Development of portable power unit with catalytic micro-combustor

Abstract

A prototype of the portable power unit with coupling catalytic microcombustor, thermo-electric modules and air/fuel supply devices was developed. The developed power unit was completely self-standing; the air supply system was driven by a part of electricity generated at the generator unit. When the thermal input from the combustor was 12W, the total electricity is 330 mW and the net output electricity was 225 mW, which corresponded to the back work ratio of 32%. The final conversion efficiency of the total system reached 1.87%, which was order of world record.