The Performance Evaluation of a Hybrid System Combining an Alkaline Fuel Cell with an Inhomogeneous Thermoelectric Generator

Chenjun Zhang, Hanqi Li, Xi Zhang, Man Shen and Xu Jin ()
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Chenjun Zhang: PetroChina Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, Beijing 100083, China
Hanqi Li: Doerr School of Sustainability Energy Sciences Engineering Department, Stanford University, 397 Panama Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Xi Zhang: PetroChina Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, Beijing 100083, China
Man Shen: PetroChina Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, Beijing 100083, China
Xu Jin: PetroChina Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, Beijing 100083, China

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-13

Abstract: To harness the full potential of the exhaust heat produced by an alkaline fuel cell (AFC), a novel coupling system that combines an AFC with an inhomogeneous thermoelectric generator (ITEG) is proposed. Detailed models of both the AFC and ITEG are developed, accounting for various irreversible losses. Following model validations, mathematical expressions for the power output density (POD) and energy efficiency (EE) of the hybrid system are derived. Though performance comparisons, the hybrid system’s effectiveness and competitiveness are demonstrated. Our calculation results reveal that the hybrid system achieves a 31.19% increase in its maximum POD and 54.61% improvement in its corresponding EE compared to that of the standalone AFC. Furthermore, numerous parametric studies are conducted. Some findings indicate that the POD of the hybrid system can be improved by elevating the operating temperature of the AFC and the environmental temperature, and that it can be optimized using the geometric characteristics of an ITEG. However, the EE of the hybrid system gains improvement via increasing the operating temperature of the AFC or decreasing both the environmental temperature and geometric characteristics of the ITEG. Additionally, the coefficient of the spatial inhomogeneity of the ITEG determines the optimal operating current density of the AFC. These insights offer valuable guidance for the integration and operation of practical hybrid systems.

Keywords: low-grade exhaust heat recovery; alkaline fuel cell; inhomogeneous thermoelectric generator; energy efficiency; heat management; parametric study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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