Magnesium oxide from natural magnesite samples as thermochemical energy storage material

Abstract Thermochemical energy storage based on the Mg(OH) 2 / MgO cycle is considered as attractive process for recycling of industrial waste heat between 350-400 °C. Based on a recent study, revealing MgCO 3 -derived MgO as highly attractive starting material for such a storage cycle, three different natural magnesites were investigated to analyze the process-performance using industrially available raw-materials. Whereas, the varying amounts of Ca 2+ and Fe 2+ as major impurities did not notably affect the reactivity / cycle stability within the series, compared to the analytically pure reference material a notable decrease of performance was evidenced.