thermoelectric materials – The InfoGreenGlobal

Nanocrystal-coated fibers might reduce wasted energy

Gabriel — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 19:51:24 +0000

Researchers are developing a technique that uses nanotechnology to harvest energy from hot pipes or engine components to potentially recover energy wasted in factories, power plants and cars. “The ugly truth is that 58 percent of the energy generated in the United States is wasted as heat,” said Yue Wu, a Purdue University assistant professor […]

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Liquid-like materials for new thermoelectric devices

Gabriel — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 19:36:41 +0000

In the continual quest for better thermoelectric materials—which convert heat into electricity and vice versa—researchers have identified a liquid-like compound whose properties give it the potential to be even more efficient than traditional thermoelectrics. Thermoelectric materials have been used to power spacecraft ranging from Apollo to the Curiosity rover now headed for Mars. Recently, however, […]

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New cheap nanomaterial to convert heat into electricity

Gabriel — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:33:45 +0000

Waste heat is a byproduct of nearly all electrical devices and industrial processes, from driving a car to flying an aircraft or operating a power plant. Engineering researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed new nanomaterials that could lead to techniques for better capturing and putting this waste heat to work. The key ingredients for […]

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Thermoelectric materials for heating and cooling applications

Gabriel — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 20:05:22 +0000

For some years now, NASA has been using what are called thermoelectric materials to power its space probes. The probes travel such great distances from our sun that solar panels are no longer an efficient source of power. So NASA imbeds a nuclear material in a radioisotope thermal generator, where it decays, producing heat energy. […]

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Rare-Earth Elements Provides 25 Precent Greater Thermoelectric Conversion Efficiency

Gabriel — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 16:28:49 +0000

Thermoelectric materials and technology have powered spacecraft for decades. But, thanks to advances in efficiency discovered at Ames Laboratory, thermoelectric materials may have new, broader “green” energy applications. Automobiles, military vehicles, even large-scale power generating facilities may someday operate far more efficiently thanks to a new alloy developed at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames […]

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More efficient conversion of waste heat into energy

Gabriel — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 20:59:58 +0000

The right material wrapped around your car’s exhaust system could one day scavenge heat that would otherwise be wasted, turning it into energy to warm the cabin or recharge the battery. Engineers and physicists at the University of Michigan have taken a step toward improving the efficiency of a promising candidate for this burgeoning power […]

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