Adsorption Speed and Mass Transfer Zone Analysis of Water Vapour on the Solid Sorbent Materials Zeolite and Silicagel with the Focus on the Heat Exchanger Design

Thermal energy for domestic hot water and heating use is stored in water tanks. Depending on the time of charging and the consumption the size of the storage tank has to be adjusted. In solar thermal systems, tanks sizes are typically around 0.3 – 0.5 cubic meter for single family houses and in case of seasonal storage systems up to several hundreds of cubic meters in district heating systems. The costs for a storage system are depending on the materials used and the size. So, for reducing the costs, the total volume should be decreased and materials with a higher energy density than water are desirable. Based on a temperature difference of ∆T = 50 °C the energy density of water is approximately 58 kWh/m.