . The material activation system of claim 16 , wherein the storage medium includes alumina, magnetite, olivine, or a combination thereof.
22 . The material activation system of claim 16 , wherein the heating element includes a conductive ceramic material.
23 . A material activation system, including:
a thermal energy storage (TES) system configured to store thermal energy derived from a renewable energy source, wherein the TES system includes:
a heating element configured to heat a storage medium using electricity from the renewable energy source; and
a heat extraction system configured to extract thermal energy from the heated storage medium;
a heat exchanger configured to:
receive the thermal energy extracted from the heated storage medium by the heat extraction system; and
transfer the thermal energy to a material heating system; and
the material heating system configured to apply the transferred thermal energy to a raw material to produce an activated material and a byproduct gas; and
wherein the material activation system is configured to recirculate the byproduct gas to the TES system for use by the heat extraction system.
24 . The material activation system of claim 23 , wherein the storage medium includes refractory material.
25 . The material activation system of claim 23 , further including a thermophotovoltaic cogeneration system configured to convert at least some radiative heat from the heated storage medium to electricity.
26 . The material activation system of claim 23 , wherein the storage medium includes alumina, magnetite, olivine, or a combination thereof.
27 . The material activation system of claim 23 , wherein the heating element includes a conductive ceramic material.