LuftBlock (AirBlock)
New Filter Material and Thermal Ratcheting Analysis
To improve energy efficiency in energy intensive and high temperature industries, Kraftblock offers waste heat recycling and reuse for high temperatures. In some processes and industries, dust or particle contamination is a problem for direct waste heat recovery as it clogs systems. Direct waste heat is the most valuable as before cleaning it is hottest and thus contains the most energy.
This is why we are working with the Fraunhofer ISE research institute and ceramic manufacturer Comet on a research project called LuftBlock (AirBlock). In this project, we are developing a version of the Kraftblock material that acts as a filter for dust and particles and can be easily replaced. This will make it easier to recover waste heat from certain processes without the need for expensive heat exchangers. In the Fraunhofer ISE and Kraftblock laboratories, we will first build a test storage and prototypes to test the filter material before implementing the industrial-scale store at Comet, which will be integrated into production.
A second aspect of the project will be the investigation of thermal ratcheting. Thermal ratcheting is the process by which a material expands and shrinks when it undergoes thermal cycles. In the LuftBlock project, thermal ratcheting will be analysed in a test storage in the Kraftblock technical center.
A good picture to describe thermal ratcheting is the silo effect. Silos can get destroyed by themselves when undergoing a change of temperature. The bottom part of the steel shell could round out and finally break under the material stress.
While this is not an issue with the current Kraftblock storage, it is a problem in a simpler version of the inner storage. In the project we will analyse the ratcheting and see how the storage material moves. This helps us to develop a simpler container for the material that does not face the problem and costs less than the current safe Kraftblock standard.
The project will be finished in mid of 2026.
This project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) under the grant number: 03EN4053B
Learn more about the ceramic manufacturer Comet Schleiftechnik GmbH.
Learn more about the project from research institute Fraunhofer ISE here.