Patent ID: 11926783
Assignee: THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY
Field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC C  F  H  Y | IPC C  F  H

Claim 0:
1. A method of electrochemical redox refrigeration comprising:
inducing a flow of an electrochemical refrigerant within an electrochemical flow cell comprising a flow channel, a first electrode within the flow channel, a second electrode within the flow channel, and an inter-electrode space within the flow channel between the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein the electrochemical refrigerant flows sequentially through the first electrode entering one side of the first electrode and exiting an opposite side of the first electrode, across the inter-electrode space within the flow channel between the first electrode and the second electrode, and through the second electrode entering one side of the second electrode and exiting an opposite side of the second electrode; wherein the first electrode and second electrode are positioned sequentially in the flow of the electrochemical refrigerant, and wherein the first electrode and second electrode are porous to the electrochemical refrigerant; wherein the electrochemical refrigerant contains only a single redox active species;
applying an electrical potential difference between the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein the electrochemical refrigerant is oxidized at one of the first electrode and second electrode and reduced at another of the first electrode and second electrode;
wherein inducing the flow of the electrochemical refrigerant comprises controlling the flow to have a rate such that a characteristic time (τflow) of heat advection between the electrodes is less than a characteristic time (τthermal) of heat conduction between the electrodes, so that the first electrode is at least partially thermally isolated from Joule heating in the electrochemical refrigerant and from activation losses in the second electrode.