Techno-Economic Analysis of Different Plant Configuration for Thermoelectric Cogeneration from Biomass Boiler

Augusto Bianchini, Filippo Donini, Marco Pellegrini, Cesare Saccani

Abstract


Thermoelectric modules integration within biomass boiler for the direct conversion of heat into electricity is a possibility to increase efficiency and to realize a stand-alone biomass boiler. Due to the low conversion efficiency (up to 5%) of commercial thermoelectric modules, the aim of the integration shall not be the electricity production for external power supply, but the energy self-consumption of biomass boiler electric auxiliaries.

The paper describes and analyses four different options for the integration of thermoelectric modules within a biomass boiler: in the combustion chamber, in the convective tubes, in the chimney and with a condensing fluid circuit to be realized outside the biomass boiler. Five quantitative and qualitative key performance indicators have been defined to assess how the integration strategy can influence the electric yield of thermoelectric modules, the ease of maintenance, the operation continuity, the need of auxiliaries systems to be added as well as the impact on biomass boiler redesign or retrofit. The analysis shows that the realization of a circuit with a condensing fluid allows reaching the best combination of key performance indicators. On the basis of this result, the paper also shows the preliminary design of a new test facility to test Glycerol Triacetate as condensing fluid to produce electricity by thermoelectric modules.

Keywords


Thermoelectric modules; biomass boiler; cogeneration; key performance indicators; test facility

Full Text:

PDF

References


D.M. Rowe, and G. Min, “Evaluation of thermoelectric modules for power generationâ€, J. Power Sources, vol. 73, pp. 193-198, 1998.

D. Champier, C. Favarel, J.P. Bédécarrats, T. Kousksou, and J.F. Rozis, “Prototype combined heater/thermoelectric power generator for remote applicationsâ€, J. Electron. Mater., vol. 42, pp. 1888-1899, 2013.

S.M. O’Shaughnessy, M.J. Deasy, C.E. Kinsella, J.V. Doyle, and A.J. Robinson, “Small scale electricity generation from a portable biomass cookstove: Prototype design and preliminary resultsâ€, Appl. Energ., vol. 102, pp. 374-385, 2013.

X.F. Zheng, C.X. Liu, R. Boukhanouf, Y.Y. Yan, and W.Z. Li, “Experimental study of a domestic thermoelectric cogeneration systemâ€, Appl. Therm. Eng., vol. 62, pp. 69-79, 2014.

M. Hasani, and N. Rahbar, “Application of thermoelectric cooler as a power generator in waste heat recovery from a PEM fuel cell - An experimental studyâ€, Int. J. Hydrogen Energ., vol. 40, pp. 15040-15051, 2015.

M.H. Nia, A.A. Nejad, A.M. Goudarzi, M. Valizadeh, and P. Samadian, “Cogeneration solar system using thermoelectric module and fresnel lensâ€, Energ. Convers. Manage., vol. 84, pp. 305-310, 2014.

M.A. Karri, E.F. Thacher, and B.T. Helenbrook, “Exhaust energy conversion by thermoelectric generator: Two case studiesâ€, Energ. Convers. Manage., vol. 52, pp. 1596-1611, 2011.

H. Tian, X. Sun, Q. Jia, X. Liang, G. Shu, and X. Wang, “Comparison and parameter optimization of a segmented thermoelectric generator by using the high temperature exhaust of a diesel engineâ€, Energy, vol. 84, pp. 121-130, 2015.

B.S. Yilbas, and A.Z. Sahin, “Thermal characteristics of combined thermoelectric generator and refrigeration cycleâ€, Energ. Convers. Manage., vol. 83, pp. 42-47, 2014.

W. Zhu, Y. Deng, Y. Wang, S. Shen, R. Gulfam, “High-performance photovoltaic-thermoelectric hybrid power generation system with optimized thermal managementâ€, Energy, vol. 100, pp. 91-101, 2016.

A. Kane, and V. Verma, “Performance Enhancement of Building Integrated Photovoltaic Module using Thermoelectric Coolingâ€, Int. J. Renew. Energ. Res., vol. 3, pp. 320-324, 2013.

R. Ahiska, and H. Mamur, “A review: Thermoelectric generators in renewable energyâ€, Int. J. Renew. Energ. Res., vol. 4, pp. 128-136, 2014.

A. Bianchini, F. Cento, L. Golfera, M. Pellegrini, and C. Saccani, “Performance analysis of different scrubber systems for removal of particulate emissions from a small size biomass boilerâ€, Biomass Bioenerg,, vol. 92, pp. 31-39, 2016.

A. Bianchini, M. Pellegrini, and C. Saccani, “Thermoelectric cells cogeneration from biomass power plantâ€, Energy Procedia, vol. 45, pp. 268-277, 2014.

D. Champier, J.P. Bédécarrats, T. Kousksou, M. Rivaletto, F. Strub, and P. Pignolet, “Study of a TE (thermoelectric) generator incorporated in a multifunction wood stoveâ€, Energy, vol. 36, pp. 1518-1526, 2011.

A. Killander, and J. Bass, “A stove-top generator for cold areasâ€, Proceedings of 15th International Conference on Thermoelectrics, Pasadena, pp. 390-393, 26-29 March 1996.

R.Y. Nuwayhid, D.M. Rowe, and G. Min, “Low cost stove-top thermoelectric generator for regions with unreliable electricity supplyâ€, Renew. Energ., vol. 28, pp. 205-222, 2003.

R.Y. Nuwayhid, A. Shihadeh, and N. Ghaddar, “Development and testing of a domestic woodstove thermoelectric generator with natural convection coolingâ€, Energ Convers Manage., vol. 46, pp. 1631-1643, 2005.

R.Y. Nuwayhid, and R. Hamade, “Design and testing of a locally made loop-type thermosyphonic heat sink for stove-top thermoelectric generatorsâ€, Renew. Energ., vol. 30, pp. 1101-1116, 2005.

C. Lertsatitthanakorn, “Electrical performance analysis and economic evaluation of combined biomass cook stove thermoelectric (BITE) generatorâ€, Bioresource Technol., vol. 98, pp. 1670-1674, 2007.

D. Champier, J.P. Bedecarrats, M. Rivaletto, and F. Strub, “Thermoelectric power generation from biomass cook stovesâ€, Energy, vol. 35, pp. 935-942, 2010.

R. Mal, R. Prasad, V.K. Vijay, and A.R. Verma, “The design, development and performance evaluation of thermoelectric generator (TEG) integrated forced draft biomass cookstoveâ€, Computer Science Procedia, vol. 52, pp. 723-729, 2015.

S.M. O’Shaughnessy, M.J. Deasy, J.V. Doyle, and A.J. Robinson, “Performance analysis of a prototype small scale electricity-producing biomass cooking stoveâ€, Appl. Energ., vol. 156, pp. 566-576, 2015.

W. Moser, G. Friedl, W. Haslinger, and H. Hofbauer, “Small-Scale Pellet Boiler with Thermoelectric Generatorâ€, Proceedings of 25th International Conference on Thermoelectrics, Vienna, pp. 349-353, 6-10 August 2006.

M. Bradzil, and J. Pospisil, “Thermoelectric Power Generation Utilizing the Waste Heat from a Biomass Boilerâ€, J. Electron. Mater., vol. 42, pp. 2198-2202, 2013.

K. Alanne, T. Laukkanen, K. Saari, and J. Jokisalo, “Analysis of a wooden pellet-fueled domestic thermoelectric cogeneration systemâ€, Appl. Therm. Eng., vol. 63, pp. 1-10, 2014.

M.C. Barma, M. Riaz, R. Saidur, and B.D. Long, “Estimation of thermoelectric power generation by recovering waste heat from Biomass fired thermal oil heaterâ€, Energ. Convers. Manage., vol. 98, pp. 303-313, 2015.

M. Gupta, and N. Kumar, “Scope and opportunities of using glycerol as an energy sourceâ€, Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev., vol. 16, pp. 4551-4556, 2012.

C. Lindberg, S. Tan, J. Yan, and F. Starfelt, “Key performance indicators improve industrial performanceâ€, Energy Procedia, vol. 75, pp. 1785-1790, 2015.

A. Bianchini, M. Pellegrini, D. Peta, and C. Saccani, “Economic Evaluation of Investments for Workplace Safetyâ€, Chem. Eng. Tran., vol. 36, pp. 49-54, 2014.

A. Bianchini, F. Donini, M. Fanelli, M. Pellegrini, and C. Saccani, “Effective implementation measurability in a health and safety management systemâ€, Proceedings of the 25th European Safety and Reliability Conference, Zurich, pp. 3191-3199, 7-10 September 2015




DOI (PDF): https://doi.org/10.20508/ijrer.v6i4.4834.g6947

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Online ISSN: 1309-0127

Publisher: Gazi University

IJRER is cited in SCOPUS, EBSCO, WEB of SCIENCE (Clarivate Analytics);

IJRER has been cited in Emerging Sources Citation Index from 2016 in web of science.

WEB of SCIENCE between 2020-2022; 

h=30,

Average citation per item=5.73

Impact Factor=(1638+1731+1808)/(189+170+221)=9.24

Category Quartile:Q4