KR100849504B1 - A thermo-electric power generating module using a micro channel-type catalytic combustor - Google Patents

Abstract

A thermoelectric power generating module using a micro channel-type catalytic combustor is provided to improve the efficiency of thermoelectric power generation by inducing an increase in temperature difference between high and low temperature sections of a thermoelectric module. A micro channel-type combustor(2) contains a catalytic(3) in a wall thereof. A high temperature section of a thermoelectric module(1) is attached to the other wall of the micro channel-type combustor that is opposite to the wall containing the catalytic. The combustor is divided into a plurality of compartments and configured with a fuel-air mixer supply channel(21) and a combustion chamber(22) which are alternatively arranged with each other. The high temperature section of the thermoelectric module is attached to an inner wall of the fuel-air mixer supply channel. The catalytic is installed in an inner wall of the combustion chamber.

Description

A thermo-electric power generating module using a micro channel-type catalytic combustor

1 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing an example of a thermoelectric power module according to the present invention,

2 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a thermoelectric power module according to the present invention;

3 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of a thermoelectric power module according to the present invention;

4 is a cross-sectional view showing another example in which the thermoelectric power module according to the present invention is stacked up and down;

5 is a perspective view showing another example in which the thermoelectric power module according to the present invention is laminated in the lateral direction.

<Code Description of Main Parts of Drawing>

1: thermoelectric element

2: combustor

  21: Fuel-Air Mixer Supply Furnace

  22: combustion chamber

3: catalyst for combustion

4: fuel-air mixer inlet pipe

5: exhaust gas discharge pipe

The present invention relates to a micro thermoelectric power module and a generator to which such a module is extended. More specifically, the present invention relates to a micro-thermoelectric power generation module. The present invention relates to a thermoelectric power module configured by attaching a high temperature part of a thermoelectric element to an opposite side of a catalyst supporting surface.

In addition, the present invention increases the temperature difference between the thermoelectric element hot portion and the low temperature portion by passing the cool fuel-air mixture through the low temperature portion of the thermoelectric element to increase the thermoelectric power efficiency, and at the same time combustion stability by recycling a part of the combustion heat to the cold fuel-air mixer. It relates to a thermoelectric power module that can increase the overheating efficiency.

Existing miniature electric power generators are largely classified into systems using electro-chemical action and thermo-chemical action such as primary and secondary batteries or micro fuel cells.

Among these, the primary and secondary batteries are expected to be difficult to be used for future electric, electronic equipment or military portable equipment because the energy density to determine whether they can be used for a long time is too low.

The micro fuel cell, which is being developed as an alternative system, has the disadvantage that the unit price is still too high, the service life is not long enough, the energy density is high, but the output density is lower than that of the conventional cell.

Other thermo-chemical systems being developed as alternatives include micro-engines and micro-thermoelectric systems that ultimately produce electricity from the heat of combustion of the fuel.

Among these, micro engines are known to have many technical problems to overcome, and it is known that much research needs to be made in the future. Even though they are manufactured, the engine itself includes moving parts and thus has a disadvantage of basically causing noise.

Compared to these systems, the micro-thermoelectric power generation system, which is composed of a micro combustor and a thermoelectric element, uses an Seebeck effect in which electromotive force is generated due to a temperature difference, and since noise does not include moving parts other than an air supply pump for combustion, noise is relatively high. There are many products that are very small and low price of thermoelectric element, and micro thermoelectric element with very small scale is being developed, which has the advantage of constructing compact and low-cost power generation system.

In constructing the micro thermoelectric power generation system using the combustor, if the scale of the micro combustor is made smaller than the quenching distance, the ratio of the surface area to the volume of the combustor increases and the heat loss through the wall increases. There is a problem in that stabilization is difficult, and there is a difficulty in configuring a compact system.

In addition, the drawback of most thermoelectric power generation systems developed to date is that thermoelectric power generation efficiency of converting thermal energy into electrical energy in thermoelectric elements is too low. Therefore, a thermoelectric power module that intentionally generates electricity using combustion heat instead of waste heat is used. It was difficult in practical terms.

The present invention has been invented to solve the above problems, a compact micro thermoelectric which can stably supply a heat source to the high temperature part of the thermoelectric element by carrying out a stable combustion by carrying a catalyst on one side of the inner channel of the combustor of a very small scale The purpose is to provide a power generation system.

In addition, by attaching the high temperature part of the thermoelectric element on the opposite side of the catalyst layer and allowing the cool fuel-air mixture to flow on the opposite side of the thermoelectric element attachment surface (low temperature part), the temperature difference between the high temperature part and the low temperature part increases, thereby increasing the thermoelectric power generation efficiency and inflow It is an object of the present invention to provide a unit thermoelectric power module in which a part of combustion heat is recycled to a mixer to increase combustion efficiency to increase the overall thermoelectric power efficiency.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to construct a thermoelectric power generation system in which power generation capacity can be easily expanded by stacking the thermoelectric power generation modules.

The thermoelectric power module according to the present invention for achieving the above object comprises a micro combustor comprising a combustion catalyst on one side of the inner channel of the combustor in the electric generator using the Seebeck effect of the combustor and the thermoelectric element; It characterized in that it comprises a thermoelectric element installed on the opposite side of the catalyst layer for combustion.

In addition, the present invention is characterized by being configured to facilitate the expansion of the power generation capacity by stacking the thermoelectric power module configured as described above up and down.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily understand and reproduce.

1 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing an example of a thermoelectric power module according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a thermoelectric power module according to the present invention, 3 is another example of a thermoelectric power module according to the present invention 4 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of a thermoelectric power module according to the present invention, Figure 5 is a perspective view showing another example of a thermoelectric power module according to the present invention.

As illustrated, the thermoelectric power module according to the present invention is provided with a catalyst 3 for combustion in the flow direction along the channel on the inner wall of the channel type combustion chamber 22.

The combustion catalyst (3) serves to help the fuel-air mixture supplied to maintain a stable combustion reaction in the combustion chamber of a very small space between the micro-channels, and a hydrocarbon-based fuel such as methane may be used as the fuel. have.

As the combustion catalyst 3, Pt, Pd, and Rh catalysts, which are generally used for combustion, may be used. Any catalyst capable of stabilizing combustion may be used.

As shown in the combustion chamber 22, a mixture of fuel and air supplied as a narrow space formed between microchannels inside the combustor 2 participates in a combustion reaction to generate heat.

As shown in FIG. 2, the combustor 2 is divided into a plurality of channel-type compartments so that the supply passage 21 and the combustion chamber 22 of the fuel-air mixer are alternately configured, and the thermoelectric element 1 includes the fuel- It is fixedly installed on the inner wall of the air mixer supply passage 21 in the flow direction, and the catalyst 3 is installed on the inner wall of the combustion chamber 22 opposite to the channel. When the catalyst 3 and the thermoelectric element 1 are configured alternately, the catalyst layer is provided so that the catalyst layers and the thermoelectric elements face each other.

As described above, the combustor 2 constitutes a unit thermoelectric power module composed of the thermoelectric element 1, the combustion chamber 22, and the catalyst 3. In order to expand the power generation capacity, the unit thermoelectric power module is shown in FIG. 4. As described above, a plurality of layers are stacked up and down, or as shown in FIG. 5, and a plurality of layers are stacked and arranged in the lateral direction, whereby a thermoelectric power generation system having a larger output can be configured.

The compartments formed in the combustor 2 are divided into the fuel-air mixer supply passage 21 and the combustion chamber 22 as described above, and the supplied mixer is the combustion chamber 22 via the fuel-air mixer supply passage 21. In this process, the low temperature part of the thermoelectric element 1 installed on the inner wall of the fuel-air mixer supply path 21 is cooled.

That is, the high temperature portion of the thermoelectric element 1 is attached to the surface opposite to the surface on which the catalyst 3 is supported in the combustion chamber 22 to receive a high temperature heat source generated in the combustion chamber 22 and the low temperature portion is a cold fuel supplied. Cooled by the flow of the air mixer, the temperature difference between the hot and cold parts is increased, the electricity generation efficiency of the thermoelectric element is increased.

In addition, a micro cooling fin 4 may be further installed in the low temperature portion of the thermoelectric element 1 to increase the cooling efficiency.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cooling fins 4 are installed in close contact with the low temperature side of the thermoelectric element 1 attached to the wall of the fuel-air mixer supply passage 21 among the channels of the combustor 2 and cooled. The length of the fin 4 and the direction in which the mixer flows coincide so that the supplied mixer is not subjected to resistance by the cooling fins.

Reference numeral 21a denotes a fuel-air mixer inlet pipe for supplying fuel mixed air to the fuel-air mixer supply passage 21, and 22a indicates exhaust gas discharged after being combusted in the combustion chamber 22. Discharge pipe.

While the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, many modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth by the claims below.

As described in detail above, the present invention adopts a microchannel type combustor to compact the thermoelectric power generation system, achieves stable combustion even in a microchannel by a catalyst, and stably supplies a high temperature heat source to the thermoelectric element. There is an advantage that can generate electrical energy continuously.

In addition, since the thermoelectric element can be continuously attached to one side of the channel, the thermoelectric element can be utilized in a large area, and the combustion efficiency is partially recycled to the fuel-air mixer introduced through the low temperature portion of the thermoelectric element. This increases, and by lowering the temperature of the low temperature portion by the convection effect, it is possible to induce an increase in the temperature difference between the high temperature portion and the low temperature portion of the thermoelectric element to increase the thermoelectric power generation efficiency.

The channel-type combustion chamber devised in the present invention is easy to expand the power generation capacity because it is easy to stack in the vertical or horizontal direction, and thus has the advantage that a large capacity thermoelectric power generation system can be compactly designed.

In addition, by introducing a catalytic combustion method, even in very rare conditions, the fuel can be burned close to complete combustion, thereby reducing the concentration of harmful components in the exhaust gas, thereby making a cleaner system than a conventional combustion thermoelectric generator.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many various obvious modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention from this description. Accordingly, the invention can only be construed limited by the words of the appended claims.

Claims (5)

In constructing a thermoelectric power module for generating electricity by using the Seebeck effect of the thermoelectric element, A micro channel combustor 2 having a catalyst 3 supported on the wall of the combustor internal channel; And a thermoelectric element 1 having a high temperature portion attached to a surface opposite to the surface on which the catalyst of the combustor 2 is supported, The combustor 2 is divided into a plurality of channel-type compartments so that the fuel-air mixer supply passage 21 and the combustion chamber 22 are alternately configured, and the thermoelectric element 1 is the fuel-air mixer supply passage 21. The thermoelectric power module using a micro-channel catalytic combustor, characterized in that the high temperature is attached to the inner wall of the) and the catalyst (3) is installed on the inner wall of the combustion chamber (22). delete The thermoelectric power module using a micro-channel catalytic combustor according to claim 1, wherein a cooling fin (4) may be further installed at a low temperature portion (outer surface) of the thermoelectric element (1). 4. The thermoelectric power module of claim 3, wherein the thermoelectric power modules can be easily expanded by stacking the thermoelectric power modules vertically or laterally. The thermoelectric power module using a micro-channel catalytic combustor according to claim 4, wherein the catalyst (3) is any one of a combustion catalyst such as Pt, Pd, and Rh.

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