High Temperature Quantum Well Thermoelectric Materials

In major industries of the U.S., vast amounts of waste heat are being lost in high temperature processes. For example, smelters and associated furnaces within the aluminum industry are generating very large amounts of waste heat, 21 trillion Btu per year. This waste heat could be converted to electricity in many industrial processes by using new, high-temperature, quantum-well-thermoelectric materials. Building on ongoing, quantum-well-thermoelectric materials research, now being conducted for the auto and truck industry, this project will develop high-temperature, building-block, quantum-well-thermoelectric modules that can be used to convert energy losses in industrial processes to electricity. Phase I will develop high-temperature quantum-well-thermoelectric fabrication techniques on high temperature substrates, fabricate film by sputtering and chemical vapor deposition, measure thermoelectric properties, and estimate the cost of commercial production. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: The high-efficiency quantum-well materials should find use in high-temperature-waste-heat, electrical power generators and in high-temperature power supplies for wireless sensors. The technology also should be directly applicable to the recovery of energy losses in the petroleum refining, chemicals, forest products, iron and steel, food and beverage, cement, fabricated metals, transportation, textiles, mining, plastics, aluminum, and glass industries.