Eco Factor: Technology promises better fuel consumption by converting engine exhaust into electricity.
Researchers at Purdue University are creating a system that harvests heat from an engine’s exhaust to generate electricity, reducing a car’s fuel consumption. The research is being funded with a $1.4 million, three-year grant from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy.
The Purdue team is collaborating with General Motors, which is developing a prototype using thermoelectric generators, or TEGs. The TEGs generate an electric current to charge batteries and power a car’s electrical systems, reducing the engine’s workload and improving fuel economy. The prototype, to be installed in the exhaust system behind the catalytic converter, will harvest heat from gases that are about 700 degrees Celsius.
While current thermoelectric technology cannot withstand the temperatures inside catalytic converters, where gases are about 1,000 degrees Celsius, researchers are now working on new thermoelectrics capable of withstanding such high temperatures, a step that would enable greater fuel savings.
The first prototype aims to reduce fuel consumption by 5 percent, and future systems capable of working at higher temperatures could make possible a 10 percent reduction.
Via: Purdue University [Press Release]
