Experimental Study of Solar Energy Storage with Zeolite

In order to explore the application of solar energy in heat storage and heating, a set of solar-powered open cycle system of heat storage was proposed to investigate experimentally the thermal utility of solar energy. Experiments were performed by means of natural zeolite-water as adsorption medium for possible application in winter. Based on continual observation of solar radiation, the dynamic properties of adsorption or desorption process of the natural zeolite heat storage bed have been determined and the amount of thermal energy available and thermal efficiency were calculated. It was showed that absorption heat and desorption heat were about 152.5 kJ and 2 126 kJ, respectively. Then, thermal efficiency of the solar energy storage set was higher than 30% in present study.