Sorption Based Mobile Thermal Energy Storage for Better Sustainability

Globally, overall energy generation cannot meet the global energy demand, and it is predicted to overgrow because of the rise in worldwide population. Based on projections, it is noted that there will be a massive energy demand in the air conditioning sector for space heating/cooling applications. Thus, there is a need to explore alternative sources for conventional building air conditioning, i.e., using waste heat from industries for sustainable space heating/cooling purposes through mobile thermal energy storage (MTES) devices. Among the latent, sensible, and thermochemical/sorption-based thermal energy storage devices, a sorption-based storage device is encouraging because of its high energy density, insignificant heat losses, and less bulky features. Therefore, this paper provides a state-of-the-art review of the development of an MTES system for sustainable space heating/cooling applications in district energy networks. The MTES system uses the unutilized heat generated from the power plants for building space cooling applications providing a better way to use the rejected heat from the industries and reducing the local heat generation. An in-depth analysis of sorption materials, selection criteria, their classification, evaluation parameters, and comparison of materials are conducted. Material comparison is made with energy storage density, energy storage capacity, and cost analysis as the primary focus. Further, system-level studies such as sorption bed design, process interpretation, and system analysis are also carried out. Moreover, the research gaps and road map for future work on MTES are discovered.