Title:Automotive Exhaust Gas Waste-Heat Recovery for Green Electrical Power Generation Using Thermoelectric Technology
VOLUME: 5 ISSUE: 3
Author(s):Basel I. Ismail
Affiliation:Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7B 5E1, Canada.
Keywords:Automotive exhaust gas, alternative green technology, direct energy conversion, electrical power, thermoelectric
power generation, thermoelectric materials, waste-heat recovery
Abstract:Generation of green electricity using innovative renewable and alternative energy technologies has shown merits
and received renewed interest in recent years due to an increasing concern of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, being
responsible for global warming & climate change, environmental pollution, and the limitations and conservation of natural
energy resources. Thermoelectric power generation has emerged as a promising renewable and alternative green technology
due to its distinct advantages. It offers a potential application in the direct conversion of waste-heat energy produced
from automotive exhaust into electrical power where it is unnecessary to consider the cost of the thermal energy input.
The application of this alternative green technology in converting waste-heat energy directly into electrical power can also
improve the overall efficiencies of energy conversion systems. In this paper, the fundamental concept, composition and
specifications, performance aspects, and innovative materials of thermoelectric power generation are presented. Also, recent
developments and novel patents of thermoelectric power generation with their important and relevant applications to
automotive exhaust waste-heat energy are reviewed and discussed.
