Thermoelectric device for storage or conversion of energy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hydropneumatic energy storage systems face limitations such as gas heating and cooling during compression and expansion, inefficient energy storage capacity, high investment costs, and the need for expensive machinery, which are not adequately addressed by previous innovations.
Innovation Solution
A thermoelectric storage system using pressurized tanks filled with inexpensive materials like saltwater ice and hot water, eliminating the need for high-pressure tanks and expensive machinery by converting mechanical energy into thermal energy and storing it in thermal reserves, with a working fluid undergoing slow, discontinuous thermodynamic cycles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If pure hydropneumatic storage systems use compressed gas for energy storage, then energy storage capability is achieved, but gas heating during compression and cooling during expansion reduces efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the thermodynamic parameters of the system by using a liquid propellant fluid instead of gas, operating at high pressure (100-500 bar) to achieve liquid state. This parameter change eliminates the temperature variation problems associated with gas compression and expansion, as liquids are incompressible and do not undergo significant temperature changes during volume changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical compression and expansion of gas with a hydraulic system using liquid propellant. The liquid is pumped to high pressure and stored, then expanded through a turbine to generate electricity. This substitution eliminates the thermodynamic inefficiencies of gas compression/expansion while maintaining energy storage capability.
2Quantity of substance
If large portions of the tank are reserved for pressurized gas (greater than 50%), then gas pressure is maintained, but energy storage capacity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the state parameter of the propellant from gas to liquid by operating at high pressure (100-500 bar). This allows the propellant to occupy minimal volume while maintaining sufficient mass for energy storage. The liquid propellant can be stored in compact tanks without requiring large gas volumes, thereby increasing energy density and reducing tank size for the same energy capacity.
3Reliability
If expensive machinery and high-pressure tanks are used for hydropneumatic storage, then energy storage functionality is achieved, but investment costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses hydraulic principles with liquid propellant instead of pneumatic systems with gas. This allows the use of standard hydraulic equipment and materials that are more cost-effective and better understood in industrial applications. The high-pressure liquid system can use conventional hydraulic components rather than specialized high-pressure gas equipment, reducing manufacturing and maintenance costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a liquid propellant that can be easily replaced or replenished if needed, rather than requiring expensive, long-lived gas storage infrastructure. The liquid system allows for more flexible and potentially cheaper system design and maintenance, as liquid handling equipment is generally more standardized and less costly than high-pressure gas systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system achieves high efficiency and cost-effectiveness by storing energy in thermal reserves, offering quasi-reversibility and yields close to 80% for each conversion direction, while reducing capital expenditure and machinery complexity.
Implementation Method 1
The thermodynamic sequence consisting of an expansion and then a contraction of each of the propellant fluids is carried out in a relatively slow, discontinuous manner, quantitatively limited in mass, by the variation of the volume which contains them in the large MPT, and not at high speed and continuously as in conventional circuits of recirculation of working fluid
Implementation Method 2
at least one evaporator connected to one or more heat sources and at least one condenser connected to one or more heat absorbers/sinks
Implementation Method 3
at least one evaporator connected to one or more heat sources and at least one condenser connected to one or more heat absorbers/sinks
Implementation Method 4
hydropneumatic storage systems have been invented in recent decades, whereby Earth's gravity is replaced by the pressure of a propellant gas
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a device for thermoelectric storage that may include main pressurized tanks that may contain hydraulic fluid, propellant fluid, and liquid communications. Further, the pressurized tanks may be equipped with hydroelectric conversion assemblies and heat exchange systems. In some embodiments, the device may include mobile physical separations between fluids, hot or cold thermal reserves, and secondary tanks equipped with pipes.