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Thermoacoustic micro-electricity generator for rural dwellings in developing countries driven by waste heat from cooking activities

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  • Abdoulla-Latiwish, Kalid O.A.
  • Mao, Xiaoan
  • Jaworski, Artur J.

Abstract

Thermoacoustic engines convert heat into acoustic power without moving parts. Coupling them with electrodynamic transducers – directly converting acoustic power into electricity – enables building simple electricity generators, where the only moving part is the piston of the linear alternator. Integration of such devices with biomass-driven cookstoves widely used in remote and rural areas of developing countries can lead to inexpensive electrical power systems, essentially powered by waste heat from daily cooking activities. In this paper the modelling, design, construction and testing of a laboratory demonstrator of such generator is outlined. A travelling-wave thermoacoustic engine with a looped-tube configuration is modelled using DeltaEC tool and constructed to convert heat input into acoustic power. Flue gas from a propane burner is used as a heat source for demonstration purposes. An audio loudspeaker is connected to a side branch and adopted as the electro-dynamic transducer for electricity production. Atmospheric air is employed as the working fluid to keep the cost of future systems low. The demonstrator produced just under 20 W of electricity with thermal-to-acoustic and thermal-to-electric efficiencies of around 3.5% and 1.9%, respectively, which demonstrates the micro-power source concept. Experimental results and their numerical validation are outlined and analysed.

Suggested Citation

  • Abdoulla-Latiwish, Kalid O.A. & Mao, Xiaoan & Jaworski, Artur J., 2017. "Thermoacoustic micro-electricity generator for rural dwellings in developing countries driven by waste heat from cooking activities," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 1107-1120.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:134:y:2017:i:c:p:1107-1120
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2017.05.029
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Yu, Zhibin & Jaworski, Artur J. & Backhaus, Scott, 2012. "Travelling-wave thermoacoustic electricity generator using an ultra-compliant alternator for utilization of low-grade thermal energy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 135-145.
    2. Kang, Huifang & Cheng, Peng & Yu, Zhibin & Zheng, Hongfei, 2015. "A two-stage traveling-wave thermoacoustic electric generator with loudspeakers as alternators," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 9-17.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Chen, Geng & Tang, Lihua & Mace, Brian & Yu, Zhibin, 2021. "Multi-physics coupling in thermoacoustic devices: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    2. Elhawary, M.A. & Ibrahim, Abdelmaged H. & Sabry, Ashraf S. & Abdel-Rahman, Ehab, 2020. "Experimental study of a small scale bi-directional axial impulse turbine for acoustic-to-mechanical power conversion," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 414-426.
    3. Hamood, Ahmed & Jaworski, Artur J. & Mao, Xiaoan & Simpson, Kevin, 2018. "Design and construction of a two-stage thermoacoustic electricity generator with push-pull linear alternator," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 61-72.
    4. Peter L. Borland & Kevin McDonnell & Mary Harty, 2023. "Assessment of the Potential to Use the Expelled Heat Energy from a Typical Data Centre in Ireland for Alternative Farming Methods," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-32, September.
    5. Bi, Tianjiao & Wu, Zhanghua & Chen, Wei & Zhang, Limin & Luo, Ercang & Zhang, Bin, 2022. "Numerical and experimental research on a high-power 4-stage looped travelling-wave thermoacoustic electric generator," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PB).
    6. Kisha, Wigdan & Riley, Paul & McKechnie, Jon & Hann, David, 2021. "Asymmetrically heated multi-stage travelling-wave thermoacoustic electricity generator," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    7. Saechan, Patcharin & Jaworski, Artur J., 2019. "Numerical studies of co-axial travelling-wave thermoacoustic cooler powered by standing-wave thermoacoustic engine," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 600-610.

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