There is now an affordable way to turn waste heat into power
Steel and glass manufacturing generates copious quantities of waste heat difficult to capture, as devices that do the job are either extremely expensive or don’t work in the requisite high temperatures.
However, three researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) created a machine that solves both issues. Graduate student Youyang Zhao, assistant professor of metallurgy and recent PhD graduate Charles Rinzler joined their forces to create the device and publish a paper in the ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology.
The high-temperature liquid thermoelectric device that converts industrial waste heat into energy might be a game-changer, according to Inhabitat.
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Converting waste heat into electricity is, most of the time, accomplished through solid-state thermoelectric devices, but high temperatures often render them useless.
The MIT liquid thermoelectric device built by Youyang Zhao, might make the conversion of waste heat into electricity actually affordable. It includes a molten compound of tin and sulfur that is much cheaper than the solid-state bismuth telluride found in many commercial thermoelectric devices. Furthermore, the MIT device can operate at temperatures of 950 to 1,074 degrees Celsius, compared to the 500 degrees Celsius of the older, more expensive models.
The researchers don’t think that most glass or steel plants will adopt the device to save the planet. But Antoine Allanore said the fact that heat management could enable them to operate at even higher temperatures and allow them to increase productivity or lengthen the lifespan of their equipment might spark their interest.
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