Thermionic energy conversion for concentrating solar power

Gang Xiao, Guanghua Zheng, Min Qiu, Qiang Li, Dongsheng Li and Mingjiang Ni

Applied Energy, 2017, vol. 208, issue C, No S0306261917312953, 1318-1342

Abstract: Concentrating solar power (CSP) is a mainstream of solar energy utilization, and thermionic emission is a potential way to convert concentrated solar radiation into power with a theoretical efficiency of 50–70%, surpassing both Shockley-Queisser limit and photo-thermal limit. This literature attempts to provide a comprehensive understanding of and an insight into solar thermionic energy conversion. The fundamentals of electron emission from electrodes and electron transport in vacuum gap are presented, as well as the state of the art of solar thermionic energy conversion technologies, including heat-induced thermionics and photon-enhanced thermionics. The former is driven by thermal energy, whereas the latter takes advantage of both quantum photon energy and thermal energy. Burgeoning research indicates that photon-enhanced thermionic conversion is a promising technology for concentrating solar power due to the high efficiency and simple operating mode. Now, it is important to develop novel materials and coating technologies to facilitate electron emission and reduce space charge effect in interelectrode vacuum. Structural design of thermionic converters and top–bottom configuration of solar-electricity systems are suggested for practical applications.

Keywords: Concentrating solar power (CSP); Thermionics; Heat-induced; Photon-enhanced; Thermodynamic analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261917312953
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:appene:v:208:y:2017:i:c:p:1318-1342

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 405891/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.09.021

Access Statistics for this article

Applied Energy is currently edited by J. Yan

More articles in Applied Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().