Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
7722731 | International Journal of Hydrogen Energy | 2013 | 13 Pages |
Abstract
The potential of ammonia (NH3)-hydrogen (H2) blends as a carbon-free, green fuel in a 1-10Â W micro-thermophotovoltaic (micro-TPV) device is evaluated experimentally. When NH3-H2 blends are used directly (without any modification) in a heat-recirculating micro-TPV configuration that has an installation of gallium antimonide (GaSb) photovoltaic cells and was developed for hydrocarbon fuel, low temperature on the micro-emitter outer surface is observed, generating a secondary flame at the micro-emitter outlet. Thus, the micro-TPV device has been modified to eliminate the secondary flame by enhancing the residence time of fed NH3-H2-air mixtures and uniform burning: a cyclone adapter for a fuel-air mixture supply system and a helical adapter for the fuel-air mixture upstream of the micro-emitter. Under optimized design and operating conditions, the micro-TPV device produces 5.2Â W with an overall efficiency of 2.1% and an emitter efficiency of 37%, indicating the maximum temperature of the micro-emitter outer surface up to 1408Â K. Thus, the feasibility of using NH3-H2 blends in practical micro power-generation devices has been demonstrated, implying the potential of partial NH3 substitution to improve the safety of pure H2 use with no carbon generation.
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Authors
S.I. Lee, D.H. Um, O.C. Kwon,