Space power generation applications

Boilers may be used for domestic hot water heating, space heating, waste heat, or chemical recovery. They also may be used for mechanical work, electrical power generation, cogeneration, and innumerable industrial process applications using direct (live) steam or indirect steam (e.g., coil heated) processes. Both FT and WT designs are commonly employed for heat-recovery applications. 

Industrial boilers are employed over a wide range of applications, from large power-generating units with sophisticated control systems, which maximize efficiency, to small low-pressure units for space or process heating, which emphasize simpficity and low capital cost. Although their usual primary function is to provide energy in the form of steam, in some applications steam generation is incidental to a process objective, e.g., a chemical recovery unit in the paper industry. 

SiC has high heat and oxidation resistance. Therefore, various applications relating to space developments and efficient power generators are expected. However, the low reliability due to the brittle nature of SiC is a critical problem. MWCNTs may be good candidates to reinforce the SiC matrix if the original strength of MWCNTs is maintained. The SiC coating is expected to improve the weak adhesion between MWCNTs and the SiC matrix. 

This property makes plutonium a good choice for certain thermoelectric generator applications. A thermoelectric generator is a device that converts heat into electricity. Plutonium generators are not practical on a large scale basis. But they are very desirable for special conditions. For example, they have been used to provide electrical power on space probes and space vehicles. 

There are four principal ways in which biomass is used as a renewable energy resource. The first, and most common, is as a fuel used direcdy for space and process heat and for cooking. The second is as a fuel for electric power generation. The third is by gasification into a fuel used on the site. The fourth is by conversion into a liquid fuel that provides the portability needed for transportation and other mobile applications of energy. Figure 7 shows the varied pathways which can be followed to convert biomass feedstocks to useful fuels or electricity. 

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