Heat Transfer Characteristics of Thermoelectric Generator System for Waste Heat Recovery from a Billet Casting Process: Experimental and Numerical Analysis

Yadav, Saurabh; Liu, Jie; Kong, Man Sik; Yoon, Young Gyoon; Kim, Sung Chul

doi:10.3390/en14030601

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 20 publications

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“…Waste heat is available in various forms such as flue gas, exhaust gas, sewage and heated water, etc. Yadav et al [5] performed experiments to use TEG to utilize waste heat from the billet casting industry. During the billet (average temperature at 540 °C ) cooling process, 12 TEG units were placed between the absorber copper plate and water cooling block, generating a total power output of 339 W. Børset et al [6] implemented a 0.25 m 2 TEG at a silicon plant for WHR from silicon during the casting process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Field Test of Thermoelectric Generators for Recovering Industrial Waste Heat

Yuhao¹,

Zhu²,

Li*³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Waste heat recovery (WHR) based on thermoelectric generators (TEG) could improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. TEG could directly convert low-grade heat into electric energy. There have been many reports on laboratory experiments on evaluating the performance of TEG by measuring the power output at different conditions. However, there have been few field tests using waste heat with a temperature of less than 100 °C with TEG devices, which is of great significance because there is huge waste heat within this temperature range. TEGs were usually and mostly used for low-power microelectronic devices. In these cases, only one or several instead of hundreds of TEG modules were utilized. In this study, we conducted the field tests of TEG using the waste heat with a temperature of 80 °C at a gas power plant located in Shanxi province, China. We tested two TEG devices with 10 (240 TEG modules) and 20 layers (360 TEG modules), respectively. To our best knowledge, the number (20) of layers in one TEG device is the biggest so far reported in the literature. The field test results were analyzed and compared with laboratory experiments and other field tests at a high temperature of 170 °C. The power output and efficiency of TEG were measured and calculated at different temperature differences and flow rates. The TEG device could provide a power of 167.8 W for a flow rate of 3 cubic meter per hour at a temperature difference of 60 °C (the temperature of the heat resource was 80 °C). The cost of TEG device used in the field tests was estimated and compared with other power generation technologies. The field test results in this study demonstrate the feasibility of using TEG for recovering large scale waste heat.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Field Test of Thermoelectric Generators for Recovering Industrial Waste Heat

Yuhao¹,

Zhu²,

Li*³

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Power Generation at Low Temperatures Using Thermoelectric Generators and Cost Analysis

Zhu,

Li,

Mgijimi

et al. 2024

International Journal of Energy Research

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Interest in thermoelectric generators (TEGs) for waste heat recovery (WHR) and geothermal energy has grown significantly in recent years due to the ability to convert low‐grade thermal energy into electricity, which is essential to reduce carbon emissions. One of the main challenges in TEG power generation is the expandability and the number of layers in TEG devices. The currently reported maximum number of layers is six. In this study, the expandable TEG devices with different number of layers, up to 20, were designed and manufactured. The field tests have been then conducted with these TEG devices using the waste heat from a coal bed methane power plant at a temperature of around 80°C. To our best knowledge, this is the lowest temperature at which TEG field tests have been implemented. At a flow rate of about 3 m3/hr, a TEG unit with a volume of about 3 m3 can generate a power of 15 kW at a temperature difference of 60°C. The power density and power per unit area of the TEG are investigated and compared to those of diesel generators and photovoltaic panels at different temperature differences. Furthermore, to offer guidance for the commercial‐scale implementation of TEG, we have estimated the fabrication and installation costs, as well as the levelized cost of electricity, across various temperature differences. The results indicate that TEG is a feasible and promising technology for large‐scale power generation and WHR.

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Comparison and Parametric Analysis of Thermoelectric Generator System for Industrial Waste Heat Recovery with Three Types of Heat Sinks: Numerical Study

2022

Self Cite

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In this study, a fluid–thermal–electrical multiphysics numerical model was developed for the thermal and electrical analyses of a heat sink-based thermoelectric generator (TEG) in a waste heat recovery system used for casting a bronze ingot mold. Moreover, the model was validated based on experimental data. Heat sinks were installed on the hot side of the TEG module to recover the waste heat from the flue gas generated in the casting process. The numerical results of the thermal and electrical characteristics of a plate fin (PF)-based TEG showed good agreement with the experimental findings. Numerical simulations of heat sinks with three different fin structures—PF, cylinder pin fin (CPF), and rectangular pin fin (RPF)—were conducted. The simulated system pressure drop, hot- and cold-side temperature difference in the TEG module, TEG power output, and TEG efficiency were compared for the differently designed fin structures. The results showed that for the same fin area, the CPF heat sink-based TEG system achieved a lower pressure drop, higher power output, and higher efficiency than the other two designs. This was particularly true when the velocity of the flue gas and the fin height exceed 5 m/s and 28.6 mm, respectively. Therefore, for low and high flue gas velocities, PF and CPF heat sinks are recommended as the best choices, respectively.

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Heat Transfer Characteristics of Thermoelectric Generator System for Waste Heat Recovery from a Billet Casting Process: Experimental and Numerical Analysis

Cited by 3 publications

References 20 publications

Field Test of Thermoelectric Generators for Recovering Industrial Waste Heat

Field Test of Thermoelectric Generators for Recovering Industrial Waste Heat

Power Generation at Low Temperatures Using Thermoelectric Generators and Cost Analysis

Comparison and Parametric Analysis of Thermoelectric Generator System for Industrial Waste Heat Recovery with Three Types of Heat Sinks: Numerical Study

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