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Thermo-conversion of a physical energy storage system with high-energy density:

Combination of thermal energy storage and gas-steam combined cycle

Xin He, Huanran Wang, Ruixiong Li, Hao Sun, Hao Chen, ChengChen Li, Gangqiang
Ge, Feiyue Tao

PII: S0360-5442(21)02573-1
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2021.122325
Reference: EGY 122325

To appear in: Energy

Received Date: 29 April 2021

Revised Date: 9 October 2021
Accepted Date: 11 October 2021

Please cite this article as: He X, Wang H, Li R, Sun H, Chen H, Li C, Ge G, Tao F, Thermo-conversion
of a physical energy storage system with high-energy density: Combination of thermal energy storage
and gas-steam combined cycle, Energy (2021), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2021.122325.

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 Credit Author Statement
Xin He: Data curation, Writing-Original draft preparation. Huanran Wang: Language Editing.

Ruixiong Li: Conceptualization, Methodology and Proposing PWTES-GTCC . Hao Sun, Hao Chen

and ChengChen Li: Software, Visualization, Investigation. Gangqiang Ge, Feiyue Tao: Supervision,

Writing- Reviewing and Editing.

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Thermo-conversion of a physical energy storage system with high-energy density:
Combination of thermal energy storage and gas-steam combined cycle

Xin He, Huanran Wang, Ruixiong Li*, Hao Sun, Hao Chen, ChengChen Li, Gangqiang Ge,

Feiyue Tao

School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049, China

Corresponding authors:

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* E-mail: ruixiong.li@xjtu.edu.cn (R.L.)

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Notes: The authors declare no competing financial interest
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ABSTRACT

Electrical energy storage (EES) systems are of great significance for the widespread use of

renewable energy and peak shaving of power grids. The EES system with high-energy density is

one of the current research hotspots. In this paper, a novel type of EES system with high-energy

density, pressurized water thermal energy storage system based on the gas-steam combined cycle

(PWTES-GTCC), is presented. The proposed system could achieve the coupling of thermal energy

storage (TES) and gas-steam combined cycle (GTCC) through the cracking reaction of methanol.

In discharging process, methanol is cracked after absorbing thermal energy, and the cracked gas is

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burned to drive GTCC for generating electricity. By constructing the thermo-dynamic model of the

system, performance of the system and each component are discussed in detail. The results show

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that the energy storage density of the proposed system reaches 36.5kWh/m3, and it is the most

sensitive to the temperature of the high-pressure water with a sensitivity coefficient of 5.7.
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Furthermore, the efficiency of the PWTES-GTCC is expected to reach 53.1% as the efficiency of
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the GTCC and the electrical efficiency of the pressurized water thermal energy storage (PWTES)
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achieve 55.4% and 42.6%, respectively. These three efficiencies are most sensitive to the inlet

temperature of the gas turbine.

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KEYWORDS
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Electrical energy storage (EES), high-energy density, thermal energy storage (TES), gas-steam

combined cycle (GTCC), cracking reaction of methanol.

1. INTRODUCTION

Large-scale EES technology is promising to provide support for the use of renewable energy[1-4].

Additionally, as the increasing electricity consumption, it is difficult for existing power plants to

perform large-scale peak shaving. Hence, large-scale EES technology is essential to solve this

problem[5, 6].

Among all the existing EES technologies, pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) and compressed

air energy storage (CAES) are the technologies with large energy capacity[7, 8]. PHES is one of the

most widely implemented and mature EES technologies in the world with good efficiency (70-

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80%)[9-11]. However, PHES requires two large reservoirs and large amounts of water, so there will

be an inevitable difficulty of site selection restricted by geographical conditions[12]. Furthermore,

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PHES also has a negative impact on the environment and ecology (e.g. the growth of original plants

and animals being affected by the construction of reservoir)[13]. CAES is proposed in the last
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century exhibiting the advantages of high reliability, long life cycle, and higher efficiency, which
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can circumvent the geographical restrictions by using air storage vessels[14, 15]. At present, there
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are only two commercial large-scale CAES power plants in the world, namely, Huntorf plant, which

was built in 1978 in Germany, and McIntosh plant, which was built in 1991 in America. The cycle
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efficiencies of these two CAES power plants are 42% and 53%, respectively, when fuel is combusted
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for supplemental heating[16]. Based on conventional CAES, many novel systems are developed,

such as adiabatic CAES (A-CAES), isothermal CAES (I-CAES), liquid air energy storage (LAES),

etc[17-21].

Among these mentioned systems, A-CAES has received extensive attention from researchers

because of its benefits of higher efficiency and simple system structure. In this system, compression

heat is used to heat the high-pressure entrance air of the expander. As reported in the literature, the

efficiency of A-CAES can reach 50-75%[22-25]. However, the A-CAES system still relies on a huge

cavern and requires TES equipment to replace the combustion chamber in the conventional

CAES[26]. I-CAES systems have developed rapidly in recent years. An I-CAES system avoids the

thermal storage facility and combustor through the isothermal compression and expansion.

According to theoretical analysis, energy efficiency and exergy efficiency can reach 61.6% and
72.3%, respectively[4]. But the I-CAES has a complicated structure and a low energy density, which

usually does not exceed 0.86 kWh/m3[27, 28]. LAES has a higher energy density compared with

the traditional CAES by storing air in the liquid phase instead of storing it as a gaseous phase[29].

This system overcomes the difficulty of conventional CAES relying on the large underground

cavern. At the same time, it is promising to reduce system investment by increasing energy storage

density [30].

Ameel et al. studied the LAES system and found that the energy storage density of the system can

reach 56.9 kWh/m3, while the efficiency was only 22% under 300 K of waste heat[29]. Guizzi et al.

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analyzed a LAES based on an insulated vessel. Without any external heat source, the efficiency and

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the energy density of this system could reach 50%-60% and 18 kWh/m3 respectively[31]. She et al.

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proposed a hybrid LAES configuration, which could combine the excess heat of compression with
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the organic Rankine cycle (ORC), and employed a vapor compression refrigeration cycle (VCRC)
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as a heat sink[32]. However, the energy efficiency reached 60% while the energy storage density
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was only 13 kWh/m3. Peng et al. conducted a thermodynamic performance evaluation of a LAES

system, which utilized the packed bed as a thermal storage vessel. They reported that the energy
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density was 23 kWh/m3 and the round-trip efficiency in the range 50%-62%[33]. Wu et al. examined
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an integrated LAES and thermochemical EES system. It was found that the energy density was 36.8

kWh/m3 and the round-trip efficiency could reach 47.4% by altering the conversion process from
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thermal energy to electrical energy[34].

In the majority of the aforementioned studies, the thermodynamic analysis provides us with very

meaningful information about EES with high-energy density. However, the trade-off between

energy efficiency and energy density is difficult to achieve commercial application[34].

At present, the GTCC technology has been widely used in power plants and in industrial processes

[35]. The efficiency of a single-pressure GTCC without reheat can reach up to 50-60%, and the

efficiency of a complex GTCC, such as double-pressure GTCC or triple-pressure GTCC, can even

reach more than 70%[36]. In the research of TES, according to its different energy storage

mechanism, it is divided into three types: sensible heat storage, latent heat storage, and

thermochemical heat storage. In the development of TES, researchers focus on the innovation of
heat storage materials. Water has the advantages of large heat capacity and low cost, and it is widely

used in suitable sensible heat storage scenarios[37]. For heat storage scenarios where the

temperature is slightly higher than the suitable temperature range of the working fluid, other suitable

working fluids are generally used instead. Compared with alternative working fluids, changing the

working temperature range of water by adjusting the pressure or other methods might not only

reduce the overall cost of TES but also retain the characteristic of high heat storage density of water.

Hence, the combination of the high energy density TES and the GTCC may have an impressive

effect. On the one hand, the integrated system can make full use of the built GTCC system to reduce

the total investment of the system; on the other hand, the GTCC system with high-energy density

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will improve the peak shaving capacity. To achieve this, a PWTES system based on the GTCC is

proposed in this work. For charge, the surplus electrical energy is converted into thermal energy and

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stored in hot water; for discharge, the cracking reaction of methanol and GTCC are used to convert

the energy in the hot water into electrical energy. Regarding the availability of the combined system,
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the use of methanol for energy storage and power generation has also been a research hotspot in
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addition to the GTCC system that has been commercialized[38-41]. In addition, there are a large
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number of energy storage systems involving high-pressure storage vessels[42, 43]. In particular,

there are some researches on the location and geographic performance of high-pressure vessels[44,
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45]. This supports the feasibility of the high-pressure water storage tank as the key equipment in the
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PWTES. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there are no articles and reports about PWTES

based on the GTCC. This paper is the first attempt to fill this gap by revealing the thermodynamic

performance of this system in detail, which may promote the development of EES.

The organization of this paper is as follows. Section 2 introduces the concept of the PWTES system

based on the GTCC in detail. Then, the mathematical model of related equipment is given in section

3. Section 4 conducts a sensitivity analysis to evaluate the impact of some key variables on system

performance. Finally, the conclusions are drawn in Section 5.

2. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION

The schematic diagram of the PWTES system based on the GTCC is shown in Fig. 1. PWTES is

mainly composed of two water storage tanks (WST), a pump (PUM), an electric heater (ELH), a

constant-pressure heater (CPH), a cracking reactor (CRR), a hydro-turbine (HT), and several throttle

valves (THV). And the GTCC in this paper is the conventional single-pressure no-reheat cycle.

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Components
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CC Combustion Chamber COM Compressor CON Condenser

CPH Constant-Pressure Heater CRR Cracking Reactor EE Electric Energy
ELH Electric Heater HRSG Heat Recovery Steam Generator
HT Hydro-Turbine PUM Pump THV Throttle Value
TUR Turbine WST Water Storage Tank
Fig. 1. Schematic of the PWTES system based on the GTCC.

During the off-peak time, the PUM1 is driven by surplus electricity to pressurize the low-pressure

water (state 2) from the WST1. Then the high-pressure water (state 3) enters the ELH for absorbing

thermal energy converted from surplus electricity and then is stored in the WST2.

During the on-peak time, the water with high pressure and temperature (state 6) enters the THV3

and then enters the CRR to provide thermal energy for the cracking reaction of methanol (state 15),

which is pressurized by the PUM2. Then the high-pressure, low-temperature water (state 10)
depressurizes in the HT to produce electricity. Afterward, the low-pressure, low-temperature water

(state 11) enters the THV4 and flows back to the WST1. At the same time, the water with high

pressure and temperature (state 7) in the CPH is heated from the liquid phase through the two-phase

region and ended up with steam (state8) to maintain constant-pressure at the WST2. In the GTCC,

the cracked gas (state 16) composed of carbon monoxide and hydrogen is compressed by the

compressor 1 (COM1) while the air (state 18) from the atmosphere is compressed by the COM2.

Then the cracked gas (state 17) and the compressed air (state 19) are mixed and burned in the

combustion chamber (CC). The combustion gas (state 20) expands in the turbine 1 (TUR1) to

produce electricity. The remaining heat in the exhaust gas of TUR1 (state 21) is supplied to drive a

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steam cycle via exchanging heat with pressurized water (state 24) in the heat recovery steam

generator (HRSG), and then the low-temperature exhaust gas (state 22) is discharged into the

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atmosphere. The pressurized water (state 24) is heated from the liquid phase through the two-phase

region and ended up with high-temperature steam (state 25). Then TUR2 generating electricity via
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the high-temperature steam (state 25) expansion. Finally, the water-steam mixture (state 26) enters
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the condenser (CON) at the low-temperature and is converted to liquid (state 23) by releasing its
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heat and then pumped to the HRSG (state 24) by the PUM3 to finish the steam cycle.
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During the changing of the operation mode between charging and discharging, the operating status

of each device in the GTCC system does not change. The adjustment of the charging and discharging
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only involves the start and stop of some equipment in the PWTES.
3. MODEL OF THE PWTES SYSTEM BASED ON THE GTCC

To conduct thermodynamic analysis for the proposed system, a steady-state approach is considered

during charging and discharging. A series of models of the equipment in the proposed system is

described by the mathematical formulae and then simulated. The thermodynamic properties of all

working fluids in the proposed system are obtained from the REFPROP 9.1 database.

In order to simplify calculation and analysis, the steady-state modeling of the system is based on the

following assumptions[46, 47].

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a. The variations of potential energies in the WST due to the change in liquid level height are

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negligible.

b. The heat dissipation loss of the WST, the combustion chamber, and the heat exchanger can be

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ignored. -p
c. The efficiency of all components in the proposed system is fixed.
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d. The pressure and heat loss in all pipes are negligible.
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e. The cracked gas and methanol can be completely separated by the separation membrane.
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3.1. Thermodynamic model

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This section presents the specific model of each component of the proposed system. The laws of

conservation of energy and mass are applied to every component to obtain the thermodynamic
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properties of each state.

3.1.1. Compressor

The specific entropy of the working fluid at the inlet of the compressor s16 can be written as:

s16  f T16 , P16  (1)

where T16 and P16 are the temperature and pressure of the working fluid at the inlet of the

compressor, respectively.

In the isentropic process, the specific entropy of the working fluid at the outlet of the compressor
s17,s can be written as:

s17, s  s16 (2)

where s16 is the specific entropy of the working fluid at the inlet of the compressor.

The pressure of the working fluid at the outlet of the compressor P17 can be obtained by:

P17  P16 COM (3)

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where  COM is the pressure ratio of the compressor.

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In the isentropic process, the specific enthalpy of the working fluid at the outlet of the compressor
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h17,s can be calculated by:
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h17, s  f  P17 , s17, s 

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(4)
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where P17 is the pressure of the working fluid at the outlet of the compressor.
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The isentropic efficiency of the compressor  COM is defined as follows[5]:

h17, s  h16
COM  (5)
h17  h16

where h17 and h16 are the actual specific enthalpy of the working fluid at the outlet and inlet of

the compressor, respectively.

In the actual process, the temperature of the working fluid at the outlet of the compressor T17 , the

specific work consumed by the compressor wCOM , and the power consumed by the compressor
WCOM can be calculated by:

T17  f  P17 , h17  (6)

wCOM  h17  h16 (7)

WCOM =m16 wCOM (8)

where m16 is the mass flow rate of the compressor.

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Thus, the total work consumption of the compressor WCOM is calculated as follows:

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WCOM   WCOM dt
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3.1.2. Turbine
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The specific entropy of the working fluid at the inlet of the turbine s20 can be written as:
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s20  f T20 , P20  (10)

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where T20 and P20 are the temperature and pressure of the working fluid at the inlet of the turbine,

respectively.

In the isentropic process, the specific entropy of the working fluid at the outlet of the turbine s21,s

can be written as:

s21, s  s20 (11)

where s20 is the specific entropy of the working fluid at the inlet of the turbine.

The pressure of the working fluid at the outlet of the turbine P21 can be obtained by:
 P21  P20 /  TUR (12)

where  TUR is the pressure ratio of the turbine.

In the isentropic process, the specific enthalpy of the working fluid at the outlet of the turbine h21,s

can be calculated by:

h21, s  f  P21 , s21, s  (13)

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where P21 is the pressure of the working fluid at the outlet of the turbine.

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The isentropic efficiency of the turbine TUR is defined as[5]:
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h20  h21
TUR  (14)
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h20  h21,s
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where h21 and h20 are the actual specific enthalpy of the working fluid at the outlet and inlet of

the turbine, respectively.

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In the actual process, the temperature of the working fluid at the outlet of the turbine T21 and the

power generation of the turbine WTUR can be expressed as follows:

T21  f  P21 , h21  (15)

WTUR  m20  h20  h21  (16)

where m20 is the mass flow rate of the turbine.

Thus, the total work generation of the turbine WTUR is calculated as follows:

WTUR   WTUR dt (17)

3.1.3. Combustion chamber

The mass flow rate of gas entering the combustion chamber m20 is defined as follows:

m20  m20a  m20b (18)

where m20a is the mass flow rate of exhaust gas produced by the combustion of cracked gas

composed of hydrogen and carbon monoxide and m20b is the mass flow rate of air that did not

participate in the combustion reaction.

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According to the law of conservation of energy,

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20a
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 m  q  dt   m  h  dt
20a 20b
(19)
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where q20a is the heat of combustion reaction per unit mass of the reactant and h is the heat

absorption per unit mass of the air which did not participate in the combustion reaction.
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The chemical reaction equation of methanol cracked gas can be written as:
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2H2  g   CO  g   1.5O2  g   2H2O  g   CO2  g 

The heat of the chemical reaction Qcg can be calculated by [48]:

Q20a  
P
  m dt   H
i
0
f  hTP  hT0    m dt   H
i
R
j
0
f  hTR  hT0  j
(20)

where H 0f is the standard specific enthalpy of formation [49], mi and m j are, respectively, the

mass flow rate of product and reactant, hTR is the thermodynamic specific enthalpy of reactant,

hTP is the thermodynamic specific enthalpy of product, and hT0 is the specific enthalpy in

reference state of thermochemical standard ( T0  298K , P0  101.325kPa )[49].

The heat of combustion reaction per unit mass of the reactant q20a can be written as:

Q20a
q20a  (21)
   m dt 
R
j

3.1.4. Heat recovery steam generator (HRSG)

The HRSG is composed of three parts: economizer, evaporator, and superheater. On the premise of

ensuring that the pinch temperature difference and the approach temperature difference meet the

design requirements, we can simplify the HRSG into three heat exchangers. According to the first

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law of thermodynamics [50],

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m21  h21  h22   m24  h25  h24 
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where m21 and m24 are the mass flow rate of hot fluid and cold fluid, respectively.
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3.1.5. Pump
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The isentropic efficiency of the pump  PUM is defined as [51]:

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h24, s  h23
PUM  (23)
h24  h23

where h24,s is the isentropic specific enthalpy of the working fluid at the outlet of the pump, h24

and h23 are the actual specific enthalpy of the working fluid at the outlet and inlet of the pump,

respectively.

The power consumed by the pump WPUM is:

WPUM  m23  h24  h23  (24)

where m23 is the mass flow rate of the pump.

Thus, the total work consumption of the pump WPUM is calculated as follows:

WPUM   WPUM dt (25)

3.1.6. Condenser

In the cooling process, the heat output per unit mass of steam in the condenser qCON is expressed

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as:

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qCON  h26  h23 (26)
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where h23 and h26 are the specific enthalpy of the working fluid at the outlet and inlet of the
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condenser, respectively.
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The total heat release in the condenser is:

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QCON   m26 qCON dt (27)

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where m26 is the mass flow rate of the steam in the condenser.

3.1.7. Cracking reactor (CRR)

The CRR contains two parts, which are the preheating section that heats methanol to the reaction

temperature and the reaction section that carries out the cracking reaction. The thermodynamic

process in the preheating part is the same as the heat exchanger. The chemical reaction carried out

in the reaction section is as follows:

CH3OH  g   2H2  g   CO  g 

The energy balance equation during the cracking reaction process can be written as:
  m q
15 16a dt   m9  h9  h10 dt (28)

where m15 is the mass flow rate of methanol, m9 is the mass flow rate of water, and q16a

denotes the heat of cracking reaction per unit mass of the methanol. h10 and h9 stand for the

specific enthalpy of the water at the outlet and inlet of the reaction section, respectively.

The heat of the cracking reaction Q16a also can be calculated as follows:

Q16a     m dt   H  hTP  hT0    m dt   H  hTR  hT0 

f
i
0
f j
0
f
(29)

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i j
P R

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while the heat of cracking reaction per unit mass of the methanol q16a is:
-p
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Q16a
q16a  (30)
   m dt 
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j
R

At the end of the reaction, the cracked gas and methanol are separated by a separation membrane.
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3.1.8. Electric heater (ELH)

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In the ELH, water absorbs thermal energy converted from electrical energy. The electrical energy
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consumed by the ELH heating unit mass of water wELH is defined as follows:

wELH  h4  h3 (31)

where h4 and h3 are the specific enthalpy of water at the outlet and inlet of the ELH, respectively.

Thus, the power consumed by the ELH WELH can be calculated by:

WELH  m3 wELH (32)

where m3 is the mass flow rate of water in the ELH.

The total electrical energy consumption of the ELH WELH is calculated as follows:

WELH   WELH dt (33)

3.1.9. Constant-pressure heater (CPH)

The water in the CPH is heated from the liquid phase through the two-phase region and ended up

with steam to maintain constant-pressure at the high-pressure WST. The electrical energy

consumed by the CPH heating unit mass of water wCPH is defined as follows:

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wCPH  h8  h7 (34)

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where h8 is the specific enthalpy of saturated steam at the outlet of the CPH and h7 is the specific
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enthalpy of water at the inlet of the CPH.
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Since the temperature difference between water and saturated steam in the high-pressure WST is
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small enough (less than 6K), it is assumed that the energy and mass exchange between water and

steam is negligible[28, 52].

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According to the drainage flow, the mass flow rate of steam m7 required to maintain the constant

pressure at the high-pressure WST is calculated by the following formula:

m6  m7
m7  8 (35)
7

where m6 is the mass flow rate of the hydro-turbine. 8 and 7 stand for the density of saturated

steam and high-pressure water, respectively.

The total electrical energy consumption of the CPH WCPH is calculated as follows:

WCPH   m7 wCPH dt (36)

3.1.10. Water storage tank (WST)

According to the assumption mentioned above, the heat dissipation loss of the WST can be ignored.

It can be expressed as:

Q  0 (37)

where Q is the quantity of heat-exchange between the WST and the environment.

The volume of the low-pressure WST VWST1 and the high-pressure WST VWST2 can be calculated

by the following expression:

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 m dt

r
1
VWST1  (38)
-p 1

 m  m7  dt
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6
VWST2  (39)
6
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where  is the volume ratio of water to the tank, m1 is the mass flow rate of the pump, m7 is
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the mass flow rate of steam, and m6 is the mass flow rate of the hydro-turbine. 1 and 6 stand
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for the density of low-pressure water and high-pressure water, respectively.

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The WST construction adopts suitable geological conditions, such as underground caves. Artificial

storage tanks are used to store the liquid when there are no suitable geographical conditions [43].

3.1.11. Hydro-turbine

The isentropic efficiency of the hydro-turbine  HT is defined as:

h10  h11
HT  (40)
h10  h11,s

where h11,s is the isentropic specific enthalpy of the working fluid at the outlet of the hydro-turbine,

h11 and h10 are the actual specific enthalpy of the working fluid at the outlet and inlet of the hydro-
turbine, respectively.

The power generation of the hydro-turbine WHT is:

WHT  m10  h10  h11  (41)

where m10 is the mass flow rate of the hydro-turbine.

Thus, the total work generation of the hydro-turbine WHT is calculated as follows:

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WHT   WHT dt (42)

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3.2 System performance criteria
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3.2.1. The efficiency of the GTCC
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According to the first law of thermodynamics, the efficiency of the GTCC can be expressed as the
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ratio of the total net output work of the GTCC to the total heat absorption in the combustion chamber

[52]. The expression is as follows：

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GTCC 
 m
20 wTUR1  m18 wCOM2  m16 wCOM1  dt   m25  wTUR2  wPUM3  dt
(43)
  m20 h20  m19 h19  m17 h17  dt

where m20 is the mass flow rate of the gas turbine, m18 is the mass flow rate of the air, m16 is

the mass flow rate of the cracked gas, m25 is the mass flow rate of the steam turbine, h20 is the

specific enthalpy of the gas at the outlet of the combustion chamber. h19 and h17 stand for the

specific enthalpy of air and cracked gas at the inlet of the combustion chamber, respectively. It

should be noted that both cracked gas and air are compressed from the ambient pressure.

3.2.2. The electrical efficiency of the PWTES

The total net output power of the PWTES based on the GTCC is composed of three parts: the net
output power of the gas cycle, the net output power of the steam cycle, and the net output power of

the PWTES system. The expression is as follows：

WPW-GT   m10 wHT  m7 wCPH  

(44)
 m20 wTUR1  m18 wCOM2  m16 wCOM1  m14 wPUM2   m25  wTUR2  wPUM3 

where m10 and m7 are the mass flow rate of the hydro-turbine and the steam, respectively.

The total net output work of the PWTES based on the GTCC can be calculated as follows:

f
oo
WPW-GT   WPW-GT dt (45)

r
-p
The electrical efficiency of the PWTES system can be defined as:
re
WPW-GT  GTCC LHV  m13 dt
PW  (46)
WPUM1  WELH
lP
na

where LHV is the low heating value of methanol, m 13 dt is the total input quantity of methanol

in the system, GTCC LHV  m13dt is the total output work of GTCC driven by methanol combustion
ur

heat without cracking reaction, (WPUM1  WELH ) is the total input work of the PWTES during the
Jo

energy storage period, and (WPW-GT  GTCC LHV  m13 dt ) represents the total output work of the

PWTES, which includes two parts: the net output work of the PWTES  m w
25 TUR2  wPUM3 dt , and

the work converted from heat stored in the PWTES. The electrical efficiency of the PWTES system

represents the conversion effect of stored electrical energy and output electrical energy in PWTES.

3.2.3. The efficiency of the PWTES-GTCC

The efficiency of the PWTES-GTCC can be expressed by the total net output work of the system

and the total input of the system. It can be calculated by:

 WPW-GT
PW-GT  (47)
WPUM1  WELH  +LHV  m13 dt

where WPW-GT is the total net output work of the PWTES-GTCC, (WPUM1  WELH ) is the total input

work of the PWTES, and m

13 dt is the total input quantity of methanol in the system. The

efficiency of the PWTES-GTCC reveals the comprehensive energy utilization performance of the

coupled system. To facilitate the methanol supply of the system, it may be considered to construct

the system near an industrial park with methanol production conditions.

3.2.4. Energy storage density

f
oo
Evaluating the performance of the system not only considers the energy efficiency but also considers

r
the energy storage capacity of the unit volume container — energy storage density. It can be

calculated by[33]:
-p
re
lP

WPW-GT  GTCC LHV  m13 dt

EV  (48)
VWST1  VWST2
na

where (WPW-GT  GTCC LHV  m13 dt ) is the total output work of the PWTES, which includes two
ur

parts: the net output work of the PWTES  m w

25 TUR2  wPUM3 dt , and the work converted from
Jo

heat stored in the PWTES. EV is the amount of electrical energy that can be converted from the

heat in the unit volume of the WST.

3.2.5. Sensitivity coefficient

In the sensitivity analysis of the thermodynamic evaluation index, the sensitivity coefficient can be

used to indicate the sensitivity of the evaluation index to the parameter[30]. The sensitivity

coefficient is defined as:

 A   F 
S     (49)
 A   F 

where A is the evaluation index and F is the uncertain parameter.

4. SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS

In this section, the results of the sensitivity analysis of the proposed PWTES based on the GTCC

are presented. In order to verify the reliability of the calculation results, the GTCC part of this

simulation program is separately compared with the data in the literature. In literature [53], the

efficiency of the gas cycle is 38.5%, and the simulation result is 38.7%. In literature [54], the

efficiency of the electricity storage system based on TES is 41.0%, and the simulation result is

42.7%. In the case of the same parameter settings, the calculation result is close to the data in the

literature, and the error is within 2%. This is mainly due to the difference between the model selected

in this paper and the model in the comparative literature and the ignorance of part of the heat loss.

f
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Generally speaking, the calculation is credible. Table 1 gives the relevant parameters of the system

r
simulation calculation. Table 2 shows the state points and properties of the overall system at the
-p
design point. The relevant equipment parameters of the PWTES based on the GTCC are listed in
re
Table 3.
lP

Table 1. Parameter specification of the PWTES based on the GTCC

Parameters Unit Value
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Ambient temperature K 288

Ambient pressure MPa 0.101
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Pressure ratio of the gas cycle - 15

Volume ratio of water to the tank - 0.95
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Inlet temperature of the gas turbine K 1430

Isentropic efficiency of the gas turbine - 0.9
Isentropic efficiency of the compressor - 0.9
Inlet temperature of the steam turbine K 765
Inlet pressure of the steam turbine MPa 4
Outlet pressure of the steam turbine MPa 0.005
Isentropic efficiency of the steam turbine - 0.9
Isentropic efficiency of the pump - 0.9
Approach temperature difference K 10
Pinch temperature difference K 16.5
Pressure of the low-pressure water MPa 0.101
Pressure of the high-pressure water MPa 6
Temperature of the high-pressure water K 543
Isentropic efficiency of the hydro-turbine - 0.9
Reaction temperature of the cracking reaction K 423
Reaction pressure of the cracking reaction MPa 0.3
Low heating value of methanol J/kg 19937000
Energy store time h 6
Energy discharge time h 6
Electrical energy storage capacity kWh 350940

Table 2. Thermodynamic properties of the states along the system.

State
Fluid Temperature (K) Pressure (MPa) Mass flow rate (kg/s)
number
1 (2) Water 369.82 0.101 75.06
3 Water 370.37 6.000 75.06
4 (5) Water 543.00 6.000 75.06
6 (9) Water 543.00 6.000 75.06
7 Water 543.00 6.000 3.14
8 Steam 548.74 6.000 3.14

f
10 Water 370.06 6.000 75.06

oo
11 (12) Water 369.82 0.101 75.06
13 (14) Methanol 288.00 0.101 13.3

r
15 Methanol 288.05 0.300 13.3
16 Cracked gas 423.00
-p 0.250 13.3
17 Cracked gas 732.49 1.515 13.3
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18 Air 288.00 0.101 336.7
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19 Air 652.69 1.515 336.7

20 Gas 1430.00 1.515 350.0
21 Gas 816.50 0.101 350.0
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22 Gas 431.35 0.101 350.0

23 Water 306.02 0.005 45.34
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24 Water 306.23 4.000 45.34

25 Steam 765.00 4.000 45.34
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26 Water/Steam 306.02 0.005 45.34

27 Water 288.00 0.101 1787.6
28 Water 301.00 0.101 1787.6

Table 3. Relevant equipment parameters of the PWTES based on the GTCC

Parameters Unit Value
Power of the TUR1 kW 262395.1
Power of the TUR2 kW 51921.3
Power of the ELH kW 57978.3
Power of the CPH kW 5018.6
Power of the HT kW 414.2
Power of the PUM1 kW 511.5
Power of the PUM2 kW 3.7
Power of the PUM3 kW 202.2
Power of the COM1 kW 11415.8
Power of the COM2 kW 126229.6
 Power of the HRSG kW 148949.7
Volume of the WST1 m3 1776.5
Volume of the WST2 m3 2313.7
Inner diameter of the CRR tube mm 66.0

The effect of the pressure of the high-pressure water on the system performance is shown in Fig. 2.

With the increase of the pressure of the high-pressure water, the electrical efficiency of the PWTES,

the efficiency of the PWTES-GTCC, and the energy storage density are gradually decreasing;

moreover, the efficiency of the GTCC remains constant. The GTCC is related to the PWTES through

the CRR. The pressure of the high-pressure water does not affect the state of the cracked gas,

f
therefore it has no effect on the efficiency of the GTCC. As the pressure of the high-pressure water

oo
increases, the total work consumption of the pump in the PWTES, the total work generation of the

r
hydro-turbine, and the total electrical energy consumption of the CPH increase. However, the
-p
increase of the total electrical energy consumption of the CPH is greater than the increase of the
re
total work generation of the hydro-turbine. Therefore, the net output work of the PWTES system
lP

decreases and the total net output work of the PWTES based on the GTCC decreases, resulting in

the gradual decrease of the electrical efficiency of the PWTES and the efficiency of the PWTES-
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GTCC. When the pressure of the high-pressure water increases, the energy storage density also

decreases in the same way as the total net output work.

ur
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(a)
 (b)

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Fig. 2. Effect of the pressure of the high-pressure water on system performance.

r oo
The effect of the temperature of the high-pressure water on the system performance is given in Fig.
-p
3. As the temperature of the high-pressure water increases, the electrical efficiency of the PWTES,
re
the efficiency of the PWTES-GTCC, and the energy storage density increase; moreover, the
lP

efficiency of the GTCC remains unchanged. The GTCC is related to the PWTES through the CRR.

The temperature of the high-pressure water does not affect the state of the cracked gas, therefore it
na

does not affect the efficiency of the GTCC. When the temperature of the high-pressure water

increases, the mass flow rate of the hydro-turbine decreases. Therefore, the total work consumption
ur

of the pump in the PWTES, the total work generation of the hydro-turbine, and the total electrical
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energy consumption of the CPH decrease. At the same time, the temperature of the low-pressure

water decreases. The decrease of the total work generation of the hydro-turbine is less than the

decrease of the total work consumption of the CPH, therefore the net output work of the PWTES

system increases. In addition, the decrease of the total work consumption of the pump leads to a

decrease of the total input work. Therefore, the electrical efficiency of the PWTES and the efficiency

of the PWTES-GTCC increase. Since the scale of the PWTES is smaller than that of the GTCC, the

increase of the electrical efficiency of the PWTES is more obvious than the increase of the efficiency

of the PWTES-GTCC. As the temperature of the high-pressure water increases, the volume of the

WST decreases. Considering that the total net output work is increasing, the energy storage density

is also gradually increasing.

 (a)

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(b)
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Fig. 3. Effect of the temperature of the high-pressure water on the system performance.
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The effect of the reaction temperature of the cracking reaction on system performance is illustrated

in Fig. 4. The electrical efficiency of the PWTES, the efficiency of the PWTES-GTCC, and the

efficiency of the GTCC decrease slowly with the increase of the reaction temperature. In the

meanwhile, the energy storage density decreases sharply. As the reaction temperature increases, the

initial temperature of the cracked gas entering the combustion chamber increases, and the heat

released through combustion increases. Therefore, the mass flow rate of fuel decreases at the same

mass flow rate of the gas turbine. Ignoring changes in gas properties, the performance of the steam

cycle hardly changes. The total output work of the gas turbine is almost constant, but the total net

output work of the gas cycle is reduced. Therefore, the efficiency of the GTCC is reduced. This is

because that the increase of the temperature of the cracked gas leads to an increase of the total work

consumption of the compressor. As the reaction temperature increases, the mass flow rate of the
hydro-turbine increases, increasing the total work consumption of the pump in the PWTES, the total

work generation of the hydro-turbine, the total electrical energy consumption of the CPH, and the

temperature of the low-pressure water. The increase of the total work generation of the hydro-turbine

is less than the increase of the total electrical energy consumption of the CPH, therefore the net

output work of the PWTES system decreases. The total input energy is also reduced due to the

reduction of the mass of methanol. On the whole, the electrical efficiency of the PWTES and the

efficiency of the PWTES-GTCC decrease, but the change amplitudes are very small. As the total

net output work decreases and the volume of the WST increases, the energy storage density

decreases sharply.

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(a)
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(b)
Fig. 4. Effect of the reaction temperature on the system performance.

The effect of the reaction pressure of the cracking reaction on system performance is shown in Fig.
5. As the reaction pressure of the cracking reaction increases, the electrical efficiency of the PWTES

and energy storage density gradually decrease, but the efficiency of the PWTES-GTCC and the

efficiency of the GTCC increase as expected. With the reaction pressure increases, the initial

temperature of the cracked gas entering the combustion chamber decreases, and the heat released

through combustion decreases. The mass flow rate of fuel increases at the same mass flow rate of

the gas turbine. The performance of the steam cycle remains constant regardless of changes in gas

properties. The total output work of the gas turbine is almost constant, but the total net output work

of the gas cycle increases. Therefore, the efficiency of the GTCC increases. In the PWTES system,

the mass flow rate of the hydro-turbine increases due to the increase of heat absorption of the

f
oo
methanol cracking reaction. Moreover, the total work consumption of the pump, the total work

generation of the hydro-turbine, the total electrical energy consumption of the CPH, and the

r
-p
temperature of the low-pressure water increase. Although the increase of the total generation work

of the hydro-turbine is less than the increase of the total electrical energy consumption of the CPH,
re
which results in a decrease in the net output work of the PWTES, the decrease of the net output
lP

work of the PWTES system is much smaller than the increase of the GTCC. Comprehensive analysis
na

shows that the total net output work of the PWTES based on the GTCC increases. The total input

energy also increases due to the increase of the mass of methanol and the total energy consumption
ur

of the pump and the ELH. The overall performance is that the efficiency of the PWTES-GTCC
Jo

increases and the electrical efficiency of the PWTES decreases. As the volume of the WST increases

due to the increased mass flow rate of the hydro-turbine, the energy storage density decreases and

its trend is consistent with the electrical efficiency of the PWTES.

 (a)

f
(b)

oo
Fig. 5. Effect of the reaction pressure on the system performance.

r
The effect of the pressure of the low-pressure water on the system performance is given in Fig. 6.
-p
With the increase of the pressure of the low-pressure water, the electrical efficiency of the PWTES,
re
the efficiency of the PWTES-GTCC, and the energy storage density decrease, but the change
lP

amplitudes are relatively small compared with the change amplitudes caused by other parameters;

at the same time, the efficiency of the GTCC remains constant. The GTCC is related to the PWTES
na

through the CRR. The pressure of the low-pressure water does not affect the state of the cracked
ur

gas, so it does not affect the performance of the GTCC. As the pressure of the low-pressure water

increases, the total work consumption of the pump in the PWTES and the total work generation of
Jo

the hydro-turbine decrease. With the need to configure a CPH for the low-pressure tank, the total

electrical energy consumption of the CPH and the total input energy of the energy storage process

increase, but the total net output work of the energy release process decreases. Therefore, the

electrical efficiency of the PWTES and the efficiency of the PWTES-GTCC decrease. The energy

storage density gradually decreases, and its changing trend is consistent with the total net output

work.
 (a)

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(b)
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Fig. 6. Effect of the pressure of the low-pressure water on the system performance.
Jo

The effect of the pressure ratio of the gas cycle on system performance is shown in Fig. 7. As the

pressure ratio of the gas cycle increases, the efficiency of the GTCC increases; in contrast, the

electrical efficiency of the PWTES and energy storage density decrease. As the pressure ratio

increases, the total net work of the gas cycle decreases when the inlet temperature of the gas turbine

remains constant. At the same time, the decrease of the outlet temperature of the gas turbine leads

to a decrease in the mass flow rate of the steam turbine and a decrease in the total net output work

of the steam cycle. The reduction ratio of the total net output work of the GTCC is smaller than that

of the total heat absorption of the GTCC. Therefore, the efficiency of the GTCC increases. As the

pressure ratio of the gas cycle increases, the mass flow rate of methanol and the hydro-turbine

decrease. With the decreases of the mass flow rate of the hydro-turbine, the total work consumption

of the pump in the PWTES, the total electrical energy consumption of the ELH, the total work
generation of the hydro-turbine, and the total electrical energy consumption of the CPH decrease in

the same proportion. The electrical efficiency of the PWTES decrease since the efficiency of the

GTCC increases. After matching the GTCC, the efficiency of the PWTES-GTCC increases when

the pressure ratio of the gas cycle increases from 10 to around 16. The energy storage density

decreases as the pressure ratio of the gas cycle increases, and it has the same trend as the electrical

efficiency of the PWTES.

f
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re
lP

(a)
na
ur
Jo

(b)
Fig. 7. Effect of the pressure ratio of the gas cycle on the system performance.

The effect of the inlet temperature of the gas turbine on system performance is shown in Fig. 8. As

the inlet temperature of the gas turbine increases, the efficiency of the GTCC, the efficiency of the

PWTES-GTCC, the electrical efficiency of the PWTES and the energy storage density increase. As

the inlet temperature of the gas turbine increases, the total work generation of the gas turbine
increases, and the total net output work of the gas cycle also increases. Due to the increase of the

inlet temperature of the gas turbine, the temperature of the exhaust gas of the gas turbine also

increases at the same pressure ratio of the gas turbine. In the steam cycle, the mass flow rate of the

steam turbine increases, therefore the total net output work of the steam cycle increases. Although

the consumption of cracked gas increases, the efficiency of the GTCC increases as the total net

output work of the GTCC increases by a larger proportion. As the mass flow rate of cracked gas

increases, correspondingly, the mass flow rate of the hydro-turbine also increases. In the PWTES,

the total work consumption of the pump, the total electrical energy consumption of the ELH, the

total work generation of the hydro-turbine, and the total electrical energy consumption of the CPH

f
oo
increase by the same proportion due to the increase of the mass flow rate of the hydro-turbine. After

matching the GTCC, the efficiency of the PWTES-GTCC increases. Since the total output work of

r
-p
the PWTES accounts for a small proportion in the entire system, the electrical efficiency of the

PWTES shows an increase, which is consistent with the trend of the total net output work. The
re
energy storage density increases in the same way as the electrical efficiency of the PWTES.
lP
na
ur
Jo

(a)
 (b)

f
Fig. 8. Effect of the inlet temperature of the gas turbine on the system performance.

oo
The effect of the inlet temperature of the steam turbine on system performance is illustrated in Fig.

r
-p
9. As the inlet temperature of the steam turbine increases, the efficiency of the GTCC, the efficiency

of the PWTES-GTCC, the electrical efficiency of the PWTES and the energy storage density
re
increase slightly. When the inlet temperature of the steam turbine increases, the mass flow rate of
lP

the steam turbine decreases but the total net output work of the steam cycle increases. Moreover,
na

the efficiency of the GTCC increases considering that the operating conditions of the gas cycle

remain constant. Since the operating conditions of the gas cycle remain constant, the operating
ur

conditions of the PWTES are also constant. The total input energy of the PWTES based on the
Jo

GTCC is unchanged and the total net output work of the GTCC increases, so that the efficiency of

the PWTES-GTCC and the electrical efficiency of the PWTES increase. The energy storage density

increases as the electrical efficiency of the PWTES increases.

 (a)

f
(b)

oo
Fig. 9. Effect of the inlet temperature of the steam turbine on the system performance.

r
The effect of the inlet pressure of the steam turbine on system performance is indicated in Fig. 10.
-p
With the inlet pressure of the steam turbine increases, the efficiency of the GTCC, the efficiency of
re
the PWTES-GTCC, the electrical efficiency of the PWTES and the energy storage density increase
lP

slowly. As the inlet pressure of the steam turbine increases, the total net output work of the steam

cycle increases while the operating conditions of the gas cycle remain constant. Therefore, the
na

efficiency of the GTCC increases. The operating conditions of the PWTES also remain constant, so
ur

that the efficiency of the PWTES-GTCC increases when the total net output work of the GTCC

increases. When the inlet pressure of the steam turbine increases, the total input energy of the
Jo

PWTES remains unchanged, but the efficiency of the GTCC and the total net output work increase.

On the whole, the electrical efficiency of the PWTES increases. The volume of the WST remains

unchanged due to the constant operating conditions of the PWTES. The energy storage density

increases as the electrical efficiency of the PWTES increases.

 (a)

f
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re
lP
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(b)
ur

Fig. 10. Effect of the inlet pressure of the steam turbine on the system performance.
Jo

The effect of the outlet pressure of the steam turbine on system performance is given in Fig. 11.

With the increase of the outlet pressure of the steam turbine, the efficiency of the GTCC, the

efficiency of the PWTES-GTCC, the electrical efficiency of the PWTES and the energy storage

density decrease. As the outlet pressure of the steam turbine increases, the operating conditions of

the gas cycle remain constant, but the efficiency of the GTCC decreases due to the total net output

work of the steam cycle decreases. The operating conditions of the PWTES are also constant. The

total input energy of the PWTES based on the GTCC is unchanged, and the total net output work

decreases making the efficiency of the PWTES-GTCC decrease. When the efficiency of the GTCC

and the total net output work decrease at the same time, overall, the electrical efficiency of the

PWTES decreases. The energy storage density decreases and it has the same trend as the electrical

efficiency of the PWTES.

 (a)

f
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(b)
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Fig. 11. Effect of the outlet pressure of the steam turbine on the system performance.
Jo

According to the method of sensitivity analysis, the sensitivity coefficients of the efficiency of the

GTCC, the efficiency of the PWTES-GTCC, the electrical efficiency of the PWTES, and the energy

storage density to the key parameters in the proposed system have been calculated. The energy

storage density is the most sensitive to the temperature of the high-pressure water with a sensitivity

coefficient of 5.7, followed by the reaction temperature of the cracking reaction, 3.6, and the inlet

temperature of the gas turbine, 2.2; moreover, the efficiency of the PWTES-GTCC, the efficiency

of the GTCC and the electrical efficiency of the PWTES have the highest sensitivity coefficient to

the inlet temperature of the gas turbine. The sensitivity coefficients of the efficiency of the PWTES-

GTCC and the electrical efficiency of the PWTES to the temperature of the high-pressure water are

only smaller than their sensitivity coefficients to the inlet temperature of the gas turbine. It is

referential that the temperature of the high-pressure water, among the ten key parameters considered,
has the most significant impact on the system performance when the operating conditions of the

GTCC remain constant.

f
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5. CONCLUSIONS

In this work, a PWTES system based on the GTCC is proposed to achieve the goal of high-energy

density. The proposed system makes full use of the high specific heat of the water to store thermal

energy and converts thermal energy to electrical energy through cracking reaction and GTCC. The

detailed thermodynamic models of each component have been built. And the sensitivity analysis of

the proposed system has been carried out.

The result shows that the energy storage density of the proposed system could reach 36.5 kWh /m3,

and it is most sensitive to the temperature of the high-pressure water with a sensitivity coefficient

f
oo
of 5.7, followed by the reaction temperature of the cracking reaction and the inlet temperature of

the gas turbine. It is worth noting that the energy storage density always has the same trend as the

r
-p
electrical efficiency of the PWTES. Based on the single-pressure GTCC without reheat, the

efficiency of the PWTES-GTCC, the efficiency of the GTCC and the electrical efficiency of the
re
PWTES are expected to reach about 53.1%, 55.4% and 42.6%, respectively. Moreover, the inlet
lP

temperature of the gas turbine has a conspicuous impact on the performance of the proposed system,
na

i.e., the efficiency of the PWTES-GTCC, the efficiency of the GTCC and the electrical efficiency

of the PWTES increase significantly as the inlet temperature of the gas turbine increases. Compared
ur

with the traditional EES systems, one of the advantages of building an EES system based on the
Jo

built GTCC is to reduce the overall investment cost of the system. Without considering the

adjustment of the parameters of the GTCC, the temperature of the high-pressure water has the

greatest impact on the performance of the proposed system.

The link between the thermodynamic parameters and system performance of the system attracts

researchers. The results are of great significance to the further research of EES. Furthermore, with

a more advanced GTCC (e.g., double-pressure GTCC with reheat), the system performance of the

proposed system may be obviously improved.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to the support provided by the Natural Science Basic Research Program of

Shaanxi (No.2021JQ-047).

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oo
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ur

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Nomenclature

A Evaluation index

E Energy storage density, kWh/m3

F Uncertain parameter

h Specific enthalpy, J/kg

LHV Low heating value, J/kg

m Mass flow rate, kg/s

P Pressure, MPa

Heat per unit mass, J/kg

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Q Heat, J

Specific entropy, J/(kg·K)

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S Sensitivity coefficient
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T Temperature, K
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V Volume, m3

w Work per unit mass, J/kg

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W Power, W

W Work, J
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Greek symbols
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 Pressure ratio

 Efficiency

 Volume ratio

 Density, kg/m3

Acronyms

A-CAES Adiabatic compressed air energy storage

CAES Compressed air energy storage

CC Combustion chamber

COM Compressor

CON Condenser

CPH Constant-pressure heater

CRR Cracking reactor

EE Electric energy

EES Electrical energy storage

ELH Electric heater

GTCC Gas-steam combined cycle

HRSG Heat recovery steam generator

HT Hydro-turbine

I-CAES Isothermal compressed air energy storage

LAES Liquid air energy storage

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ORC Organic Rankine cycle

PHES Pumped hydro energy storage

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PUM Pump -p
PWTES Pressurized water thermal energy storage
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PWTES-GTCC Pressurized water thermal energy storage system based on the gas-steam
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combined cycle
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TES Thermal energy storage

THV Throttle value

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TUR Turbine
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VCRC Vapor compression refrigeration cycle

WST Water storage tank

Subscripts and superscripts

a Substances involved in chemical reactions

b Air that did not participate in the combustion reaction

COM Compressor

CON Condenser

CPH Constant-pressure heater

CRR Cracking reactor

ELH Electric heater

GTCC Gas-steam combined cycle

HT Hydro-turbine
P Product

PUM Pump

PW Pressurized water thermal energy storage

PW-GT Pressurized water thermal energy storage system based on the gas-steam

combined cycle

R Reactant

s Isentropic process

T Temperature

TUR Turbine

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V Volume

WST Water storage tank

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Reference state of thermochemical standard
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HIGHLIGHTS

1. An energy storage system using water as a heat storage medium is proposed.

2. The proposed system combines TES with a GTCC.

3. The cracking reaction of methanol is applied in the system.

4. The sensitivity of thermodynamic parameters is assessed.

5. The energy storage density could reach 36.5 kWh/m3.

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Declaration of interests

☒ The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships
that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

☐The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered
as potential competing interests:

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