When it comes to clean and renewable energy, people first think of solar energy, wind energy and tidal energy. In contrast, geothermal energy is a relatively unpopular existence. Even so, there are still many research teams in-depth research in this area, such as the new geothermal battery to be introduced to you in this article. From the literal meaning, the earth itself is a "warm" sphere. In many regions such as Australia and the United States, there are rich geothermal energy.
(Photo from: Tokyo Tech, via New Atlas)
Researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology and Sanoh Industrial have just developed a new type of battery that features the ability to directly convert thermal energy into electrical energy.
It is reported that most geothermal systems use hot rocks a few kilometers below the surface to heat water. Usually pumped naturally to the ground (or manually pumped) and pumped back after use.
Unfortunately, older systems require higher temperatures than 180 ° C (365 ° F) to operate and are difficult to scale. In contrast, the Japanese research team used a more direct approach.
They designed a new scheme based on the thermal battery (STC), which can generate electricity at a temperature lower than 100 ° C without the need for intermediate carriers such as water or water vapor.
STC is a battery composed of three layers of materials sandwiched between two electrodes. It contains an electron transport layer (ETM), a semiconductor germanium layer, and a solid electrolyte layer that transports copper ions.
After burying this specially designed battery in a hot environment, the heat can excite the electrons in the semiconductor and make them transfer to the ETM.
It is then passed through the external circuit of the electrode, and finally enters the electrolyte through another electrode-where a redox reaction occurs, bringing low-energy electrons back to the semiconductor, and starting a new cycle.
(Photo from: Journal of Materials Chemistry A)
Initially the team was not sure how long the STC equipment could maintain this cycle and whether it could continue to run. But during the test, they found the answer.
At the end of the redox reaction, the cycle will dry up, because different types of copper ions will eventually stop working in different places.
Interestingly, the team was surprised to find that this problem can be solved by simply burying the STC device in the heat source. Then the external circuit can be recharged after a period of time.
The team said that this move is expected to achieve "semi-permanent" power supply for STC devices. Lead researcher Sachiko Matsushita stated:
With this design, the original low utilization of geothermal energy can also become a promising renewable energy source.
You do n’t need to worry about radiation, consume expensive oil, or rely on unstable solar or wind energy.
After that, the research team will further improve it to put it into practical use as soon as possible. Details about this research have been published in the recently published Journal of Materials Chemistry A.
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