A Simulation Study on a Thermoelectric Generator for Waste Heat Recovery from a Marine Engine

In this study, a marine engine has been evaluated for waste heat recovery (WHR) using thermoelectric generators (TEG). The feasibility of Mg₂Sn_0.75Ge_0.25, Cu₂Se, and Cu_1.98Se as potential thermoelectric (TE) material were investigated. A straight fin heat exchanger is used to enhance the heat transfer between the hot exhaust gas and TE modules. To facility the analysis, a system level thermal resistance model is built and validated with experiments. After the model is validated, a small marine engine with rated power of 1.7–3 MW is taken as baseline model and it is found that around 2–4 KW electrical power can be extracted from exhaust gas by the TEG at varying design and operating parameters. The back pressure effect induced by the heat exchanger is also considered in this study. Finally, a parameter study is conducted regarding the impact of the TE module height on the output power. It is shown that the height of the TE leg could play a significant role in the module geometry design, and that the optimal height varies between 1 mm and 2 mm under different heat exchangers and exhaust gas flow rates.