VOL.

04: DECEMBER, 2016 ISSN 2222-1247

DOI: 10.24081/nijesr.2016.1.0016

Future Impact of Thermoelectric Devices for Deriving

Electricity by Waste Heat Recovery from IC Engine
Exhaust
1
Muhammad Usman Ghani*, 2Syed Amjad Ahmad, 2Umair Munir, 2Aqeel Ur Rehman, 3Muhammad Mahmood Aslam Bhutta
1
University of Agriculture, Faisalabad-Pakistan.
2
NFC Institute of Engineering and Fertilizers, Research, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
3Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan.

*Corresponding Author: engineer2333@live.com

Abstract - Thermoelectric devices are now a days much popular
regarding their combined effect of electrical and heat energy.
Due to their capability to convert heat energy into electrical
energy, they can be used as heat recovery units in engine
exhausts. An assembly of thermoelectric modules when placed in
the exhaust of engine can produce current. The phenomenon is
governed by Seebeck effect and carried out in a single stage. This
energy can be utilized in powering electric appliances running in
automobiles. It can produce energy from waste heat of engine
and thus providing a huge area of interest in automobile industry
to extract energy using TEG.
Keywords: Thermoelectric Generator, Thermoelectric Material,
Pettier Device, Seebeck Effect
produce electricity.[3] Military appliances make use of it
where other sources are unable to be taken as for their
compact size and can be carried easily with a normal Pieter
module working at as low as 12 V. Space industry has been in
serious concern for past decades to make its applications in
space where solar panels are no more able to work as the
thermoelectric module will work as long as heat is present. A
study was carried out for use of it in producing electric energy
from waste heat of an IC engine in order to test the working
and viability of TEG in future for automobile industry to be
used as waste heat recovery unit and run electrical appliances
in automobiles.

I. INTRODUCTION :
Thermoelectric devices are a hot topic now a days followed by
the impact offered by them in their applications, usability,
safety, environment friendliness and simple working
phenomenon. Thermoelectric devices work by maintaining a
temperature gradient on supply of electricity as well as
generating electricity when given a heat flow through them.
[1]A temperature gradient is maintained by these devices by
maintaining one side as cold side and the other as hot side
which is connected to an electricity source. Being composed
in the solid state they have no complexity in manufacturing
followed by a smooth, noise free and working free of any
moving mechanical part of working fluid. TEC
(Thermoelectric coolers) are superior in this regard of working
to generate same effect but in a different and convenient Fig. 1 Peltier thermoelectric module cut section [Innoveco
.
Australia]
mechanism. [2] They have huge applications at industries
where flue gases and waste heat can be used to generate The Proposed effects of Installing TEG in automobile exhaust
electricity by TEG (thermoelectric generators). In pipes lines are:
carrying waste gases, chimneys, hot fluid carrying pipes as
well as vehicles exhaust pipes. Industrial purposes use them Waste heat energy of the fuel can be recovered.
for making extra efficient cars by utilizing waste heat to

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Increased load on auxiliary components such as AC, Where J is the current density, and K is Thomson's coefficient.
headlights, horn, and audio system can be reduced by The three coefficients are related by Thomson relations
installing TEG. (Kelvin relations).
It helps in increased vehicular electrification to share = TS (2)
the electrical load.
Reduced heat emissions into atmosphere. Where: = - B , and:
Increased fuel efficiency.

(3)
II. WORKING P HENOMENON OF THERMOELECTRIC DEVICES

Thermoelectric devices make use of the thermoelectric

modules which work on different principles of conversion
between heat energy and electric power. The phenomenon of
conversion done by these thermoelectric modules which is
governed by following principles.

Fig. 3 Thompson Effect

B. Seebeck Effect

As shown in Figure 3, for a circuit constituted of conductor

Fig. 2. Thermo Electric Devices
A. Thompson Effect:
A current carrying conductor with a present temperature
gradient has another form of heat absorbed along with the
joule heat which is named as Thompson heat. The amount of
Thompson heat is given in the formula below in which we can
clearly observe that its amount released or absorbed is directly
related to the temperature gradient provided. [4]
(1)
(or semi-conductor) a or b in series, if there are two
connectors 1 and 2 at temperature Th and Tc respectively, there
will produce a potential difference between y and z at the
open-circuit position of b. Under the same material, the
thermoelectricity potential is only related to the temperature
difference of two connectors, and it can
be expressed as
(4)
The Seebeck effect is invertible. When the temperature
difference adds or deletes a minus sign, thermoelectricity

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potential would remain its absolute value with or without a
minus sign.
C. Pettier Effect:
The Peltier effect is the opposite of the Seebeck
effect. In Figure 3, if an electromotive force is added at y and
z, electric current I is produced in the circuit composed of a
and b. At the same time, one connector of the conductors
absorbs the heat while the other releases the heat. The
experiment found that the heat absorption (release) rate q is in
proportion to electric current I, namely:
q=πabI
(5)
Where, π ab is Peltier coefficient, W/A.
D. Basic principles of thermoelectric generator:
A p-type thermoelectricity component and an n-type
thermoelectricity component were connected with metallic
electrodes at the hot-end, which is called thermoelectricity
couple or temperature difference uncouple. As is shown in
Figure 2, the open-end of the thermoelectricity couple is
connected with an external load whose resistance is rL. When
the electric current moves through the circuit, the electric
power of the load is I2rL. Consequently, a generator that
converts thermal energy to electricity is obtained. [5]
III. MATERIALS AND METHODS
A. Selecting standard for thermoelectric materials
In order to increase the efficiency of the
thermoelectric generator, it is necessary to increase the
optimum value Z of thermoelectricity leg.
(6)
Optimum value Z is the standard of evaluating the
quality of a certain materials in the research of thermoelectric
materials.
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ISSN 2222-1247
(7)
In real practice, the dimensionless optimum value Z
of electric material with single temperature difference is
expressed by its multiplying with absolute temperature.
(8)
From the equation, it is found that to find materials
with high optimum value, the only method is to enhance the
Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity and reduce
thermal conductivity of the material. [6]
B. Major thermoelectric materials
At the present, common thermoelectric materials are
bismuth telluride (Bi2Te 3) and its alloys, plumbous telluride
(PbTe) and its alloys and silicon germanium (SiGe) alloys.
C. Thermoelectric Module
It is semiconductor which is highly doped by
pollutants to increase the electric conductivity of the
semiconductor. Good semiconductor has electric conductivity
in between 200µV/K - 300µV/K. [7] When choosing
semiconductor it has to withstand that much high operating
temperature. Some of the good thermoelectric module
semiconductors are Bi 2Te 3, CaMnO, Ca3Co4O9, Sb2Te 3, and
PbTe Bi2Te 3 based materials shown to have seebeck
coefficient (voltage per unit temperature difference) of −287
μV/K at 328K, However, one must realize that Seebeck
Coefficient and electrical conductivity have a tradeoff; a
higher Seebeck coefficient results in decreased carrier
concentration and decreased electrical conductivity.[8] In
another case bismuth telluride has high electric conductivity
of 1.1×105 S·m/m2 with its very low lattice thermal
conductivity of 1.20 W/(m·K). For 100K temperature
difference and 200 modules it produces 4.2% efficiency and
15volts it is commercially available TEG. [9] CaMnO3 bulks
were prepared by a solid state reaction. They show metallic
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behavior at temperatures higher than about 400 K and
electrical resistivity Ω is lower than 12 mΩcm at 1000K in air.
For CaMnO3, S value reaches -130 muV/K at 973 K. Both
thermoelectric properties are dominated mainly by
crystallographic structure. [10]Thermal conductivity samples
is as low as 1.5 W/m-K2 and dimension-less figure of merit
ZT reaches 0.16 at 973 K for CaMnO3 in air . It generate 3.9%
efficiency 2.6 V for 200 modules and 100K temperature
difference. This TEG is preferred for High operating
temperature. We have Ca3Co4O9 semiconductor for high
temperature withstanding property. Ca3Co4O9 has some good
thermo electric properties. It can withstand 800ºc. [11]
Seebeck property 206µV/K, Electrical resistance 11.6 mΩcm.
figure of merit ZT=0.23. Thermal conductivity 1.2Wm-1K-1.
This property taken for 880K. This TEG generates 4.2 %
efficiency 4.2 volts for 200 modules and 100K temperature
difference.
F. Design of thermoelectric generator :
The thermoelectric generator was constructed by
using 16 thermocouples. These thermoelectric modules were
bismuth telluride. In terms of electrical design, the
thermoelectric modules were connected in series. Each when
connected in series generated current depending on the
temperature difference between the hit and cold parts. The hot
part was suspended for reducing heat sink. [14]Cold water
was used for cooling the sink for maximum difference.
Dimensions of each module were 40 mm in width, 40 mm in
length with thickness of 4 mm. These thermoelectric modules
were connected with thermoelectric couples connected
electrically in series and thermally in parallel.

D. Thermoelectric shield :

It is a material which protects the modules damage

due to high Temperature. Mostly Ceramics material for this
which is Al2O3. It also transfers temperature to the modules
from hot side. It should be thick. [12]

E. Thermal fin:

It is used here for increase the thermal gradient value. When

we increase the Thermal gradient value it increase the seebeck
voltage generated by TEG. This FIN also transfers the heat
from Thermoelectric Module. It is made by Aluminum metal.
When we include Thermal fin it increase the efficiency of the
TEG. [13]
Fig. 5 Bismuth Telluride thermoelectric device (TEC1-12706)

This allowed the thermoelectric generator to be under direct

influence of all gases emitted from the engine exhaust. The
thermoelectric power generator is a solid state device that
provides direct energy conversion from thermal energy due to
temperature gradient into electrical energy based on the
“Seebeck effect”.

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:

The TEG was tested in a couple of experiments

Fig. 4 Thermal fins [Electronics-cooling China] attached to the exhaust of a four stroke petrol engine run at

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RPM of 1000, 1500 and 2000 with varying temperature

gradients with 10 minutes intervals. Then by finding the ∆T vs Current
current and voltage, power was calculated using formula:
P= V X I Watt. The resulting trends between different 0.2

Current (micro Imp)

parameters were shown graphically.
0.15
The results in figure 6 shows that the increase in
temperature difference results in increased power. Since 0.1 1000 rpm
power produced is directly related to the temperature 1500 rpm
0.05
difference provided to the TEG, it increases as more
2000 rpm
temperature gradient is provided. By taking Power on Y-axis
0
and Temperature Difference on X-axis the graph is plotted as
0 20 40 60
showed in figure 6.
∆T (ͦC)

∆T Vs Power Fig.7 Graph between ΔT and Current

60
The graph plotted between temperature difference
50 and voltage in the figure 8 shows different trends at different
40 speeds of engine. It increased as the temperature gradient
Power (W)

increased at 1000 rpm engine speed and at higher speeds the

30 1000 rpm
voltage range changes with the change in temperature
20 1500 rpm difference.
10 2000 rpm
0
0 20 40 60
∆T( ͦC) ∆T Vs Voltage
332
Fig. 6 Graph between ΔT and power 330
328
Voltage (V)

By taking values of current on Y-axis and 326

temperature deference on X-axis, a graph is plotted which 324 1000 rpm
indicated that the increase in current as temperature difference 322 1500 rpm
increases. Current is the desired power to run the electrical 320
appliances. 2000 rpm
318
316
0 20 40 60
∆T( ͦC)

Fig. 8 Graph between ΔT and Voltage

As power increases system efficiency also increases

in a linear way as showed in the figure 9. When engine was
run at different RPMs with gradual increase with the

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increasing RPMs. RPMs increased so resulting in an increase The relationship between current and voltage
in the system efficiency which was a positive sign for the produced during experiment run at different speeds of the
readings at hand. engine showed in figure 11. Current and voltage also came out
to be increasing when RPM of the engine was increased from
1000 to 2000. The comparison showed different trends in the
Power Vs System outcome of effect of current and voltage on each other.

Efficiency
4
System Efficiency (%)

3 Current Vs Voltage
2 1000 rpm 335

1500 rpm 330

Voltage (V)
1
2000 rpm
325
0 1000 rpm
0 20 40 60 320 1500 rpm
Power (W)
315 2000 rpm
0 0.1 0.2
Fig. 9 Graph between power and system efficiency Current (micro Imp)

Increase in power also results in the increase in the

Carnot efficiency of the engine as a result of using TEG at the
exhaust. Carnot efficiency is regarded as the factor relating to Fig. 11 Graph between current and voltage at different engine speeds.
mechanical efficiency of engine which is affected by the waste
heat recovery done by the TEG. V. CONCLUSIONS:

A detailed study on Thermoelectric Generator was carried out

Power Vs Carnot with the following conclusions being made.

Efficiency Electric voltage was produced between two points of

electric conductors if they were at different
20 temperatures. The charge carriers migrated from the
Carnot Efficiency (%)

hot side to the cold side.

15
The voltage is proportional to the temperature
10 1000 rpm difference and depends on the material and its
Seebeck coefficient.
1500 rpm
5 The maximum temperature difference tested was
2000 rpm 48°C at 2000 rpm and it produced a thermal
0 efficiency of 3.58% and an output power of 48.9
0 20 40 60 watts.
Power (W) The lab view based experimental setup presents
results for a particular Bismuth Telluride
thermoelectric device (TEC1-12706) and ZT = 1.
Fig. 10 Graph between power and Carnot efficiency
The maximum difference tested (48° C) was fairly
modest, higher differences would result in higher

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efficiency. Typical thermoelectric devices require a
temperature of approximately 500° C to achieve an
efficiency of up to 15 %.
The development , validation and demonstration of TEG is the
futuristic approach towards coping up with alternate energy
sources is needed in order to maintain the green environment
by enabling commercial viability in waste heat energy
recovery on large scale. Automobile industry will be looking
forward to the implementation of TEG in order to decrease the
waste heat emission into atmosphere by using it for auxiliary
electrical devises in automobiles.
[11] U. Erturun, K. Erermis, K. Mossi, “Effect of various leg
geometries on thermo-mechanical and power generation
performance of thermoelectric devices,” Applied Thermal
Engineering 2014, vol. 73, pp. 126-139.
[12] D. Zhou and S. Chu-ping, “Study on thermoelectric material and
thermoelectric generator” Journal of Chemical and
Pharmaceutical Research, 2015, vol. 7(3), pp. 395-401.
[13] F.J. DiSalvo, “Thermoelectric cooling and power generation,”
Science, 1999, vol. 285, pp. 703-706.
[14] T.M. Tritt, “Holey and unholey semiconductors,” Science, 1999,
vol. 283, pp. 804-805.

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