The Lamm-Honigmann process is a storage and heat to power conversion process that consists of using the effect of

vapor pressure Vapor pressure (or vapour pressure in English-speaking countries other than the US; see spelling differences) or equilibrium vapor pressure is defined as the pressure exerted by a vapor in thermodynamic equilibrium with its condensed phase ...

depression of a

working fluid For fluid power, a working fluid is a gas or liquid that primarily transfers force, motion, or mechanical energy. In hydraulics, water or hydraulic fluid transfers force between hydraulic components such as hydraulic pumps, hydraulic cylinders, ...

mixture compared to a pure working fluid of that mixture. This process is named after their independent inventors Emile Lamm (US patent from 1870) and Moritz Honigmann (German patent from 1883). Both inventors envisioned and realized the same process principle for usage as energy storage in so-called

Fireless locomotive A fireless locomotive is a type of locomotive which uses reciprocating engines powered from a reservoir of compressed air or steam, which is filled at intervals from an external source. They offer advantages over conventional steam locomotives ...

but with different working fluid pairs: Emile Lamm used

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogeno ...

and water, Moritz Honigmann used water and

caustic soda Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye and caustic soda, is an inorganic compound with the formula NaOH. It is a white solid ionic compound consisting of sodium cations and hydroxide anions . Sodium hydroxide is a highly caustic base and alkal ...

. Compared to conventional fire-less locomotives (that usually work with reservoirs of pure pressurized water or air) the advantage of the process proposed by Lamm and Honigmann is that the loss in pressure ratio during discharging of the storage is smaller, and therefore theoretically a larger storage density can be achieved. The process can be considered as a Carnot battery technologies.

Process principle

A mixture of water and e.g. any salt has according to Raoult's law a smaller vapor pressure than the pure mixture. More specifically, the vapor pressure depression is larger the larger the salt mass fraction is. This pressure potential is used in the Lamm-Honigmann process to expand the working fluid, e.g. water vapor, in an expansion device and generate mechanical or subsequently electrical energy. The working fluid is evaporated from a reservoir (

Evaporator An evaporator is a device used to turn the liquid form of a chemical substance, such as water, into a vapor. Uses Air conditioning and refrigeration Some air conditioners and refrigerators use a compressed liquid with a low boiling point, s ...

) and than expanded into a concentrated solution of the working fluid pair that has lower vapor pressure (Absorber). The working fluid is absorbed by the solution and heat of absorption is transferred to the evaporator to hold the pressure in the evaporator. During this discharging process the pressure in the absorber is rising due to dilution of the mixture, until the pressure potential is not large enough anymore to drive the expansion device or whatever is connected to it. The storage is discharged. The charging process consists of re-concentrating the working fluid mixture by means of heat or mechanical energy. In the case of thermal charging, the diluted solution is heated and the working fluid is desorbed and condensed in a condenser at the same pressure level. The heat of condensation has to be transferred to the environment or another heat sink. In case of mechanical charging the discharging process is literally inverted. A compression device brings the working fluid that is desorbed out of the mixture to a larger pressure level, where it is condensed. The heat of condensation is transferred to the mixture for desorption of the working fluid. The process can equally be realized using solid

sorption Sorption is a physical and chemical process by which one substance becomes attached to another. Specific cases of sorption are treated in the following articles: ; Absorption: "the incorporation of a substance in one state into another of a dif ...

pairs (e.g. Zeolith/water) or chemicals of a reversible chemical reaction (e.g.

Calcium chloride Calcium chloride is an inorganic compound, a salt with the chemical formula . It is a white crystalline solid at room temperature, and it is highly soluble in water. It can be created by neutralising hydrochloric acid with calcium hydroxide. Cal ...

/water), but no realized prototypes are known.

Application as stationary energy storage

Whereas the storage densities achievable with the recently investigated working fluid pairs are with 1.4-17.5 Wh/kg not large enough for mobile applications, current research work focuses on its application as stationary energy storage with a flexible use of different kinds of energy for charging and discharging as indicated storage efficiencies are comparable to other bulk

energy storage system Energy storage is the capture of energy produced at one time for use at a later time to reduce imbalances between energy demand and energy production. A device that stores energy is generally called an accumulator or battery. Energy comes in ...

s such as pumped hydro, liquid air energy storage or

hydrogen storage Hydrogen storage can be accomplished by several existing methods of holding hydrogen for later use. These include mechanical approaches such as using high pressures and low temperatures, or employing chemical compounds that release H2 upon demand ...

References

{{reflist, refs= {{citation , author = Emile Lamm , title = Improvement in ammoniacal-gas engines , year = 1870 , publisher = United States Patent Office , others = Patent No.105 581 {{citation , author = Honigmann, M. , year = 1883 , title = Verfahren zur Entwicklung gespannten Dampfes durch Absorption des abgehenden Maschinendampfes in Aetznatron oder Aetzkali , language = de , publisher = Kaiserliches Patentamt , others = Patent No. 26234 {{citation , author = Honigmann, M , year = 1885 , title = Vorrichtung zum Eindampfen der Laugen in Natrondampfkesseln mittels gespannten Dampfes , others = Patent No. 33654 , publisher = Kaiserliches Patentamt , language = de {{cite patent , inventor = Isshiki, N., Nikai, I., Uchida, H. , number = 4122680 , country = US , title = Concentration difference energy operated power plants and media used in conjunction therewith , pubdate = 1978-10-31 {{citation , author = Honigmann, M. , year = 1885 , title = Storing power. Specification forming part of Letters , others = Patent No. 333,222, dated 29 December 1885. Application filed 28 May 1885, Serial No. 166,984. , publisher = United States Patent Office {{citation , author = Jahnke, A., Ziegler, F., Karow, M. , year = 2009 , title = Re-evaluation of the Honigmann-process: Thermo-chemical heat store for the supply of electricity and refrigeration , others = In: Proceedings of the Heat Powered Cycles Conference, Berlin, Germany {{cite journal , last1=Thiele, first1=Elisabeth , last2=Jahnke, first2=Anna , last3=Ziegler, first3=Felix , title=Efficiency of the Lamm–Honigmann thermochemical energy storage , journal=Thermal Science and Engineering Progress , volume=19, year=2020, pages=100606, issn=2451-9049, doi=10.1016/j.tsep.2020.100606 Energy storage

Process principle

Application as stationary energy storage

See also

References