Volume 25: Accelerated Energy Innovations and Emerging Technologies

Trial of a Thermophotovoltaic Device in a Cement Cool Down Grate Graham Buckley, C. M. Iftekhar Hussain, Brian Norton

Abstract

High temperature process industries reject up to 60 % of their thermal energy as waste heat that is difficult to recover due to high up-front costs and the complexity of installing conventional heat-recovery systems. Market resea rch suggests tha t certa in industries a re willing to a dopt Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems into their process as the technology becomes reliable and commercially viable. A Demonstration Model (DM) with 2 x GaSb cells was used to tria l the technology in a la boratory and industria l context. The DM was exposed to a range of temperatures from 500 °C to 900 °C using an electric oven. The DM was tested in the cooldown grate of a cement factory where it produced 1.65 kW/m2 at 1083 °C.

Keywords Thermophotovoltaic, Gallium-antimonide, Efficiency, Maximum-power-point, Industry Demonstration, Intensity