Self-heat Recuperative Heat Circulator with Thermoelectric Device

Abstract

Self-heat recuperation (SHR) technology has been proven to reduce exergy loss in different process systems, which lead to large energy savings due to its non-combustion process. The purpose of this research is to develop a novel self-heat recuperative heat circulation system using thermoelectric (TE) device as a heat circulator for non-gaseous systems. Most research involving TE coolers is related to maximizing the temperature difference (ΔT) of a device, whereas in self-heat recuperative heat circulator, a large ΔT is not required, but only a minimum temperature difference between the surfaces of the TE device and process fluid (ΔTmin) for self-heat exchange is required in order to use it as a heat circulator. The lower ΔT can improve COP of TE devices significantly.