Thermogalvanic Waste Heat Recovery in Transportation Energy Systems

摘要

Waste heat recovery remains an inviting subject for research. Solid state thermoelectric devices have been widely investigated for this purpose, but their practical application remains challenging due to high cost and the inability to fabricate them in geometries that are easily compatible with heat sources. An alternative to solid-state thermoelectric devices are thermogalvanic cells.1"7 The temperature difference between the hot and the cold electrodes creates a difference in electrochemical potential of the redox couples at the electrodes. Once connected to a load, electrical current and power is delivered, converting thermal energy into electrical energy. The aim of this summer project is to extend ongoing research to study the feasibility of incorporating thermogalvanic systems into automobiles.