American engineers from the University of Alabama and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory announced a breakthrough in technology that allows storing excess energy in thermal storage devices that can be integrated into building structures. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Journal of Energy Storage (JES).
Phase change thermal storage devices are polymer microcapsules. When the device heats up, its contents absorb heat and become liquid. When cooled, the substance hardens, releasing the stored energy.
Until recently, such elements were not very durable, making it impossible to add them to concrete and other building materials.
The team solved this problem by creating a protective coating of cenospheres, which are aluminum silicate microspheres produced as a byproduct when coal is burned in power plants.
According to engineers, the cenosphere layer makes thermal storage devices much stronger and makes them fire resistant.
According to Professor Jialai Wang, one of the authors of the study, incorporating thermal storage into building structures will allow them to store excess energy from wind and solar power plants and then use this reserve during network failures or periods of reduced production. from renewable energy sources.
Previous scientists was created A virtually indestructible material, it is second only to diamond in terms of strength.