Simulation study of Ferricyanide/Ferrocyanide concentric annulus thermocell with different electrode spacing and cell direction

Thermogalvanic cell also named as thermocell is a new type of technology converting low-grade thermal energy to electricity. In this study, we establish an one-dimensional model of a Fe(CN)63-/4- concentric annulus thermocell and evaluate the influence of electrode spacing and cell direction on the cell performance. Results indicate the ratio of electrolyte thermal resistance to total thermal resistance plays a crucial role in cell performance while electric resistance has relatively less influence. The power of thermocell rises significantly as the electrode spacing increases, from about 0.75mW in both directions to 1.75 mW in horizontal direction and 2.75 mW in vertical direction. Convection of electrolyte is unfavorable to cell performance and the critical electrode spacing where convection begins to affect heat transfer is predicted to be the optimized spacing. At all values of electrode spacing in this study, thermocell in vertical direction performs better than that of horizontal direction.