Abstract
A self-sustaining thermal transpiration-based combustor and gas pump system having no moving parts and using readily storable hydrocarbon fuel is presented. Thermal transpiration was accomplished by meeting two essential conditions: (1) gas flow in the transitional or molecular regime using glass microfiber filters as transpiration membranes and (2) a temperature gradient through the membrane using catalytic combustion downstream of the membrane. Experiments showed that transpiration pumps with larger porosity and larger overall size exhibited better performance, though membrane pore size had little effect. These results were quantitatively consistent with theoretical predictions. By exploiting the temperature and fuel/oxygen concentrations within the transpiration pump, a novel, complete portable power generation system was created using a single-chamber solid-oxide fuel cell and its performance is reported.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 3327-3334 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Proceedings of the Combustion Institute |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2013 |
Keywords
- Gas pump
- Miniature power generator
- SOFC
- Thermal transpiration
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemical Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry