Morphological and Structural Evaluation of Hydration/Dehydration Stages of MgSO4 Filled Composite Silicone Foam for Thermal Energy Storage Applications

Salt hydrates, such as MgSO4·7H2O, are considered attractive materials for thermal energy storage, thanks to their high theoretical storage density. However, pure salt hydrates present some challenges in real application due to agglomeration, corrosion and swelling problems during hydration/dehydrat...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Piperopoulos, Elpida, Calabrese, Luigi, Bruzzaniti, Paolo, Brancato, Vincenza, Palomba, Valeria, Caprì, Angela, Frazzica, Andrea, Cabeza, Luisa F., Proverbio, Edoardo, Milone, Candida
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Institución:Universitat de Lleida (UdL)
Repositorio:Repositori Obert UdL
OAI Identifier:oai:repositori.udl.cat:10459.1/67805
Acceso en línea:https://doi.org/10.3390/app10020453
http://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/67805
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Composite foams
Thermochemical energy storage
Salt hydrate
Stability
Cycling
Sorption
Descripción
Sumario:Salt hydrates, such as MgSO4·7H2O, are considered attractive materials for thermal energy storage, thanks to their high theoretical storage density. However, pure salt hydrates present some challenges in real application due to agglomeration, corrosion and swelling problems during hydration/dehydration cycles. In order to overcome these limitations, a composite material based on silicone vapor-permeable foam filled with the salt hydrate is here presented. For its characterization, a real-time in situ environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) investigation was carried out in controlled temperature and humidity conditions. The specific set-up was proposed as an innovative method in order to evaluate the morphological evolution of the composite material during the hydrating and dehydrating stages of the salt. The results evidenced an effective micro-thermal stability of the material. Furthermore, dehydration thermogravimetric/differential scanning calorimetric (TG/DSC) analysis confirmed the improved reactivity of the realized composite foam compared to pure MgSO4·7H2O.