Experimental investigation on a MnCl2CaCl2NH3 resorption system for heat and refrigeration cogeneration

Sorption thermal energy storage (STES) is perceived as one prospective way of thermal energy storage (TES) owing to the advantages of high energy density, negligible heat loss, flexible working modes and long-term storage capability. Based on STES, this paper exhibits an innovative resorption thermal energy storage (RTES) system, and the experimental prototype is established for heat and refrigeration cogeneration. Working pair of MnCl2CaCl2NH3 is chosen, 4.8 kg MnCl2 and 3.9 kg CaCl2 impregnated in expanded natural graphite treated with sulfuric acid are filled in two sorption beds respectively. Experimental results indicate that the largest energy storage density reaches 1706 kJ/kg when charging and discharging temperature are 160 °C and 30 °C, respectively. The maximum average cooling power achieves 1.07 kW during discharging phase and corresponding SCP is 27.33 W/kg within the overall cycle period. When charging temperature increases from 135 °C to 160 °C, the energy efficiency of the resorption system for heat and refrigeration cogeneration augments steadily from 0.72 to 0.87 while the exergy efficiency rises slowly from 0.29 to 0.35.