The estimation of the waste heat recovery in prime cookstove by using thermoelectric generators.

Stoves with wooden fuel are widely used by communities in developing countries. Despite the relatively low efficiency of wood as fuel in stoves, the heat released could be reused and/or harvested into electrical energy. This work applied the Thermoelectric Energy Generator (TEG) technology to harvest the heat energy surrounding the stove into electricity by installing the TEC1-12706 and SP1848-27145SA cells in the upright position on the stove. The potential thermal energy efficiency of biomass stoves with an attached TEG was calculated. The results showed that when two TEGs in pair were attached, 1.48 V and 0.09 A were produced, meanwhile when the round side of the stove wall was fully attached to TEGs, it showed potential electrical energy production up to 0.27 W. The amount of energy produced was able to recharge lithium-ion batteries for 53 minutes using a buck-boost DC voltage converter, also contributing to increasing the stove's energy efficiency by 0.014%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]