Applicability of Thermophotovoltaic Technologies in the Iron and Steel Sectors

Abstract

The theoretical potential for converting excess heat from the iron and steel sectors in Turkey into electricity by the use of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems is investigated and analyzed. The TPV usage in this industry is numerically investigated because this sector is in the leading position in terms of energy consumption in industrial sectors. Using the iron and steel industry waste heat energy data, it is shown that the energy conversion efficiencies of the TPV systems with the photovoltaic (PV) cell modules of In0.2Ga0.8As0.18Sb0.82 and GaSb are 7.31 % and 2.04 %, respectively. When using TPV systems in the Turkish iron and steel sectors for waste heat energy potential, it is calculated that 29.88 MJ per year can be generated with GaSb cells, and 1.076 PJ per year can be generated with In0.2Ga0.8As0.18Sb0.82 cells. Based on the results obtained from the numerical model in this study, some specific advice for the applicability and the development of the high efficiency TPV conversion systems is proposed.

Energy Applications of Magnetocaloric Materials

“…Over the last 20 years, in addition to thermoelectricity, much research on solid‐state thermal energy harvesting ( Figure 2 ) has also focused on thermionics and thermophotovoltaics . Researchers have also investigated new frontiers in spin‐caloritronics, spin‐Seebeck, and anomalous Nernst effects .…”

“…[82,84] Over the last 20 years, in addition to thermoelectricity, much research on solid-state thermal energy harvesting (Figure 2) has also focused on thermionics [85][86][87] and thermophotovoltaics. [88][89][90] Researchers have also investigated new frontiers in spin-caloritronics, [91,92] spin-Seebeck, [93,94] and anomalous Nernst effects. [95,96] However, with the rapid development of caloric (ferroic) materials and technologies for refrigeration and air conditioning, caloric (ferroic) power generation [64,77] is being revisited and prototype devices are being developed.…”

Optimization and Analysis of Minimizing Exergy Loss in Ironmaking System

“…[ 15 ] In the traditional blast furnace‐basic oxygen furnace (BF‐BOF) route, the ironmaking system plays an important role but occupies about 60–70% of the total energy consumption of the whole process. [ 16–18 ] Thus, it is meaningful to reduce the loss in ironmaking system for reducing the energy consumption of the whole iron and steel smelting process (ISSP).…”

Thermal Emission‐Enhanced and Optically Modulated Radioisotope Thermophotovoltaic Generators

“…Therefore, a highly active isotope source is itself a powerful heat source, some with surface temperature of up to 1200 K or more . Radioisotope usually has a long half life, plus the stability of the thermophotovoltaic (TPV) system itself, so the RTPV has the strong potential to work long term and is stable in extreme environments . Although the first TPV system was introduced in the 1960s, RTPV has only begun to receive attention in recent years, the research is still in a preliminary stage.…”