Doubling the thermo-osmotic energy conversion efficiency through the reduction of heat and mass transfer resistance

IF 10.1 1区工程技术 Q1 ENERGY & FUELS

Applied Energy Pub Date : 2025-03-23 DOI:10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125740

Yifan Zhang, Ji Li, Zikang Zhang, Yubo Tan, Zhichun Liu, Wei Liu

{"title":"Doubling the thermo-osmotic energy conversion efficiency through the reduction of heat and mass transfer resistance","authors":"Yifan Zhang, Ji Li, Zikang Zhang, Yubo Tan, Zhichun Liu, Wei Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125740","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Enhancing efficiency is crucial to applying low-grade heat energy. Thermo-osmotic energy conversion (TOEC) system is a promising and efficient method to utilize low-grade heat. This study systematically investigates integrating high thermal conductivity network into the liquid chamber to decrease heat transfer resistance and examine the impact of water degassing on the transmembrane resistance. These measures notably boost the system's experimental and theoretical efficiencies, doubling them compared to similar systems. Furthermore, the experimental water flux of a single-stage TOEC system also reaches an attractive value of 56.69 L/m<sup>2</sup>/h. The theoretical model reveals that the 38-stage system attains a peak operational efficiency of 4.72 % and a corresponding power density of 34.05 W/m<sup>2</sup> at heating and cooling temperatures of 80 °C and 40 °C, respectively. This study exhibits a feasible approach for enhancing the efficiency of TOEC system and improving the water yield of pressure-retarded membrane distillation systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":246,"journal":{"name":"Applied Energy","volume":"389 ","pages":"Article 125740"},"PeriodicalIF":10.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Applied Energy","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261925004702","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENERGY & FUELS","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Enhancing efficiency is crucial to applying low-grade heat energy. Thermo-osmotic energy conversion (TOEC) system is a promising and efficient method to utilize low-grade heat. This study systematically investigates integrating high thermal conductivity network into the liquid chamber to decrease heat transfer resistance and examine the impact of water degassing on the transmembrane resistance. These measures notably boost the system's experimental and theoretical efficiencies, doubling them compared to similar systems. Furthermore, the experimental water flux of a single-stage TOEC system also reaches an attractive value of 56.69 L/m²/h. The theoretical model reveals that the 38-stage system attains a peak operational efficiency of 4.72 % and a corresponding power density of 34.05 W/m² at heating and cooling temperatures of 80 °C and 40 °C, respectively. This study exhibits a feasible approach for enhancing the efficiency of TOEC system and improving the water yield of pressure-retarded membrane distillation systems.

查看原文本刊更多论文

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Applied Energy 工程技术-工程：化工

CiteScore

21.20

自引率

10.70%

发文量

1830

审稿时长

41 days

期刊介绍： Applied Energy serves as a platform for sharing innovations, research, development, and demonstrations in energy conversion, conservation, and sustainable energy systems. The journal covers topics such as optimal energy resource use, environmental pollutant mitigation, and energy process analysis. It welcomes original papers, review articles, technical notes, and letters to the editor. Authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts that bridge the gap between research, development, and implementation. The journal addresses a wide spectrum of topics, including fossil and renewable energy technologies, energy economics, and environmental impacts. Applied Energy also explores modeling and forecasting, conservation strategies, and the social and economic implications of energy policies, including climate change mitigation. It is complemented by the open-access journal Advances in Applied Energy.