Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems represent a key technology to exploit solar energy thanks to the easy integration with energy storage systems. The thermochemical energy storage (TCES) relies on reversible chemical reactions to store the solar energy in the form of chemical bonds. Limestone calcination/carbonation is an appealing reaction for TCES. This cycle has been widely studied in the Calcium Looping (CaL) process for Carbon Capture and Sequestration/Use (CCS/U), within which the calcination is usually carried out in a CO2−rich environment at temperature of 940–950 °C. When the CaL cycle is considered for TCES, the energy required by the calciner is supplied by CSP and the whole system has to work in a closed loop, as the CO2 released during the calcination is required for the subsequent carbonation. Therefore, the operating conditions resemble those typical of the CCS/U CaL. The novel idea of this work is to perform a CaL-TCES cycle working in an open loop configuration, by coupling the system with a CO2 emitting industry. Calcination can then be accomplished under air atmosphere at lower temperature, thus preserving to some extent the material reactivity. In particular, the open loop CaL-TCES cycle has been experimentally investigated using a Fluidized Bed (FB) reactor directly heated by a solar simulator (3 MW m−2 peak flux, 3 kWth total power). Several looping cycles have been carried out on a commercial limestone sample to estimate the sorbent reactivity over cycling. The properties of calcined sorbents have been investigated by chemical physical analyses. A comparison with results obtained under CCS/U CaL conditions has also been performed, to scrutinize the potential advantages of working in an open loop configuration.

1.
A.
Gil
,
M.
Medrano
,
I.
Martorell
,
A.
Lázaro
,
P.
Dolado
,
B.
Zalba
and
L. F.
Cabeza
,
Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev.
14
,
31
55
(
2010
).
2.
L.
André
,
S.
Abanades
and
G.
Flamant
,
Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev.
64
,
703
715
(
2016
).
3.
A.
Bayon
,
R.
Bader
,
M.
Jafarian
,
L.
Fedunik-Hofman
,
Y.
Sun
,
J.
Hinkley
,
S.
Miller
and
W.
Lipiński
,
Energy
149
,
473
484
(
2018
).
4.
J. A.
Almendros-Ibáñez
,
M.
Fernández-Torrijos
,
M.
Díaz-Heras
,
J. F.
Belmonte
and
C.
Sobrino
,
Sol. Energy
In Press.
5.
J. V.
Briongos
,
J.
Gómez-Hernández
,
P. A.
González-Gómez
and
D.
Serrano
,
Sol. Energy
171
,
740
750
(
2018
).
6.
S.
Bellan
,
K.
Matsubara
,
H. Seok
Cho
,
N.
Gokon
and
T.
Kodama
,
Int. J. Heat Mass Tran.
116
,
377
392
(
2018
).
7.
C.
Tregambi
,
R.
Chirone
,
F.
Montagnaro
,
P.
Salatino
and
R.
Solimene
,
Sol. Energy
129
,
85
100
(
2016
).
8.
C.
Tregambi
,
F.
Montagnaro
,
P.
Salatino
and
R.
Solimene
,
AIP Conf. Proc.
1850
,
090007-1
090007-8
(
2017
).
9.
C.
Tregambi
,
F.
Montagnaro
,
P.
Salatino
and
Solimene
R.
,
Chem. Eng. J.
331
,
794
802
(
2018
).
10.
P.
Salatino
,
P.
Ammendola
,
P.
Bareschino
,
R.
Chirone
and
R.
Solimene
,
Powder Technol.
290
,
97
101
(
2016
).
11.
S.
Migliozzi
,
A.
Paulillo
,
R.
Chirone
,
P.
Salatino
and
R.
Solimene
,
Powder Technol.
316
,
476
491
(
2017
).
12.
L.
Matthews
and
W.
Lipiński
,
Energy
45
,
900
907
(
2012
).
13.
L.
Reich
,
L.
Yue
,
R.
Bader
and
W.
Lipiński
,
Aerosol Air Qual. Res.
14
,
500
514
(
2014
).
14.
C.
Tregambi
,
F.
Montagnaro
,
P.
Salatino
and
R.
Solimene
,
Sol. Energy
120
,
208
220
(
2015
).
15.
R.
Zhai
,
C.
Li
,
J.
Qi
and
Y.
Yang
,
Energ. Convers. Manage.
117
,
251
263
(
2016
).
16.
X.
Zhang
and
Y.
Liu
,
Appl. Therm. Eng.
70
,
13
24
(
2014
).
17.
S. E. B.
Edwards
and
V.
Materić
,
Sol. Energy
86
,
2494
2503
(
2012
).
18.
R.
Chacartegui
,
A.
Alovisio
,
C.
Ortiz
,
J. M.
Valverde
,
V.
Verda
and
J. A.
Becerra
,
Appl. Energ.
173
,
589
605
(
2016
).
19.
B.
Sarrion
,
J. M.
Valverde
,
A.
Perejon
,
L.
Perez-Maqueda
and
P. E.
Sanchez-Jimenez
,
Energy Technol.
4
,
1013
1019
(
2016
).
20.
M.
Benitez-Guerrero
,
J. M.
Valverde
,
P. E.
Sanchez-Jimenez
,
A.
Perejon
,
L. A.
Perez-Maqueda
,
Sol. Energy
153
,
188
199
(
2017
).
21.
A.
Alovisio
,
R.
Chacartegui
,
C.
Ortiz
,
J. M.
Valverde
and
V.
Verda
,
Energ. Convers. Manage.
136
,
85
98
(
2017
).
22.
C.
Ortiz
,
M. C.
Romano
,
J. M.
Valverde
,
M.
Binotti
and
R.
Chacartegui
,
Energy
155
,
535
551
(
2018
).
23.
C.
Ortiz
,
R.
Chacartegui
,
J. M.
Valverde
,
A.
Alovisio
and
J. A.
Becerra
,
Energ. Convers. Manage.
149
,
815
829
(
2017
).
This content is only available via PDF.