Abstract
In this paper, the results of experimental studies of a prototype cryogenic thermoelectric generator (TEG) using transit heat flows in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) evaporator are considered. The main objective was to develop a TEG with low capital cost, integrated directly into an LNG vaporizer, capable of generating electricity at a reasonable levelized cost (LCOE). A demonstration prototype of TEG was created with a power output of 800 W. The prototype used liquid nitrogen (LN2) instead of LNG as the working fluid. Achieved technical parameters of TEG provide the LCOE decrease to a level of ≈ 0.015 $/kWh. Such results are achieved using standard components (thermoelectric modules, heat exchangers, etc.) thanks to the optimization of the TEG design.
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Abbreviations
- I :
-
Electrical current (A)
- J :
-
Dimensionless current density
- e :
-
Seebeck coefficient (V/K)
- E :
-
Electromotive force (V)
- λ :
-
Thermal conductivity (W/cm-K)
- σ :
-
Electrical conductivity (Ω cm)−1
- h :
-
Thermocouple leg length (cm)
- n :
-
Number of thermoelectric elements or modules
- N :
-
Electrical power (W)
- s :
-
Thermoelectric leg cross sectional area (cm2)
- T o :
-
Determining temperature (K)
- T h :
-
Hot junction temperature (K)
- T c :
-
Cold junction temperature (K)
- ΔT :
-
Junction temperature difference (K)
- t h :
-
Heat carrier temperature (K)
- t c :
-
Coolant temperature (K)
- Δt :
-
Temperature difference of heat carriers (K)
- Θ = T/T o :
-
Dimensionless temperature
- ϑ = t/T o :
-
Dimensionless temperature of fluid
- z :
-
Thermoelectric figure-of-merit (K−1)
- zT o :
-
Dimensionless thermoelectric figure-of-merit
- Q :
-
Heat power flow (W)
- η :
-
Efficiency
- η c :
-
Carnot efficiency
- α :
-
Heat transfer coefficient (W/cm2 K)
- R α , R λ :
-
Thermal resistance (cm2 K/W)
- R :
-
Electrical resistance (Ω)
- R L :
-
Electrical load resistance (Ω)
- m = R L/R :
-
Load factor
- LCOE:
-
Levelized cost of electricity ($/kWh)
- Bi :
-
Biot criterion
- Nu :
-
Nusselt criterion
- Re :
-
Reynolds criterion
- Pr :
-
Prandtl criterion
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the US National Science Foundation under Award Number #1722127, SBIR Phase I: Integrated Thermoelectric Heat Exchanger (iTEG-HX) for Carbon Neutral Electricity Production through Recovery of Cold Energy from Regasification of LNG.
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Lobunets, Y. Thermoelectric Generator for Utilizing Cold Energy of Cryogen Liquids. J. Electron. Mater. 48, 5491–5496 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-019-07392-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-019-07392-3