Development of thermoelectric power generation system for industrial furnaces

The equipment that the rejection thermal energy is effectively recycled is few though the amount of the rejection thermal energy in an industrial field is huge. Therefore, we are developing the thermoelectric conversion system using the radiation heat transfer. The cascaded thermoelectric modules are installed on the surface of the water jacket which is set inside the electric industrial furnace. The surface of the cascaded thermoelectric module facing the in-furnace heat insulators is heated by the radiation. The other side of the cascaded thermoelectric module is cooled by the water jacket. The electric power is generated by the temperature difference between hot and cold side of the cascaded thermoelectric module. The reliability of the cascaded thermoelectric module and the structure of the system are the key technology issues for the practical use. The surface property of the heat source, the heat insulator and the electrode of the thermoelectric module have been evaluated. The new fixation method between the thermoelectric module and the water jacket has been developed. 873K-class thermoelectric conversion unit was developed on the assumption of the installation in a comparatively easy industrial furnace to apply. And, efficiency test was prepped according to the radiation heat transfer. In the condition that the temperature difference of the unit becomes 564K, the efficiency of the unit was able to obtain 7.5%. As a result, the electric power efficiency of the system of an industrial furnace is improved 5% compared to previously published results. A thermoelectric conversion system has been developed in the Japanese National Project "The Development for Advanced Thermoelectric Conversion Systems" supported by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).