Engineering Commons^™

Entrochemical systems are systems capable of generating internal thermal gradients through internal

water movements which simultaneously transfer get of vaporization between internal water reservoirs. These systems move to a chemical equilibrium state that generates and maintains a thermal gradient. Entrochemical thermal batteries (ETB) can be constructed which extend the thermal gradient of a single cell through an additive process. Such systems can deliver useful work. Additionally solutions used therein may be recharged passively using environmental heat.

We describe the design and function of a bench-scale water heater capable of heating a small water

reservoir. The system is powered by an …

We report the design and function of a distillation apparatus which uses salt concentration gradients to

drive distillation and desalination of simulated sea water. Utilizing the entrochemical effect, the system

generates an internal thermal gradient. An internal distiller is arranged with the condenser in the cold end of the

entrochemical system and a seawater reservoir in the warm end of the entrochemical system. The heat of

vaporization is recaptured in the cold side of the entrochemical system and re-used. The spent solution in the

entrochemical system can be recharged using evaporation, making the surrounding thermal energy the source

of energy …

Solar chimneys are potentially important components in energy-providing systems. These are

passive solar systems which transduce solar irradiance to airflow. The airflow, in turn, can be transformed

into electricity. While the ability of the solar chimney to create airflow has been examined in a number of

different studies, little attention has been focused on improving the performance of the solar collector. In

principle, increasing the thermal lift of the chimney would improve the chimney's overall airflow

production and extend the upper limit of energy production.

We examine an improvement to the solar collector design for the simple solar chimney capable …