Fundamentals of Renewable Energy Processes, 3rd Edition

Chapter 5

Thermoelectricity

So far we have discussed heat engines in general and have examined in some detail the heat engine used in Ocean Thermal Energy Converters. All these engines convert heat into mechanical energy.

In this chapter and in the next two, we consider engines that transform heat directly into electricity: the thermoelectric, the thermionic, and the radio-noise converters. In the chapter on photovoltaic cells, we will discuss the thermophotovoltaic converter that transforms heat into radiant energy and then into electricity. Other engines such as magnetohydrodynamic engine that converts heat into kinetic energy of a plasma and then into electricity will not be covered here.

In most of the chapters of this book we have adopted ...