Ballistic Energy Conversion with 78% Efficiency and System Integration

Daxiang Xu; Libing Duan; Albert van den Berg; Jan C.T. Eijkel; Yanbo Xie

doi:10.1016/j.xcrp.2020.100110

Cell Reports Physical Science (Jul 2020)

Ballistic Energy Conversion with 78% Efficiency and System Integration

Daxiang Xu,
Libing Duan,
Albert van den Berg,
Jan C.T. Eijkel,
Yanbo Xie

Affiliations

Daxiang Xu: International Joint Laboratory of Nanofluidics and Interfaces, MOE Key Laboratory of Material Physics and Chemistry under Extraordinary Conditions, School of Physical Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China
Libing Duan: International Joint Laboratory of Nanofluidics and Interfaces, MOE Key Laboratory of Material Physics and Chemistry under Extraordinary Conditions, School of Physical Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China
Albert van den Berg: International Joint Laboratory of Nanofluidics and Interfaces, MOE Key Laboratory of Material Physics and Chemistry under Extraordinary Conditions, School of Physical Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China; BIOS−Lab on a Chip Group, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, 7522 NB Enschede, the Netherlands
Jan C.T. Eijkel: International Joint Laboratory of Nanofluidics and Interfaces, MOE Key Laboratory of Material Physics and Chemistry under Extraordinary Conditions, School of Physical Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China; BIOS−Lab on a Chip Group, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, 7522 NB Enschede, the Netherlands
Yanbo Xie: International Joint Laboratory of Nanofluidics and Interfaces, MOE Key Laboratory of Material Physics and Chemistry under Extraordinary Conditions, School of Physical Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China; Corresponding author

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrp.2020.100110
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 1, no. 7
p. 100110

Abstract

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Summary: Electrokinetic energy conversion by streaming current was proposed for energy harvesting for >50 years; however, it proved to be of limited use due to low efficiencies. The recent emergence of nanomaterials and related technologies significantly increased these efficiencies. Here, we report an electrokinetic energy conversion system using a single stream of ballistic droplets from which we obtain close to 80% efficiency with 25 kV generated voltage. The voltage can be reduced to a minimum of 4 kV while maintaining ∼40% efficiency, a promising feature from the point of view of applications. Furthermore, we investigate the possibility of integration with 9 microjets as a conversion unit, which generates 1.9 mW with an efficiency of 35%. We experimentally achieve a power density of 8.4 kW/m2 under 0.4 bar pressure and an upper limit of 84 kW/m2 using denser pore arrays. Our results demonstrate efficient ballistic energy conversion, as well as the potential for integrated applications.

Published in Cell Reports Physical Science

ISSN: 2666-3864 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Science: Physics
Website: https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-physical-science

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