Harvesting Thermal Energy via Tube-based Triboelectric Nanogenerators within an Oscillating Heat Pipe

Developing energy harvesting and conversion technology is of great significance to mitigate the energy crisis and realize the sustainable development of human society. In this work, we designed and fabricated...

Lifecycle Assessment of a Non-Phase-Transition Drying Pyrolysis and Mass Conversion Technology

A lifecycle model was established to explore the efficiency, economy, and greenhouse gas emissions of a non-phase-transition drying pyrolysis and mass conversion technology, based on the principle of lifecycle assessment. The evaluation scope included straw collection and transportation, drying and crushing, biomass pyrolysis, charcoal processing, and waste heat utilization. The results show that the energy output/input ratio for non-phase-transition drying pyrolysis was 20.43, and the energy efficiency was high. The pure profit from treating wet straw was USD 45.32 per ton, the profit margin of sales was 52.11%, and the economic benefit was high. The equivalent emission of CO2 was 34.10 g·MJ−1, demonstrating high environmental benefits. Therefore, non-phase-transition drying pyrolysis and mass conversion technology is a potential biomass utilization technology with energy, economic, and ecological benefits.

Optical Properties of Plasma Dimer Nanoparticles for Solar Energy Absorption

Plasmonic nanofluids have excellent optical properties in solar energy absorption and have been widely studied in solar thermal conversion technology. The absorption of the visible region of solar energy by ordinary metal nanoparticles is usually limited to a narrow resonance band, so it is necessary to enhance the coupling effect of nanoparticles in the visible spectrum region to improve absorption efficiency. However, it is still a difficult task to improve solar energy absorption by adjusting the structure and performance of nanoparticles. In this paper, a plasma dimer Ag nanoparticle is proposed to excite localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). Compared with an ordinary Ag nanoparticle in the visible region, the plasmonic Ag dimer nanoparticle produces more absorption peaks and broader absorption bands, which can broaden solar energy absorption. By analyzing the electromagnetic field of the nanoparticle, the resonance mode of the plasma dimer is discussed. The effects of the geometric dimensions of the nanoparticle and the embedding of two spheres on the optical properties are studied. In addition, the effects of a trimer and its special structure on the optical properties are also analyzed. The results show that the proposed plasma dimer Ag nanoparticle has broad prospects for application in solar thermal conversion technology.