IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v358y2024ics0306261923019682.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Feasibility study on radioisotope-powered thermophotovoltaic/thermoelectric hybrid power generation system used in deep-sea: From design to experiment

Author

Listed:
  • Qi, Ji
  • Wang, Xuejian
  • Yang, Decao
  • Li, Gongping

Abstract

This study aims to comprehensively examine the feasibility of a hybrid power generation system that integrates solar and thermoelectric technologies, with a focus on utilizing a radioisotope heat source (RHU) for deep-sea applications. The investigation encompasses the whole design process as well as rigorous testing procedures. The self-designed coupling device establishes a connection between the silicon photovoltaic (PV) cell and the bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) thermoelectric modules (TEMs), therefore creating a photovoltaic-thermoelectric (PV-TE) hybrid system. The measuring platform incorporates the system to investigate the influence of varying light intensity (ranging from 400 to 1600 W/m2) on the electrical properties of the system, specifically focusing on three subgroups of PV cell temperature (20 °C, 25 °C, and 30 °C). The findings suggest that the enhanced performance of the photovoltaic (PV) cell and thermoelectric modules (TEMs) under identical PV cell temperatures may lead to an improvement in the electrical performance of the system due to variations in light intensity. Nevertheless, when the temperature of the photovoltaic (PV) cell increases, there is a gradual decline in the growth rate of the output power. The subsequent research provide evidence that there exist discrete mechanisms responsible for the reduction in intensity between thermoelectric modules (TEMs) and photovoltaic (PV) cells. The processes arise due to the impact of thermal effect on the photovoltaic materials and the increased temperature difference between hot and cold junctions of the thermoelectric modules (TEMs), respectively. Furthermore, a control group is incorporated by calculating the performance of the hybrid system under the same operating conditions as the single thermoelectric (S-TE) system. According to a comparative analysis comparing the Radioisotope Thermal-Photovoltaic-Thermoelectric (RTPV-TE) hybrid power production systems and the S-TE system, it has been shown that the former exhibits a potential increase in output power of up to 271% while operating under identical conditions. This work offers insights and methodologies for the design and measurement of RTPV-TE hybrid power generating systems in engineering application situations.

Suggested Citation

  • Qi, Ji & Wang, Xuejian & Yang, Decao & Li, Gongping, 2024. "Feasibility study on radioisotope-powered thermophotovoltaic/thermoelectric hybrid power generation system used in deep-sea: From design to experiment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 358(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:358:y:2024:i:c:s0306261923019682
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.122604
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261923019682
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.122604?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xie, Yu & Wu, Shi-jun & Yang, Can-jun, 2016. "Generation of electricity from deep-sea hydrothermal vents with a thermoelectric converter," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 620-627.
    2. Fathabadi, Hassan, 2020. "Novel solar-powered photovoltaic/thermoelectric hybrid power source," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 426-434.
    3. Jia, Yuting & Alva, Guruprasad & Fang, Guiyin, 2019. "Development and applications of photovoltaic–thermal systems: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 249-265.
    4. Ming Zhang & Lei Zhu & Guanqing Zhou & Tianyu Hao & Chaoqun Qiu & Zhe Zhao & Qin Hu & Bryon W. Larson & Haiming Zhu & Zaifei Ma & Zheng Tang & Wei Feng & Yongming Zhang & Thomas P. Russell & Feng Liu, 2021. "Single-layered organic photovoltaics with double cascading charge transport pathways: 18% efficiencies," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-10, December.
    5. Abdelrahman Lashin & Mohammad Al Turkestani & Mohamed Sabry, 2019. "Concentrated Photovoltaic/Thermal Hybrid System Coupled with a Thermoelectric Generator," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-12, July.
    6. Makki, Adham & Omer, Siddig & Sabir, Hisham, 2015. "Advancements in hybrid photovoltaic systems for enhanced solar cells performance," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 658-684.
    7. Huen, Priscilla & Daoud, Walid A., 2017. "Advances in hybrid solar photovoltaic and thermoelectric generators," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 1295-1302.
    8. Joshi, Sandeep S. & Dhoble, Ashwinkumar S., 2018. "Photovoltaic -Thermal systems (PVT): Technology review and future trends," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 848-882.
    9. Kunta Yoshikawa & Hayato Kawasaki & Wataru Yoshida & Toru Irie & Katsunori Konishi & Kunihiro Nakano & Toshihiko Uto & Daisuke Adachi & Masanori Kanematsu & Hisashi Uzu & Kenji Yamamoto, 2017. "Silicon heterojunction solar cell with interdigitated back contacts for a photoconversion efficiency over 26%," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 2(5), pages 1-8, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shittu, Samson & Li, Guiqiang & Akhlaghi, Yousef Golizadeh & Ma, Xiaoli & Zhao, Xudong & Ayodele, Emmanuel, 2019. "Advancements in thermoelectric generators for enhanced hybrid photovoltaic system performance," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 24-54.
    2. Yu, Qinghua & Chen, Xi & Yang, Hongxing, 2021. "Research progress on utilization of phase change materials in photovoltaic/thermal systems: A critical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    3. Wang, Yunjie & Yang, Huihan & Chen, Haifei & Yu, Bendong & Zhang, Haohua & Zou, Rui & Ren, Shaoyang, 2023. "A review: The development of crucial solar systems and corresponding cooling technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    4. Li, Guiqiang & Shittu, Samson & zhou, Kai & Zhao, Xudong & Ma, Xiaoli, 2019. "Preliminary experiment on a novel photovoltaic-thermoelectric system in summer," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    5. Pang, Wei & Cui, Yanan & Zhang, Qian & Wilson, Gregory.J. & Yan, Hui, 2020. "A comparative analysis on performances of flat plate photovoltaic/thermal collectors in view of operating media, structural designs, and climate conditions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    6. Widyolar, Bennett & Jiang, Lun & Brinkley, Jordyn & Hota, Sai Kiran & Ferry, Jonathan & Diaz, Gerardo & Winston, Roland, 2020. "Experimental performance of an ultra-low-cost solar photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) collector using aluminum minichannels and nonimaging optics," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    7. Ben Seddik, Z. & Ben Taher, M.A. & Laknizi, A. & Ahachad, M. & Bahraoui, F. & Mahdaoui, M., 2022. "Hybridization of Taguchi method and genetic algorithm to optimize a PVT in different Moroccan climatic zones," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C).
    8. Herrando, M. & Coca-Ortegón, A. & Guedea, I. & Fueyo, N., 2023. "Experimental validation of a solar system based on hybrid photovoltaic-thermal collectors and a reversible heat pump for the energy provision in non-residential buildings," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    9. Giulio Mangherini & Valentina Diolaiti & Paolo Bernardoni & Alfredo Andreoli & Donato Vincenzi, 2023. "Review of Façade Photovoltaic Solutions for Less Energy-Hungry Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-35, September.
    10. Reji Kumar, R. & Samykano, M. & Pandey, A.K. & Kadirgama, K. & Tyagi, V.V., 2020. "Phase change materials and nano-enhanced phase change materials for thermal energy storage in photovoltaic thermal systems: A futuristic approach and its technical challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    11. María Herrando & Alba Ramos, 2022. "Photovoltaic-Thermal (PV-T) Systems for Combined Cooling, Heating and Power in Buildings: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-28, April.
    12. Hong, Wenpeng & Li, Boyu & Li, Haoran & Niu, Xiaojuan & Li, Yan & Lan, Jingrui, 2022. "Recent progress in thermal energy recovery from the decoupled photovoltaic/thermal system equipped with spectral splitters," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    13. Rezvanpour, Mohammad & Borooghani, Danial & Torabi, Farschad & Pazoki, Maryam, 2020. "Using CaCl2·6H2O as a phase change material for thermo-regulation and enhancing photovoltaic panels’ conversion efficiency: Experimental study and TRNSYS validation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 1907-1921.
    14. Herrando, María & Fantoni, Guillermo & Cubero, Ana & Simón-Allué, Raquel & Guedea, Isabel & Fueyo, Norberto, 2023. "Numerical analysis of the fluid flow and heat transfer of a hybrid PV-thermal collector and performance assessment," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 122-132.
    15. Tsai, Sang-Bing, 2018. "Using the DEMATEL model to explore the job satisfaction of research and development professionals in china's photovoltaic cell industry," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 62-68.
    16. Lamnatou, Chr. & Vaillon, R. & Parola, S. & Chemisana, D., 2021. "Photovoltaic/thermal systems based on concentrating and non-concentrating technologies: Working fluids at low, medium and high temperatures," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    17. Elsheikh, A.H. & Sharshir, S.W. & Mostafa, Mohamed E. & Essa, F.A. & Ahmed Ali, Mohamed Kamal, 2018. "Applications of nanofluids in solar energy: A review of recent advances," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 3483-3502.
    18. Ren, Fukang & Wei, Ziqing & Zhai, Xiaoqiang, 2022. "A review on the integration and optimization of distributed energy systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    19. Petru Adrian Cotfas & Daniel Tudor Cotfas, 2020. "Comprehensive Review of Methods and Instruments for Photovoltaic–Thermoelectric Generator Hybrid System Characterization," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-32, November.
    20. You, Tian & Wu, Wei & Yang, Hongxing & Liu, Jiankun & Li, Xianting, 2021. "Hybrid photovoltaic/thermal and ground source heat pump: Review and perspective," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:358:y:2024:i:c:s0306261923019682. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.