Waste heat-driven loop thermoacoustic system for air-conditioning and electrical power generation

Substantial amounts of energy are wasted as heat, highlighting the need for effective waste heat recovery. Waste heat-driven thermoacoustic systems offer sustainable and eco-friendly solutions featuring high reliability. However, conventional designs struggle to efficiently utilize low-to-moderate temperature waste heat for simultaneous cooling and power generation. This study presents a dual-engine loop thermoacoustic system with a strategically positioned branched linear alternator specifically designed for remote and rural communities in developing regions. The system employs a traveling-wave looped-tube configuration that balances thermal performance with construction simplicity, using helium at 4.0 MPa and a frequency of 90.67 Hz. Performance was evaluated through SAGE simulations across various thermal conditions to optimize acoustic power distribution and phase synchronization. With a 500 °C heat source, the system generates 170 W of electrical output and 74.73 W of cooling capacity at −10 °C, achieving 29.22 % thermal-to-electrical efficiency and 54.01 % overall exergy efficiency. The refrigeration system demonstrates a coefficient of performance of 2.052, while the alternator achieves 88.93 % conversion efficiency. The system operates effectively at temperatures 100–200 °C lower than those of conventional thermoacoustic technologies while improving overall efficiency by 31.07 %. This work bridges the gap between waste heat availability and energy needs through improved efficiency and stability, offering a sustainable solution for developing communities and commercial applications where cooling and power demands coincide with thermal energy losses.