Study of Thermoelectric Generator for Harnessing of the heat energy wasted from automobiles and Thermal Power Plant

Abstract

The ever growing huge demand for electricity needs is to be fulfilled with taking in consideration the environment factor. Thus, recycling of energy must be done as effectively as possible. Harnessing of the heat energy wasted from automobiles, industries, domestic appliances etc. all of which can generate power is proposed in this paper. Industries and automobile sector is the main source for the supply of waste heat which can generate power that can be further used for powering various accessories thus increasing the overall efficiency of the system itself. Technology under study in this paper for waste heat recovery is called TEG which stands for Thermo Electric Generators based on the See beck effect. TEG is a device which makes use of the temperature gradient across it to generate an electromotive force (EMF). TEGs are most suitable for waste heat recovery applications due to lack of mechanical parts, low maintenance and high durability and are proved in space missions over the past decades. The focus of this paper is to study characteristics of TEG and factors affecting its performance in turn reducing the environmental impact. Power generation from automobile and thermal power plant and accordingly future scope can be defined.