Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T12:44:48.706Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Cost-effective waste heat recovery using thermoelectric systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2012

Kazuaki Yazawa  and
Ali Shakouri
Kazuaki Yazawa*
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical Engineering, Baskin School of Engineering, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California 95064; and Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907
Ali Shakouri*
Affiliation:
Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907; and Department of Electrical Engineering, Baskin School of Engineering, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California 95064
*
a)Address all correspondence to these authors. e-mail: [email protected]
b)e-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Optimizing thermoelectric (TE) materials and modules are important factors, which can lead to widespread adoption of waste heat recovery systems. The analytic co-optimization of the TE leg, heat sink, and the load resistance shows that all parameters entering the figure-of-merit (Z) do not have the same impact on cost/performance trade-off. Thermal conductivity of the TE material plays a more important role than the power factor. This study also explores the impact of heat losses and the required contact resistances. Finally, we present the theoretical cost performance ($/W) of TE waste heat recovery systems for vehicle waste heat recovery application, assuming hot side gas temperature of 600 °C and a cooling water temperature of 60 °C.

Keywords

ThermoelectricThermal conductivityEnergy generation
Type
Invited Feature Paper
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 27 , Issue 9 , 14 May 2012 , pp. 1211 - 1217
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1.Energy Technology Cost and Performance Data, National Renewable Energy Laboratory Report. http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/tech_costs.html. (accessed September 29, 2011).Google Scholar
2.Hendricks, T.J.: Thermal system interactions in optimizing advanced thermoelectric energy recovery systems. J. Energy Res. Technol. 129(3), 231 (2007).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3.Bell, L.E.: Cooling, heating, generating power, and recovering waste heat with thermoelectric systems. Science 321(5895), 1461 (2008).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4.Yang, J.: Potential applications of thermoelectric waste heat recovery in the automotive industry. In Proceedings of International Conference on Thermoelectrics, 2005; pp. 170–174.Google Scholar
5.Eder, A. and Linde, M.: Efficient and Dynamic–The BMW Group Roadmap for the Application of Thermoelectric Generators, U.S. Department of Energy Thermoelectric Applications Workshop, online material, 2007.http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/thermoelectrics_app_2011/monday/eder.pdf. (accessed September 29, 2011).Google Scholar
6.Hussain, Q.E., Brigham, D.R., and Maranville, C.W.: Thermoelectric exhaust heat recovery for hybrid vehicles. In Proceedings of SAE World Congress & Exhibition, 2009; p. 2009–01-1327.Google Scholar
7.Vining, C.: An inconvenient truth about thermoelectrics. Nat. Mater. 8, 85 (2009).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Homm, G. and Klar, P.J.: Thermoelectric materials—compromising between high efficiency and materials abundance. Phys. Status Solidi-R 5(9), 331 (2011).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9.Tang, J., Wang, H., Lee, D.H., Fardy, M., Huo, Z., Russell, T.P., and Yang, P.: Holey silicon as an efficient thermoelectric material. Nano Lett. 10(10), 4283 (2010).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10.Zaitsev, V.K., Fedorov, M.I., Gurieva, E.A., Eremin, I.S., Konstantinov, P.P., Samunin, A.Y., and Vedernikov, M.V.: Highly effective Mg2Si1-xSnx thermoelectrics. Phys. Rev. B 74, 045207 (2006).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11.Shakouri, A.: Recent developments in semiconductor thermoelectric physics and materials. Annu. Rev. Mater. Res. 41, 431 (2011).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12.Yazawa, K. and Shakouri, A.: Cost-efficiency trade-off and the design of thermoelectric power generators, environmental science & technology. Env. Sci. and Tech. 45(17), 7553 (2011).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13.Yazawa, K. and Shakouri, A.: Asymmetric thermodynamic behavior of thermoelectric power generation. J. Appl. Phys. 111, 024509 (2012).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14.Humphrey, T.E. and Linke, H.: Reversible thermoelectric nanomaterials. Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 096601 (2005).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15.He, X., Li, Y., Wang, L., Sun, Y., and Zhang, S.: High emissivity coatings for high temperature application: Progress and prospect. Thin Solid Films 517, 5129 (2009).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16.Aksyutov, L.N.: Normal spectral emissivity of gold platinum and tungsten. J. Eng. Phys. Thermophys. 27(2), 917 (1974).Google Scholar
17.Maki, A.G. and Plyler, E.K.: Method of measuring emissivities of metals in the infrared. J. Res. Natl. Bur. Stand. 66C(3), 296 (1962).Google Scholar
18.Potkay, J.A., Lambertus, G.R., Sacks, R.D., and Wise, K.D.: A low-power pressure- and temperature-programmable micro gas chromatography column. J. Microelectromech. Syst. 16(5), 1079 (2007).CrossRefGoogle Scholar