Combined solar concentration and carbon nanotube absorber for high performance solar thermoelectric generators

Li, Long; Gao, Xiang; Zhang, Guang; Xie, Wenyuan; Fufu, Wang; Yao, Wei

doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2018.12.104

Cited by 58 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…However, due to the low efficiency of TEC, studies have focused on developing materials that enable improving ZT efficiency, which is an indicator relating the material to thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, and Seebeck coefficient as a function of device temperature [70]. In recent years, TECs have been integrated into photovoltaic modules with Fresnel lenses to dissipate heat in PV plants [71][72][73]. In addition, TECs were combined with PV panels for applications of refrigeration, freezing and radiant walls in buildings [22,29,33,64,74,75].…”

Section: Historical Evolution Of Cooling Equipment and Main Solar Cooling Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of Polygeneration Schemes with Solar Cooling Technologies and Potential Industrial Applications

et al. 2021

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The trend to reduce CO2 emissions in cooling processes has made it possible to increase the alternatives for integrating solar energy with thermal equipment whose viability depends on its adaptation to polygeneration schemes. Despite the enormous potential offered by the industry for cooling and heating processes, solar cooling technologies (SCT) have been explored in a limited way in the industrial sector. This work discusses the potential applications of industrial SCTs and classifies hybrid polygeneration schemes based on supplying cold, heat, electricity, and desalination of water; summarizes the leading SCTs, and details the main indicators of polygeneration configurations in terms of reductions on primary energy consumption and payback times. To achieve an energy transition in refrigeration processes, the scenarios with the most significant potential are: the food manufacturing industry (water immersion and crystallization processes), the beverage industry (fermentation and storage processes), and the mining industry (underground air conditioning).

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Section: Historical Evolution Of Cooling Equipment and Main Solar Cooling Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of Polygeneration Schemes with Solar Cooling Technologies and Potential Industrial Applications

et al. 2021

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“…Results showed that the new optimized segmented design provided a 14.9% power output increase compared to non-segmented design. Li et al [27] investigated a high performance STEG combined with solar concentrators and carbon nanotubes absorber. Results showed that the new system design achieved a peak efficiency of 4.3% at solar concentration of 78, and a maximum power output of 11.2 W at 106-fold suns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transient and non-uniform heat flux effect on solar thermoelectric generator with phase change material

Shittu

Xuan

et al. 2020

Applied Thermal Engineering

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Transient and non-uniform heat flux from solar concentrators can affect the performance of solar thermoelectric generators, which generate electricity from concentrated solar radiation. Therefore, this paper presents a detailed three-dimensional study on the effect of transient and non-uniform heat flux on the performance of a solar thermoelectric generator (STEG). COMSOL 5.4Multiphysics software is utilized for the numerical study while the non-uniform heat flux from a compound parabolic concentrator is obtained through ray tracing simulation using Lighttools software. Varying solar radiation under typical partly cloudy weather condition is utilized. Furthermore, phase change material (PCM) is used to reduce the effect of transient and nonuniform heat flux therefore; it is positioned at the top surface of the solar thermoelectric generator.A comparison between the performance of the STEG with and without PCM is presented, and a parametric study on the effect of PCM fins and PCM height on the STEG performance is carried out. Results show that the place of PCM on the top surface of the solar thermoelectric generator is an effective approach to provide a stable electrical performance form the STEG under varying weather conditions. Furthermore, results reveal the effectiveness of the phase change material in protecting the solar thermoelectric generator under highly concentrated solar radiation. This study will provide valuable design guidance for solar thermoelectric generators under varying weather conditions and with solar concentrators, which produce non-uniform heat flux.

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“…Thermoelectric conversion technology, therefore, has obvious advantages over other energy conversion technologies, such as a long service life, no noise, low cost, and environmental protection [2,3,9,10]. On this basis, thermoelectric conversion technology has been widely adopted in energy conversion processes in the aerospace, aviation, and civil industries [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Zhang et al discussed the performance of a photovoltaic-thermoelectric device having an air-cooling mechanism, the bottom of which is connected with a heatsink to transfer heat energy from inside to outside the environment [8]. Li et al adopted a water-cooling method and liquid-cooled cold stage to keep the temperature low and stable, which helped thermoelectric energy conversion [11]. Zhang et al selected an aluminum heatsink radiator as the air-cooling module, which reduced the temperature of the cold side of the thermoelectric power generator [15,16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance of Thermoelectric Power-Generation System for Sufficient Recovery and Reuse of Heat Accumulated at Cold Side of TEG with Water-Cooling Energy Exchange Circuit

Zhang

Sui

et al. 2020

Energies

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Aiming to reduce thermal energy loss at the cold side of a thermoelectric generator (TEG) module during thermoelectric conversion, a thermoelectric energy conversion system for heat recovery with a water-cooling energy exchange circuit was devised. The water-cooling energy exchange circuit realized sufficient recovery and reuse of heat accumulated at the cold side of the TEG, reduced the danger of heat accumulation, improved the stability and output capacity of thermoelectric conversion, and provided a low-cost and high-yield energy conversion strategy in energy conversion and utilization. Through the control variable method to adjust the heat generation of the heat source in the thermoelectric conversion, critical parameters (e.g., inner resistance of the TEG, temperatures of thermoelectric modules, temperature differences, output current, voltage, power, and efficiency of thermoelectric conversion) were analyzed and discussed. After using the control variable method to change the ratio of load resistance and internal resistance, the impacts of the ratio of load resistance to inner resistance of the TEG on the entire energy conversion process were elaborated. The results showed that the maximum value of output reached 397.47 mV with a current of 105.56 mA, power of 41.96 mW, and energy conversion efficiency of 1.16%. The power density of the TEG module is 26.225 W/m2. The stability and practicality of the system with a water-cooling energy exchange circuit were demonstrated, providing an effective strategy for the recovery and utilization of heat energy loss in the thermoelectric conversion process.

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Combined solar concentration and carbon nanotube absorber for high performance solar thermoelectric generators

Cited by 58 publications

References 45 publications

Review of Polygeneration Schemes with Solar Cooling Technologies and Potential Industrial Applications

Review of Polygeneration Schemes with Solar Cooling Technologies and Potential Industrial Applications

Transient and non-uniform heat flux effect on solar thermoelectric generator with phase change material

Performance of Thermoelectric Power-Generation System for Sufficient Recovery and Reuse of Heat Accumulated at Cold Side of TEG with Water-Cooling Energy Exchange Circuit

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