Power generation from ... car smoke

German experts are testing one type of thermoelectric generator in particular, have the ability to turn up the heat from the flue gas car into electricity to supply the car, in order to save fuel and reduce _CO2 emissions of polluting school.

In an era where resources are shrinking, energy conservation has become a 'dictation' for the whole world. In many technical processes, only one-third of the energy supply is used efficiently. That's especially true for cars, which are about two thirds of the fuel being 'lost' in the form of heat, 30 percent of which is lost from the engine block, and 30 to 35 percent less. smoke form.

In order to make use of the waste heat to generate electricity back to the vehicle, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Physics (Germany) have designed a type of thermoelectric generator (TEG) Heat into electricity by taking advantage of the difference in temperature during vehicle operation.

TS. Harald Böttner, head of the Fraunhofer Institute's Thermoelectric Division, explains: 'The temperature in the exhaust pipe of a car can reach 700 ^degrees Celsius or higher. The difference in temperature between the tailpipe and the liquid coolant tube may be several hundred degrees Celsius. Affected by the difference in temperature, the charged particles travel through the semiconductor TEG, which produces the same electricity as the battery. "

The heat of the car's smoke is about to become ... electric. (Photo: ScienceDaily)

"The bigger the temperature difference, the more electricity is produced," he said. According to the research team, TEG is capable of meeting a significant portion of the car's electrical needs. From there, according to Dr. Botner, 'this thermoelectric generator will save 5 - 7 percent of the fuel needed to supply the car.'

The team makes a simple calculation to illustrate the effectiveness of this type of TEG: There are currently about 50 million motorized vehicles in Germany, each of which is estimated to be rolling around the road. 200 hours / year. If at that time, TEG utilizes the amount of heat generated to generate electricity at an average of 1,000 watts a year, it generates a power of up to 100 billion watt hours (10 terawatt hours).

The team said they were testing the TEG and would soon create the first TEG to put into use.