Experimental study of a novel liquid air storage tank to mitigate oxygen enrichment during long-term energy storage
Liquid air energy storage (LAES) utilizes surplus electricity to liquefy air—comprising 78 % nitrogen, 21 % oxygen, and 1 % argon—for later use during peak demand. However, due to differing boiling points, nitrogen preferentially evaporates during storage, leading to oxygen enrichment, which poses s...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-09-01
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| Series: | Case Studies in Thermal Engineering |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25009566 |
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| _version_ | 1849716524061818880 |
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| author | Chen Wang Xiaolong Guo Huiru Wang Camila Barreneche Yulong Ding Xiaohui She Peng Han |
| author_facet | Chen Wang Xiaolong Guo Huiru Wang Camila Barreneche Yulong Ding Xiaohui She Peng Han |
| author_sort | Chen Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Liquid air energy storage (LAES) utilizes surplus electricity to liquefy air—comprising 78 % nitrogen, 21 % oxygen, and 1 % argon—for later use during peak demand. However, due to differing boiling points, nitrogen preferentially evaporates during storage, leading to oxygen enrichment, which poses safety risks and reduces system reliability. To address this issue, this study proposes a novel composite insulation structure that integrates a Vapor Cooling Shield (VCS) for cold energy recovery and a Thermodynamic Vent System (TVS) for promoting uniform mixing. An experimental setup was constructed to evaluate the thermodynamic performance over long-term storage. Compared to a conventional tank, the proposed system maintained a stable oxygen concentration of 20 %–21 % over 25 days, while the reference tank showed a rapid increase from 21 % to 44.7 % after 12 days. In addition, the daily evaporation rate remained below 1 %, in contrast to the increase from 0.76 % to 8.6 % in the traditional tank. These results confirm that the proposed insulation design effectively mitigates concentration stratification and cold loss, significantly enhancing the safety and efficiency of long-duration LAES systems.⤎ |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5b6083448d644dbca1a56c65f85707ff |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2214-157X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Case Studies in Thermal Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-5b6083448d644dbca1a56c65f85707ff2025-08-20T03:12:57ZengElsevierCase Studies in Thermal Engineering2214-157X2025-09-017310669610.1016/j.csite.2025.106696Experimental study of a novel liquid air storage tank to mitigate oxygen enrichment during long-term energy storageChen Wang0Xiaolong Guo1Huiru Wang2Camila Barreneche3Yulong Ding4Xiaohui She5Peng Han6Cryogenic Energy Conversion, Storage and Transportation Centre, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, Shijiazhuang, 050043, ChinaCryogenic Energy Conversion, Storage and Transportation Centre, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, Shijiazhuang, 050043, China; Hebei Energy Storage Industrial Technology Research Institute, Shijiazhuang, 050000, ChinaCryogenic Energy Conversion, Storage and Transportation Centre, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, Shijiazhuang, 050043, China; Hebei Energy Storage Industrial Technology Research Institute, Shijiazhuang, 050000, ChinaDepartment of Materials Science and Physical Chemistry, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, 08028, SpainSchool of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B152TT, UKCryogenic Energy Conversion, Storage and Transportation Centre, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, Shijiazhuang, 050043, China; Hebei Energy Storage Industrial Technology Research Institute, Shijiazhuang, 050000, ChinaCryogenic Energy Conversion, Storage and Transportation Centre, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, Shijiazhuang, 050043, China; Hebei Energy Storage Industrial Technology Research Institute, Shijiazhuang, 050000, China; Corresponding author. Cryogenic Energy Conversion, Storage and Transportation Centre, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, Shijiazhuang, 050043, China.Liquid air energy storage (LAES) utilizes surplus electricity to liquefy air—comprising 78 % nitrogen, 21 % oxygen, and 1 % argon—for later use during peak demand. However, due to differing boiling points, nitrogen preferentially evaporates during storage, leading to oxygen enrichment, which poses safety risks and reduces system reliability. To address this issue, this study proposes a novel composite insulation structure that integrates a Vapor Cooling Shield (VCS) for cold energy recovery and a Thermodynamic Vent System (TVS) for promoting uniform mixing. An experimental setup was constructed to evaluate the thermodynamic performance over long-term storage. Compared to a conventional tank, the proposed system maintained a stable oxygen concentration of 20 %–21 % over 25 days, while the reference tank showed a rapid increase from 21 % to 44.7 % after 12 days. In addition, the daily evaporation rate remained below 1 %, in contrast to the increase from 0.76 % to 8.6 % in the traditional tank. These results confirm that the proposed insulation design effectively mitigates concentration stratification and cold loss, significantly enhancing the safety and efficiency of long-duration LAES systems.⤎http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25009566Liquid air energy storageCryogenic energy storageVapor cooled shieldThermodynamic vent system |
| spellingShingle | Chen Wang Xiaolong Guo Huiru Wang Camila Barreneche Yulong Ding Xiaohui She Peng Han Experimental study of a novel liquid air storage tank to mitigate oxygen enrichment during long-term energy storage Case Studies in Thermal Engineering Liquid air energy storage Cryogenic energy storage Vapor cooled shield Thermodynamic vent system |
| title | Experimental study of a novel liquid air storage tank to mitigate oxygen enrichment during long-term energy storage |
| title_full | Experimental study of a novel liquid air storage tank to mitigate oxygen enrichment during long-term energy storage |
| title_fullStr | Experimental study of a novel liquid air storage tank to mitigate oxygen enrichment during long-term energy storage |
| title_full_unstemmed | Experimental study of a novel liquid air storage tank to mitigate oxygen enrichment during long-term energy storage |
| title_short | Experimental study of a novel liquid air storage tank to mitigate oxygen enrichment during long-term energy storage |
| title_sort | experimental study of a novel liquid air storage tank to mitigate oxygen enrichment during long term energy storage |
| topic | Liquid air energy storage Cryogenic energy storage Vapor cooled shield Thermodynamic vent system |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25009566 |
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