Collaborative Research: Self-Sustaining Thermochemical Pumping and Power Generation At Mesoscales

合作研究：中尺度自持热化学泵浦和发电

• 批准号: 1402142
• 负责人: Paul Ronney
• 金额: $ 14.99万
• 依托单位: University of Southern California
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-08-15 至 2020-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1402142&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Self; Sustaining; Thermochemical

CBET-1403405/1402142Ahn (Syracuse)/Ronney (USC)Portable electronic devices (PEDs) such as cell phones and laptop computers have ever-growing needs for electrical power, yet the batteries they use provide only 1 to 2% energy per pound as hydrocarbon fuels. Because hydrocarbon fuels pack high energy densities, they are the fuel of choice for power generation at large scales. However, this is not done at small scales since engineers have been unable to scale internal combustion or steam engines down to the sizes required to generate electricity for PEDs. Tiny fuel cells (which convert fuel directly into electricity) have been used to power PEDs, but have only succeeded by using fuels such as hydrogen or methanol which have safety issues and/or very low energy per pound when the weight of the storage tank is included. The present work proposes to use propane and butane, the same easily-stored, high energy density fuels used in disposable lighters, for generating power for PEDs and provides a very simple, versatile system for supplying air to the device. The results of this work could have a significant impact on PEDs with electrical energy storage densities exceeding batteries by a factor of 10. Moreover, disposal of empty fuel cartridges in landfills is preferable to disposal of used batteries containing toxic metals. This work will involve undergraduate and graduate engineering students and also educate K-12 students through programs at Syracuse and USC.Portable electronic devices have ever-growing needs for electrical power, yet batteries provide only 1 to 2% of the energy density of hydrocarbon fuels. Scale-down of internal combustion engines and electrical generators to MEMS scales has been unsuccessful due to issues with heat losses, friction and the difficulty of manufacturing parts at small scales with sufficient precision. The PIs propose to generate electrical power from hydrocarbon fuels at small scales using (1) thermal transpiration in nanoporous materials for fuel and air pumping; (2) combustion on Pt- and Au- catalysts with room-temperature ignition; and (3) single-chamber solid oxide fuel cells requiring no seals or separation between fuel and oxidant for power generation within the thermal transpiration pump. Reactors of arbitrary shape will be constructed using parts built using a unique 3-dimensional printing technology for porous sintered stainless steel. The activity of supported Au nanoparticles for low-temperature ignition of hydrocarbon oxidation will be measured using in-situ FTIR/Gas Chromatography analysis. To determine what property has the most impact on low-temperature oxidation, their surface structure modifications will be assessed via Scanning Electron Microscopy and their chemical modifications via X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. The effects of ion substitution on the properties of double-perovskite structures will be investigated and the catalytic behavior of several precious-metal, oxide-supported electrocatalysts will also be examined. A high purity source of gadolinia-doped-ceria is expected to increase the electrolyte conductivity, yet retain the processability for thin-film electrolyte fuel cell fabrication. The envisioned system is self-contained, has pumping and power generation integrated into one device, has no moving parts and operates only on thermal and electrochemical energy supplied by hydrocarbon fuels (i.e., it has no parasitic electrical energy losses). This research could also enable spin-off applications to other systems requiring gas pressurization or vacuum pumping, e.g. micro gas chromatographs or toxic chemical agent sensors.

CBET-1403405/1402142Ahn（锡拉丘兹）/Ronney（南加州大学）手机和笔记本电脑等便携式电子设备 (PED) 对电力的需求不断增长，但它们使用的电池每磅只能提供 1 到 2% 的能量，碳氢化合物燃料。由于碳氢化合物燃料具有高能量密度，因此它们是大规模发电的首选燃料。然而，这并不是在小规模上实现的，因为工程师无法将内燃机或蒸汽机缩小到为 PED 发电所需的尺寸。 微型燃料电池（将燃料直接转化为电能）已被用来为 PED 提供动力，但仅通过使用氢或甲醇等燃料才取得成功，这些燃料存在安全问题和/或当储罐重量为每磅能量时，每磅能量非常低。包括。 目前的工作建议使用丙烷和丁烷（一次性打火机中使用的易于存储的高能量密度燃料）为 PED 发电，并提供一种非常简单、多功能的系统来向设备供应空气。 这项工作的结果可能会对电能存储密度超过电池 10 倍的 PED 产生重大影响。此外，在垃圾填埋场处理空燃料盒比处理含有有毒金属的废电池更可取。 这项工作将涉及工程专业的本科生和研究生，并通过雪城大学和南加州大学的项目对 K-12 学生进行教育。便携式电子设备对电力的需求不断增长，但电池只能提供碳氢燃料能量密度的 1% 到 2% 。 由于热损失、摩擦以及以足够精度制造小尺寸零件的难度等问题，将内燃机和发电机缩小到 MEMS 尺寸一直不成功。 PI建议利用（1）用于燃料和空气泵送的纳米多孔材料中的热蒸腾来小规模地利用碳氢化合物燃料发电； (2)在Pt-和Au-催化剂上室温点火燃烧； (3)单室固体氧化物燃料电池，在热蒸腾泵内发电时不需要燃料和氧化剂之间的密封或分离。 任意形状的反应器将使用采用独特的多孔烧结不锈钢3D打印技术制造的部件来建造。 将使用原位 FTIR/气相色谱分析来测量负载型金纳米粒子对烃氧化低温点火的活性。 为了确定哪种特性对低温氧化影响最大，将通过扫描电子显微镜评估其表面结构修饰，并通过 X 射线光电子能谱评估其化学修饰。 我们将研究离子取代对双钙钛矿结构性能的影响，并研究几种贵金属、氧化物负载的电催化剂的催化行为。 高纯度氧化钆掺杂二氧化铈源有望提高电解质电导率，同时保留薄膜电解质燃料电池制造的可加工性。 设想的系统是独立的，将泵送和发电集成到一个设备中，没有移动部件，并且仅依靠碳氢燃料提供的热能和电化学能运行（即，它没有寄生电能损失）。 这项研究还可以衍生应用到需要气体加压或真空泵的其他系统，例如微型气相色谱仪或有毒化学剂传感器。