Modelling and experimental validation of a fluidized bed based CO2 hydrate cold storage system

Latent heat thermal storage (LHTS) systems can be applied to minimize the discrepancy between energy supply and demand in cold applications. Combining this system with night time generation of CO2 hydrate slurry can significantly reduce the investment costs for cooling purposes. These systems require hydrate generation temperatures around 8 °C and can, from an energetic point of view, contribute to significant energy savings. In this paper a numerical and experimental investigation is carried out for a shell-and-tube fluidized bed heat exchanger, combined with a hydrate slurry storage vessel. When required, heat can be removed from the storage by circulating the slurry through a heat exchanger which is part of the cold distribution system. The model of the fluidized bed heat exchanger is coupled with the model of the cold storage system. The phase change process is modelled by using a crystal growth model. The presented work provides experimental data for the thermal performance and hydrate generation of a fluidized bed based LHTS system for a CO2 hydrate cold storage system.