Performance of A Plate-Finned Thermoelectric Generator (TEG) Module for Industrial Waste Heat Recovery

• Published in: Journal of Mechanical Engineering
• Main Author: Zamri N.F.; Hamdan M.H.; Anuar S.N.A.; Mohamed W.A.N.W.; Remeli M.F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: UiTM Press 2022
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85138660745&doi=10.24191%2fjmeche.v19i3.19817&partnerID=40&md5=0c59ef395963d0da0ab546e58c440a6d

A thermoelectric generator (TEG) cell is a solid-state semi-conductor capable of converting thermal energy directly into electrical energy. Studies on specific designs for TEG modules are needed for an effective industrial waste heat recovery. Typical TEG systems apply direct heating or cooling without being assisted by heat transfer devices which makes it difficult to maintain high temperature difference between TEG cells surfaces for higher electrical power generation. To suit the TEG system with the industrial condition, a waste heat recovery (WHR) module was developed consisting of a Bismuth Telluride TEG cell and another module consisting of two TEG cells in a stacked configuration. The TEG cells were sandwiched between two copper blocks and connected to two plate-finned heat sinks and eight heat pipes. The two modules were tested on a dedicated test bench to study its performance based on an industrial WHR setup. The hot stream waste heat temperature was constant at 80 °C while the cooling air streams were set based on ambient conditions between 22 °C to 30 °C. The maximum power performance (MPP) varied from 10 mW to 153 mW where the effect of cooling is very significant on the power outputs. Under forced cooling condition, the MPP generated from the double stacking TEG configuration is significantly higher compared to single cell configuration, by approximately 250% © 2022 College of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia