Theoretical optimization of the working properties of spatial thermoradiative cells using the Carnot efficiency

Abstract

We develop an endoreversible scheme for thermoradiative cells where the thermodynamic variables are functionals of the Carnot efficiency of the reversible part of the model. The new description enlarges previous embodiments since it includes new thermodynamic properties (total entropy and ecological function) that depend on the temperatures of the hot and cold reservoirs assisting the conversion. The new model is used to find optimal working conditions of spatial thermoradiative cells where the converter gets the heat from the radiative emission of Earth and rejects energy to colder space. Our calculations show that optimal working points can be found using the total entropy or the ecological function. In the last part of the paper, we compare our results with those found in previous works using models that do not consider the entropy losses.