Descrizione del progetto
Raccolta innovativa di calore residuo a bassa temperatura
I processi di conversione, trasporto e utilizzo finale producono enormi quantità di sprechi di energia sotto forma di calore a bassa temperatura. Le tecnologie esistenti per la conversione del calore residuo a bassa temperatura in elettricità sono costose. Il progetto EHAWEDRY, finanziato dall’UE, propone un concetto di conversione innovativo che si basa sull’abbinamento dei cicli di carica/scarica dei supercondensatori elettrochimici con l’asciugatura/bagnatura dei loro elettrodi nanoporosi. Il concetto si basa sulla proporzionalità della capacità del condensatore rispetto alla sua area di contatto tra elettrodo/elettrolita. Il progetto si propone di creare un prototipo innovativo di raccoglitore che raggiunga densità di potenza volumetriche paragonabili a quelle delle tecnologie consolidate di recupero del calore residuo come i motori a ciclo Rankine. Il prototipo presenta flessibilità di progettazione, scalabilità e potenziale per la raccolta efficiente in termini di costi di calore residuo a bassa temperatura.
Obiettivo
Huge amounts of energy are wasted as low grade heat during conversion, transportation and end use. While several technologies can convert heat into electricity, none of them is cost-effective for the conversion of low-grade waste heat. EHAWEDRY proposes a radically new concept for converting low grade waste heat into electricity. EHAWEDRY will couple charging/discharging cycles of electrochemical super-capacitors with the drying/wetting of their nanoporous electrodes, exploiting the proportionality of the capacitor capacity to its electrode/electrolyte contact area. Previous attempts to couple charging/discharging cycles with changes in the electrode/electrolyte contact area aimed at harvesting the mechanical energy used to drive the change in the contact area. The power generated by these mechanical energy harvesters is relatively low, mainly because they have to use smooth capacitor plates (electrodes) to avoid generating too large capillary forces counteracting the harvested displacement. EHAWEDRY proposes a paradigm shift from the energy harvesting strategies previously used. Instead of mechanically changing the electrode/electrolyte contact area by displacing smooth electrodes, EHAWEDRY will change the electrode/electrolyte contact area by modifying the electrolyte level within nanoporous electrodes through drying/wetting cycles. The use of nanoporous electrodes will increase by many orders of magnitude the electrode/electrolyte contact area, which will translate into several orders of magnitude larger amounts of harvestable energy per cycle. Via pioneering fundamental research, EHAWEDRY targets the generation of a harvester prototype that reaches a volumetric power densities of the order of 10 kW/m3, comparable to established waste heat recovery technologies such as Rankine cycle engines, but with advantages in terms of cost, design flexibility, scalability and potential for the cost-effective harvesting of low grade waste heat without upgrading.
Campo scientifico
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectrical engineeringpower engineeringelectric power distribution
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectrical engineeringpower engineeringelectric power generationcombined heat and power
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectrical engineeringpower engineeringelectric power transmission
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
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Vedi altri progetti per questo bandoBando secondario
H2020-FETOPEN-2018-2019-2020-01
Meccanismo di finanziamento
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinatore
08034 Barcelona
Spagna