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A flameless catalytic combustion-based thermoelectric generator for powering electronic instruments on gas pipelines

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  • Xiao, Heng
  • Qiu, Kuanrong
  • Gou, Xiaolong
  • Ou, Qiang

Abstract

This paper presents a flameless catalytic combustion-based thermoelectric power generator that uses commercial thermoelectric modules. The structure of the thermoelectric generator (TEG) is introduced and the power performance is measured based on a designed circuit system. The open circuit voltage of the TEG is about 7.3V. The maximum power output can reach up to 6.5W when the load resistance matches the TEG internal resistance. However, the system output is sensitive to load variation. To improve this characteristic, maximum power point tracking technique is used and results in an open circuit voltage of 13.8V. The improved characteristic makes the TEG system a good charger to keep the lead acid battery fully charged so as to meet the needs of electronic instruments on gas pipelines. In addition, the combustion features have been investigated based on the temperature measurement. Test results show that the uniformity of combustion heat transfer process and the combustion chamber structure play important roles in improving system power output. It can get an optimized TEG system (maximum power output: 8.3W) by uniformly filling a thermal insulation material (asbestos) to avoid a non-uniform combustion heat transfer process.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiao, Heng & Qiu, Kuanrong & Gou, Xiaolong & Ou, Qiang, 2013. "A flameless catalytic combustion-based thermoelectric generator for powering electronic instruments on gas pipelines," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 1161-1165.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:112:y:2013:i:c:p:1161-1165
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.01.078
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    Cited by:

    1. Merotto, L. & Fanciulli, C. & Dondè, R. & De Iuliis, S., 2016. "Study of a thermoelectric generator based on a catalytic premixed meso-scale combustor," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 346-353.
    2. Elankovan, R. & Suresh, S. & Karthick, Krishnadass & Hussain, Mohammed Muaaz M.D. & Chandramohan, V.P., 2019. "Evaluation of thermoelectric power generated through waste heat recovery from long ducts and different thermal system configurations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 477-491.
    3. Fanciulli, C. & Abedi, H. & Merotto, L. & Dondè, R. & De Iuliis, S. & Passaretti, F., 2018. "Portable thermoelectric power generation based on catalytic combustor for low power electronic equipment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 300-308.
    4. Zhu, Xingzhuang & Zuo, Zhengxing & Wang, Wei & Jia, Boru & Zhan, Tianzhuo, 2023. "Experimental research and optimization of a thermoelectric generator excited by pulsed combustion mode under limited heat dissipation for combined heat and power supply," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 349(C).
    5. Raman, Perumal & Ram, Narasimhan K. & Gupta, Ruchi, 2014. "Development, design and performance analysis of a forced draft clean combustion cookstove powered by a thermo electric generator with multi-utility options," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 813-825.
    6. Liu, Yi-Hua & Chiu, Yi-Hsun & Huang, Jia-Wei & Wang, Shun-Chung, 2016. "A novel maximum power point tracker for thermoelectric generation system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 306-318.
    7. Shen, Rong & Gou, Xiaolong & Xu, Haoyu & Qiu, Kuanrong, 2017. "Dynamic performance analysis of a cascaded thermoelectric generator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 808-815.
    8. Yu, Shuhai & Du, Qing & Diao, Hai & Shu, Gequn & Jiao, Kui, 2015. "Start-up modes of thermoelectric generator based on vehicle exhaust waste heat recovery," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 276-290.
    9. Mustafa, K.F. & Abdullah, S. & Abdullah, M.Z. & Sopian, K., 2017. "A review of combustion-driven thermoelectric (TE) and thermophotovoltaic (TPV) power systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 572-584.
    10. Massaguer, Eduard & Massaguer, Albert & Pujol, Toni & Gonzalez, Jose Ramon & Montoro, Lino, 2017. "Modelling and analysis of longitudinal thermoelectric energy harvesters considering series-parallel interconnection effect," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 59-69.
    11. Massaguer Colomer, Albert & Massaguer, Eduard & Pujol, Toni & Comamala, Martí & Montoro, Lino & González, J.R., 2015. "Electrically tunable thermal conductivity in thermoelectric materials: Active and passive control," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 709-717.

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