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Space Energy Technology (thermionic conversion) Restored to Make Power Stations More Efficient
https://www.elsevier.com/about/press-releases/research-and-journals/space-energy-technology-restored-to-make-power-stations-more-efficient[font face=Serif][font size=5]Space Energy Technology Restored to Make Power Stations More Efficient[/font]
[font size=4]Scientists use graphene to reinvent abandoned heat energy converter technology[/font]
Oxford, United Kingdom, March 6, 2017
[font size=3]Satellite-powering technology that was abandoned decades ago has been reinvented to potentially work with traditional power stations to help them convert heat to electricity more efficiently, meaning we would need less fossil fuel to burn for power. A new study in Nano Energy presents a prototype energy converter, which uses graphene instead of metal, making it almost seven times more efficient.
…
Existing TEC technology faces two obstacles: a high loss of energy at the anode surface, which leads to reduced output voltage, and high electrical barriers against electrons moving in the gap between the collector and the emitter, which results in reduced output current. For the first time, the new prototype tackles both of these problems simultaneously. The findings of the study reveal an electronic efficiency in energy conversion of 9.8 percent – by far the highest efficiency at 1000˚C.
The technology is not yet ready for use in power stations or people’s homes – the prototype works in a vacuum chamber but not in a normal setting. The researchers are now working on a vacuum packaged TEC to test the reliability and efficiency of the technology in real applications.
“This prototype is just the first step – there is a lot more to do,” said Dr. Yuan. “But our results so far are promising and reflect a happy marriage between modern materials science and an old-fashioned energy technology, which provides a route for re-sparking the field of thermionic energy conversion.”
…[/font][/font]
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2016.12.027[font size=4]Scientists use graphene to reinvent abandoned heat energy converter technology[/font]
Oxford, United Kingdom, March 6, 2017
[font size=3]Satellite-powering technology that was abandoned decades ago has been reinvented to potentially work with traditional power stations to help them convert heat to electricity more efficiently, meaning we would need less fossil fuel to burn for power. A new study in Nano Energy presents a prototype energy converter, which uses graphene instead of metal, making it almost seven times more efficient.
…
Existing TEC technology faces two obstacles: a high loss of energy at the anode surface, which leads to reduced output voltage, and high electrical barriers against electrons moving in the gap between the collector and the emitter, which results in reduced output current. For the first time, the new prototype tackles both of these problems simultaneously. The findings of the study reveal an electronic efficiency in energy conversion of 9.8 percent – by far the highest efficiency at 1000˚C.
The technology is not yet ready for use in power stations or people’s homes – the prototype works in a vacuum chamber but not in a normal setting. The researchers are now working on a vacuum packaged TEC to test the reliability and efficiency of the technology in real applications.
“This prototype is just the first step – there is a lot more to do,” said Dr. Yuan. “But our results so far are promising and reflect a happy marriage between modern materials science and an old-fashioned energy technology, which provides a route for re-sparking the field of thermionic energy conversion.”
…[/font][/font]