Thermal conductivity of selected salt hydrates for thermochemical solar heat storage applications measured by the light flash method

Salt hydrates of MgSO4, ZnSO4 and SrCl2 are promising materials for thermochemical heat storage applications. It is necessary to know the thermal conductivity of their hydrates in order to optimize heat storage systems. Therefore, the hydrates which occur as reaction products of a hydration were pressed into pellets and the thermal diffusivity was measured With the light flash method. To calculate the thermal conductivity, the heat capacity, which was determined by calorimetry, is also required. The method used to determine the thermal conductivity was verified with NaCl. MgSO4 center dot 7H(2)O, MgSO4 center dot 6H(2)O and ZnSO4 center dot 7H(2)O showed thermal conductivities of about 0.7W m(-1) K-1, while SrCl(2 center dot)6H(2)O reached 1.0 W m(-1) K-1. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.