Waste Heat Recovery from Air Using Porous Media and Conversion to Electricity

Pablo Donoso-García, Luis Henríquez-Vargas and Esteban Huerta
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Pablo Donoso-García: Department of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, University of Santiago of Chile, Central Station, Santiago 9160000, Chile
Luis Henríquez-Vargas: Department of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, University of Santiago of Chile, Central Station, Santiago 9160000, Chile
Esteban Huerta: Department of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, University of Santiago of Chile, Central Station, Santiago 9160000, Chile

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 15, 1-17

Abstract: This paper presents a numerical study of waste heat recovery from a fluid stream using thermoelectric devices. The system consisted of a square section duct with spherical porous media placed in its central region. Hot air circulates continuously through the duct and exchanges energy with the solid matrix and subsequently with the thermoelectric modules. The mathematical model of the system was solved using ANSYS/FLUENT software, requiring the implementation of user-defined functions (UDFs) and user-defined scalars (UDS) regarding porous media and thermoelectric generation modelling. From the simulations carried out, global efficiency and electrical power values were obtained in the range of [0.11–4.51] [%] and [0.01–12.77] [W], respectively. Furthermore, for the set of variables analysed, it was observed that the performance of the system is favoured by an increase in the fluid inlet temperature and speed, as well as by a higher external heat transfer coefficient.

Keywords: numerical simulation; porous media; thermoelectricity; waste heat recovery (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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