Some Aspects of Heat Accumulators Application in Thermal Power Engineering

The given paper poses some problems and possible ways of their solution concerning the applicability of heat accumulators in thermal power engineering. The need to install heat accumulators in the systems with different modes of heat supply and consumption is evident. It is suggested that the efficiency of such devices, in particular with respect to the physical data of the device, be increased through accumulation using the latent heat of the melting-solidification phase transition. By objective selection criteria, such as melting point, heat of phase transition, accessibility and non-toxicity, technical paraffin is of particular interest for the accumulation of thermal energy. In addition, the authors have justified the conditions for the implementation of ecological effectuality of heat accumulators application, including phase-shifting heat accumulators (FSHA), in traditional decentralized heat consumption systems, namely, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, primarily CO2. It has been established that if, with the growth in the heat load, and consequently the boiler capacity, the product of the square of CO2 volume concentration in the exhaust gases per their mass flow increases non-linearly, and this dependence is convex, switching off the heat source for the time of accumulated heat use gives a positive environmental effect, i.e., contributes to reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.