Find in Library
Search millions of books, articles, and more
Indexed Open Access Databases
Prospects of Autonomous Volcanic Monitoring Stations: Experimental Investigation on Thermoelectric Generation from Fumaroles
oleh: Leyre Catalan, Miguel Araiz, Patricia Aranguren, German D. Padilla, Pedro A. Hernandez, Nemesio M. Perez, Celestino Garcia de la Noceda, Jose F. Albert, David Astrain
Format: | Article |
---|---|
Diterbitkan: | MDPI AG 2020-06-01 |
Deskripsi
Fumaroles represent evidence of volcanic activity, emitting steam and volcanic gases at temperatures between 70 and 100 <inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mrow> <msup> <mrow></mrow> <mo>∘</mo> </msup> <mi mathvariant="normal">C</mi> </mrow> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>. Due to the well-known advantages of thermoelectricity, such as reliability, reduced maintenance and scalability, the present paper studies the possibilities of thermoelectric generators, devices based on solid-state physics, to directly convert fumaroles heat into electricity due to the Seebeck effect. For this purpose, a thermoelectric generator composed of two bismuth-telluride thermoelectric modules and heat pipes as heat exchangers was installed, for the first time, at Teide volcano (Canary Islands, Spain), where fumaroles arise in the surface at 82 <inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mrow> <msup> <mrow></mrow> <mo>∘</mo> </msup> <mi mathvariant="normal">C</mi> </mrow> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>. The installed thermoelectric generator has demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed solution, leading to a compact generator with no moving parts that produces a net generation between 0.32 and <inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mrow> <mn>0.33</mn> </mrow> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula> <inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mi mathvariant="normal">W</mi> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula> per module given a temperature difference between the heat reservoirs encompassed in the 69–86 <inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mrow> <msup> <mrow></mrow> <mo>∘</mo> </msup> <mi mathvariant="normal">C</mi> </mrow> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula> range. These results become interesting due to the possibilities of supplying power to the volcanic monitoring stations that measure the precursors of volcanic eruptions, making them completely autonomous. Nonetheless, in order to achieve this objective, corrosion prevention measures must be taken because the hydrogen sulfide contained in the fumaroles reacts with steam, forming sulfuric acid.