New Thermoelectric Material
July 31st, 2008 by john
CleanTechnica reports that scientists have invented a new material capable of generating electricity from heat.
The material they invented is tellurium-doped lead telluride, and it is twice as efficient as the second most efficient material used in thermoelectric power. It also generates electricity directly, unlike other thermoelectric solutions which use a fluid to collect the heat.
Interestingly, the new material is most effective between 450°F and 950°F – the typical operating temperature range of car engines. Some experts claim that as much as 60% of the energy produced by an internal combustion engine is lost through heat. Adding a simple thermoelectric device like this to a car’s exhaust system would allow for some of that wasted heat energy to be collected.
One potential downside to the material is that it is made of toxic compounds, so special care would be needed in manufacture, maintenance and disposal.
More Information:
Tags: lead telluride, tellurium, thermoelectric
Posted in Energy |
Comment RSS
Respond |
Trackback |
Share this:
August 2nd, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Last time I checked thermo-electric materials were very inefficient so doubling that doesn’t help much. You’re still better off with a Stirling engine – I’m surprised no one has bolted one to a car exhaust yet – you could also pipe heart from the brakes too. Unlike the solar car roof it would probably generate enough power or direct cooling to run the AC.
August 11th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
If you dig down into the comments you find that this article http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/21125/ puts the potential efficiency of TEGs based on the new material at 10%. For the very high temperatures involved I think a Stirling engine could easily reach double that, if not triple. Problem is it is mechanical and probably more expensive.
Apparently BMV and GM are now both looking into generating energy from your hot exhaust gases using TEGs – see http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10013303-54.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5