System and method for energy conversion by pressure wave and/or phase-exchange
AssigneeTechnion Research & Development Foundation Limited
InventorsYehuda Agnon, Guy Ramon, Carlos Dosoretz
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Abstract
System and method for converting energy; the system comprising: an acoustic resonator; a phase-exchange device configured for forming across a section of said resonator a concentration gradient of a first substance in a gaseous medium contained by said resonator, to thereby generate a pressure wave within said resonator; and a conversion device for converting mechanical energy constituted by said pressure wave to non-mechanical energy.
Claims31
A method of converting energy, comprising:
- supplying external concentration-difference energy to a gaseous medium by contacting said gaseous medium with a non-gaseous medium such that said gaseous medium flows through said non-gaseous medium to increase concentration of a first substance in said gaseous medium;
- generating a pressure wave from a portion of said concentration-difference energy;
- and
- converting mechanical energy constituted by said pressure wave to non-mechanical energy.
A system for converting energy, comprising:
- an open acoustic resonator containing a gaseous medium;
- an aerosol device or an atomizer, supplying a first substance into said acoustic resonator as an influx of a jet of droplets or vapor of said first substance, forming across a section of said resonator a concentration gradient of said first substance in said gaseous medium, and generating a pressure wave within said resonator, wherein said gaseous medium flows through said jet of droplets or vapor of said first substance;
- and
- a conversion device converting mechanical energy constituted by said pressure wave to non-mechanical energy.
A system for material separation, comprising:
- an open acoustic resonator receiving, through an inlet port, a fluid medium which is a mixture of at least a first substance and a second substance;
- a pressure wave driver generating a pressure wave in said resonator, to form within said resonator a region of high concentration of said first substance and a region of low concentration of said first substance;
- a fluid extraction member extracting said first substance from said region of high concentration out of said resonator;
- and
- at least one storage container for storing at least said first substance separated from said fluid medium;
- wherein said resonator is partially occupied by a sorbent medium, wherein said regions of high and low concentrations of said first substance are formed within said sorbent medium, and wherein said sorbent medium selectively sorbs said first substance.
A system for generating electricity, comprising:
- an acoustic resonator containing a sorbent medium and a gaseous medium flowing through said sorbent medium;
- a supply element, supplying an influx of a first substance to said sorbent medium, causing a pressure wave to be generated within said resonator;
- and
- a conversion device converting mechanical energy constituted by said pressure wave to electrical energy.
A method of converting energy, comprising:
- supplying concentration-difference energy to a gaseous medium by contacting said gaseous medium with an adsorbent solid such that said gaseous medium flows through said adsorbent solid to increase concentration of a first substance in said gaseous medium;
- generating a pressure wave from a portion of said concentration-difference energy;
- and
- converting mechanical energy constituted by said pressure wave to non-mechanical energy.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.