Development of thermal energy storage material using porous silicon carbide and calcium hydroxide

A thermal chemical energy storage (TCES) material was developed that utilizes surplus heat from nuclear power plants during low demand of electricity. The target temperature of reusing heat is over 450 °C which is utilized for next generation nuclear reactors. Therefore, Calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) was selected as the TCES material because it decomposes at temperatures over 450 ºC under atmospheric pressure. Porous silicon carbide was selected as the support for Ca(OH)2 because of its high porosity, chemical stability, and high thermal conductivity. The reaction performance of newly developed TCES material was studied with thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA).