The invention concerns a burner with a thermoeletric generator, the functioning of which is based on the Seebeck effect, designated in particular for fired heat exchangers in central heating and/or domestic water

installations.

The market today expects new technical solutions and devices able to serve a growing number of functions, while at the same time getting more and more universal. Moreover, the entire industry is taking intense effort to develop new methods of generating electric energy. The majority of the micro-generating devices currently available in the market are based on principle of conversion of some form of kinetic energy to electric energy. Known are solutions employing different kinds of reciprocating engines, Stirling engines, turbines, etc. The solutions are characterised by substantial limitations resulting from the high level of their complexity which entails high production cost, as well as by low reliability and high costs related to ensure the required maintenance.

Known are thermoelectric devices employing the Seebeck effect, which enable generation of electric energy. The devices contain

thermoelectric technical means where the temperature difference between specific areas enables generation of electric energy.

The current state of the art in the area of thermoelectric coatings implies that no solution has been found yet which would provide instruction on how to apply thermoelectric composites in a comprehensive manner and use them in devices. There are, however, some scientific publications which discuss specific methods of manufacturing the semiconductor components only, intended for thermocouples. It should also be mentioned here that attempts are made to lay layers of bismuth telluride under the thermal spray method. Because of its high imprecision, however, the method proves poorly effective, and the produced systems of poor performance. Because of the open structure of the semiconductor junctions of the 'p' and 'n' type, the systems cannot be used safely.

Currently, the market is saturated only as concerns prefabricated

thermocouples. Their fairly substantial limitations stem from their absolute lack of formability and their standardized sizes.

Recently, however, a new application group has been developed for the electricity generating thermocouples: they are used to generate electricity in the so-called hiking power generators. The devices employ heat energy to enable charging small receivers. Because of the size of the target market, however, and the technical solutions used one can hardly speak about industrial scale here. The heretofore experimental attempts at using prefabricated thermocouple modules do not stand any true chance of commercialization because of their production and size-related limitations. Another factor which effectively hampers the development of this specific industry branch is the high unit cost of thermocouples.

Known from a British patent document is a portable water heater having a combustion chamber, where the heater burns fuel to ensure the source of heating. The combustion chamber is fitted with a fuelled burner and blower supplying air to the burner. The blower is fed with power from a thermoelectric generator which contains a Peltier- Seebeck device having one side hot from the heat produced by the burner and one side cold, cooled by the air supplied by the blower. The fuel is delivered to the

burnergravitationally from a petrol can. The thermoelectric generator contains a set of semiconductor modules made of bismuth telluride (BI-TE) connected in series, where the modules produce electric voltage whenever a temperature difference occurs throughout the stack. The water heater does not need to be energy fed and can be used in field kitchens, on a boat, etc.

The purpose of the invention is to increase the volume of energy generated in normal operation of the burner, and in particular to provide a burner intended especially for fired heat exchangers in central heating and/or domestic water installations, which would at the same time generate electric energy used for supplying power to additional electronic accessories or external devices, or fed back to the power grid.

The purpose has been achieved by developing a burner fitted with thermoelectric technical means which employ the heat produced in the fuel burning process to generate electric energy.

A burner with a thermoelectric generator, the functioning of which is based on the Seebeck effect, having an external jacket, fuel-and-air duct, and nozzles which supply the fuel-and-air mix to the outer surface of the external jacket where the mix burns, the said burner according to the invention is characterised in that the thermoelectric generator takes the form of a thin thermoelectric coating applied under the PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) technology to these elements of the burner which are in thermal contact with combustion gases, where the coating contains a thermoelectric layer having two semiconductor sub-layers 'p' and 'n' which do not contact each other and are interconnected in series with thin-layered conducting elements fitted with connection ends to evacuate the generated electric energy, and where the coating is electrically insulated on both sides with layers of electrical insulator based on inorganic oxides, while made in the external jacket inside which the duct for the fuel-and-air mix is formed are nozzles for the delivery of the fuel-and-air mix from the duct to the outer surface of the external jacket.

Preferably, the cold side of the semiconductor sub-layers 'p' and 'n' of the thermoelectric layer of the coating is cooled with air and fuel supplied to the burner. Preferably, the semiconductor sub-layers 'p' and 'n' of the thermoelectric layer of the coating are Ι μηι to ΙΟμηι thick.

Preferably, the width of each semiconductor sub-layer 'p' and 'n' ranges from 0.1mm to 2mm.

Preferably, the thin-layered conducting elements of the coating are made of copper and preferably their thickness falls within the range from Ιμιη to 5μηι. Preferably, the electrical insulator layers of the thermoelectric layer of the coating are produced based on A1 ₂ 0 ₃ or Si0 ₂ or MgO.

Preferably, inside the external jacket, at some distance therefrom, there is an internal jacket inside which the fuel-and-air duct runs, where applied to the outer side of the internal jacket is a coating which contains a thermoelectric layer, and where there are pass-through holes in the internal jacket and the coating applied thereto, the holes positioned coaxially to one another.

In another variant of the invention, the coating which contains a

thermoelectric layer is preferably applied to the inner surface of the external jacket and features pass-through holes positioned coaxially to the nozzles delivering the fuel-and-air mix to the outer surface of the external jacket. In addition, on the outer surface of the external jacket there is a layer of steel non-woven fabric.

Moreover, the burner has an internal jacket positioned at some distance from the coating, featuring pass-through holes, where there is a fuel-and-air duct running inside the internal jacket.

Preferably, the semiconductor sub-layers 'p' and 'n' of the thermoelectric layer of the coating are formed into alternating semiconductor rings 'p' and 'η' .

The invention makes it possible to generate electric energy obtained during regular operation of the burner using the thermoelectric coating embedded in the burner. Besides heat energy, the burner, with its embedded thermoelectric coating, generates electric energy in accordance with the Seebeck effect. The advantage of the solution according to the invention lies in the absence of any movable elements, thanks to which the burner maintenance costs will not grow. Moreover, thanks to the absence of any movable elements, the electric energy generation process is totally sound-free and vibration- free, which will allow installation of the device in higher number of locations, while at the same time minimizing arduousness of the device to the people living and working close to it; it will also ensure scalability of use, ranging from micro-applications to high powers, as well as scalability of production in automated production technology easy to be copied at a large scale. In addition, thanks to taking advantage of the thermoelectric effect, it is possible to generate electricity directly from heat energy, bypassing the conversion to kinetic energy, which will translate to high reliability and lower maintenance costs.

The electric energy produced can find different applications, e.g. in:

- supplying power to electrical sub-assemblies of a complete device, such as control elements or pumping systems (improving energy efficiency)

- building autonomous units independent of external power supply

- delivering energy back to the local power network (reducing the

household demand for electric energy)

- delivering energy back to the power grid (micro sources, prosumer, citizen energy)

These and other characteristics of the invention will be clear from the following description of a preferential form of embodiment, given as a non- restrictive example, with reference to the attached drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 shows the burner in axial section in the first exemplary embodiment; Fig. 2 depicts the burner in axial section in the second exemplary

embodiment;

Fig. 3 illustrates the burner in axial section in the third exemplary embodiment;

Fig. 4 shows the burner in axial section in the fourth exemplary embodiment; Fig. 5 depicts the thermoelectric coating in cross section.

As shown in Fig. 1, the burner comprises an external jacket 6, inside which and at some distance theref om there is an internal jacket 9, inside which the fuel-and-air duct 7 runs. Applied to the outer side of the internal jacket 9 under the PVD technology, e.g. by evaporation, laser ablation, magnetron sputtering, filtered cathodic arc deposition, or electron beam PVD, is a thin-layered coating 16 which contains a thermoelectric layer 1 having two semi-conductor sub-layers 'p' and 'n' which do not contact each other, the thickness di of which ranges from Ι μτη to ΙΟμπι, preferably amounting to 5 μπι, where the sub-layers are formed into alternating rings of the width s falling within the range from 0.1mm to 2mm, preferably amounting to 1mm, and where the rings are interconnected in series with thin-layered conducting elements 2a, 2b made of copper, the thickness d ₂ of which ranges from 1 μηι to 5μτη, preferably amounting to 3μιη, and where the conducting elements are fitted with end connections 4, 5 to evacuate the generated electric energy. The thermoelectric layer 1 is electrically insulated on both sides with layers 3 a, 3 b of electrical insulator based on inorganic oxides, particularly Al ₂ O ₃ or Si0 ₂ or MgO. In the internal jacket 9 and the coating 16 applied thereto there are pass-through holes 10, 11 positioned co-axially to each other, while formed in the external jacket 6 are nozzles 8 which deliver the fuel-and-air mix from the duct 7 to the outer surface of the external jacket 6, where the mix burns. The cold side of the semiconductor elements 'p' and 'n' of the thermoelectric layer 1 is cooled with air and fuel supplied to the burner, and the hot side stays in thermal contact with the combustion gases and is heated with their heat.

In the second exemplary embodiment of the invention, as shown in Fig. 2, the burner has an external jacket 6, inside which there is a fuel-and-air duct 7, where the burner is fitted with nozzles 8 which deliver the fuel-and- air mix to the outer surface of the external jacket 6 ,where the mix burns. Applied to the inner surface of the external jacket 6 under the PVD

technology, e.g. by evaporation, laser ablation, magnetron sputtering, filtered cathodic arc deposition , or electron beam PVD, is a thin-layered coating 16 which contains a thermoelectric layer 1 having two semi-conductor sublayers 'p' and 'n', the thickness of which ranges from Ιμπι to ΙΟμηι, preferably amounting to 5μηι, with the width s of the sub-layers ranging from 0.1mm to 2mm, preferably amounting to 1 mm, and where the sub-layers are formed into alternating rings interconnected in series with thin-layered conducting elements 2a, 2b made of copper, the thickness d ₂ of which ranges from Ι μηι to 5μιη, preferably amounting to 3μιη, and where the conducting elements are fitted with end connections 4, 5 to evacuate the generated electric energy. The coating 16 is fitted with pass-through holes 12 positioned coaxially to the nozzles 8. The thermoelectric layer 1 is electrically insulated on both sides with layers 3a, 3b of electrical insulator produced based on inorganic oxides, particularly A1 ₂ 0 ₃ or Si0 ₂ or MgO. The cold side of the semiconductor sub-layers 'p' and 'n' of the thermoelectric layer 1 is cooled with air and fuel supplied to the burner, and the hot side stays in thermal contact with the combustion gases and is heated with their heat.

In the third exemplary embodiment of the invention, as shown in Fig. 3, the burner described in embodiment two has a layer 13 of steel non- woven fabric on the outer surface of the external jacket 6.

In the fourth exemplary embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in Fig. 4, the burner described in embodiment two has an internal jacket 14 positioned at some distance from the external jacket 6 featuring a coating 16, where the internal jacket is fitted with pass-through holes 15, and where the fuel-and-air duct 7 runs inside the internal jacket 14. The total thickness of the thermoelectric layer is 50 μιη or less.

First, the process of applying the electrical insulator layer 3a should be performed in the technological chamber, thanks to which the thermoelectric layer 1 will be electrically independent of the base. The insulating layer must be homogenous and continuous in structure. It will make it highly resistant to avalanche breakdown. Then, appropriately located thin-layered

conducting elements 2a should be made, which will form the basis and serve as electrical connection between the semiconductor sub-layers. There are many materials which can serve the function. Copper seems a good choice because of the ease of deposition and good conductivity. The most important components of the thermoelectric coating are two semiconductor layers of the 'p' and 'n' types which can be made of the following material groups: lead telluride; tin selenide; telluride, antimony, and bismuth compounds; inorganic occlusion compounds; skutterudite; semi-Heusler compounds; silicon compounds; and germanium compounds. Thanks to the interconnection between two different semiconductor layers 'p' and 'n' achieved using thin- layered conducting elements it will be possible to achieve the flow of current whenever the coating is exposed to temperature difference. The material should be selected according to the criteria of e.g. expected performance, the ensuing thermoelectric efficiency (ZT), and the anticipated range of temperatures to which the coating will be exposed during operation. In the next step, the appropriately located semiconductor sub-layers 'p' and 'n' should be made. Then, appropriately located thin-layered conducting elements 2b should be produced to close the electrical circuit of the

thermoelectric layer 1. The last step consists in the producing of the second layer 3b of the electrical insulator. The thermoelectric layer 1 is electrically insulated on both sides with layers 3 a, 3b of electrical insulator, produced based on inorganic oxides, particularly A1 ₂ 0 ₃ or Si0 ₂ or MgO.

The hot side of the thermoelectric layer containing semiconductor sub-layers 'p' and 'n' interconnected in series is in thermal contact with hot combustion gases produced during the burning of fuel in the burner, while the cold side of the same layer is in thermal contact with cold air and fuel flowing into the fuel-and-air duct.

In accordance with Seebeck's theory, the difference in temperature resulting therefrom triggers orderly movement of charges in the semiconductor sublayers 'p' and 'n' contained in the thermoelectric layer 1. Due to the series connection between the sub-layers, a difference of potential occurs between the outermost connection points, i.e. ends 4, 5. The thus-produced energy can be used to supply power to electronic accessories or external devices, or delivered back to the power grid.