Natural zeolites as host matrices for the development of low-cost and stable thermochemical energy storage materials

Advanced thermal energy storage technologies based on physical adsorption and chemical reactions of thermochemical materials (TCMs) are capable of storing large shares of renewable energy with high energy density. Further research and development is required to improve the performance and reduce the cost of these materials. A promising approach to developing low-cost TCM is to use natural zeolite adsorbents as host matrices in the development of salt-loaded composite TCM. In this study, the thermal properties of various species of low-cost zeolites from natural deposits across Canada were investigated. Two high purity crystal (HPC) zeolites from the Trans Canada (TC-HPC) and Juniper Creek (J-HPC) deposits in British Columbia were determined to have the highest water uptake capacity (0.145 g/g and 0.113 g/g, respectively) and enthalpy of adsorption (408 J/g and 304 J/g, respectively). Despite having approximately half of the water uptake capacity and adsorption enthalpy of the commercially available synthetic zeolite 13X, the cost of thermal energy storage ($CAD/kWh(th)) of the natural zeolites was determined to be 72-79% lower than that of the synthetic zeolite. Repeated adsorption and desorption experiments demonstrated the hydrothermal stability of the HPC zeolites over multiple charge and discharge cycles. Overall, the experimental results and cost analysis indicate that Canadian HPC zeolites are promising alternatives to synthetic zeolites in the pursuit of low-cost and stable TCM.