Long-term thermochemical heat storage for low temperature applications

The development of compact and efficient seasonal solar thermal storage based on sorption technology is of key importance for a year around supply of renewable heat for domestic buildings. Possible storage materials are zeolite or salt containing composites. Several crucial process parameters have to be considered: possible energy density, environmental impact of used materials, mechanical resistance of the storage materials, and humidity supply for adsorption. An open sorption moving bed adsorption reactor was found to be a suitable device for this application, together with a hot air solar installation.