# Design and Research of Thermoelectric Generator Simulation System for Boiler Flue Gas Waste Heat
## 1 Introduction  
Coal is the main source of power consumption in China, and the power generation efficiency is generally around 40%. According to statistics, the boiler exhaust heat loss accounts for the largest proportion of various losses in power generation. The boiler exhaust temperature is mainly concentrated in 120-150 \({}^{\circ}\)C, and a large amount of flue gas waste heat has not been effectively used, resulting in significant energy loss. Reducing exhaust heat loss has become a new direction of energy saving in power station boiler system. Thermoelectric generator (TEG) is a kind of power generation method that converts thermal energy directly into electricity by utilizing the Seebeck effect of thermoelectric materials [1]. When there is a temperature difference between the two ends of the thermoelectric plate, thermal energy can be directly converted into electrical energy and output. As a green power generation method, TEG has the advantages of simple structure, durability, no vibration,no noise, no pollution, and high reliability [2]. In recent years, with the development of new high-performance thermoelectric materials and reliable thermoelectric generators [3], the level of research on TEG technology has gradually improved. TEG technology will exert its advantages in the utilization of low-grade energy, such as industrial waste heat power generation, automobile exhaust waste heat power generation, solar energy and geothermal energy, etc. The research on the TEG technology of boiler fuse gas waste heat plays an important role in saving energy, reducing consumption and improving the economy of power station. Currently, research of TEG technology mainly focuses on the manufacture of high-performance thermoelectric materials, the utilization of low-grade waste heat, the simulation analysis and optimization of TEG model, and the maximum power tracking technology [4; 5; 6; 7]. [PERSON] et al. [8] put steel plates on the roof to absorb solar energy and generate temperature difference with the natural environment, so as to achieve the purpose of generating electric energy. [PERSON] et al. [9] designed a thermoelectric device that use an optimized radiator to recover energy from the exhaust gas of a marine internal combustion engine. [PERSON] [10] designed a thermoelectric device to recover waste heat from residential steam compression refrigeration system. The results showed that TEG has a good application prospect for recovery of waste heat. [PERSON] et al. [11] recovered the waste heat generated by the biomass hot oil heater by installing a TEG device between the industrial flue and the thermal oil pipe. [PERSON] et al. [12] established a three-dimensional model of piecewise TEG performance analysis, and appropriately optimized its geometric parameters to improve the efficiency of the system. [PERSON] et al. [13] demonstrated the potential applicability of using flexible thermoelectric generators to recover heat from microlods. [PERSON] et al. [14] designed a tubular thermoelectric generator for automobile exhaust waste heat recovery. The optimal parameters of maximum open circuit voltage and power density are determined by numerical simulation. [PERSON] et al. [15] explained the influence of multi-parameter uncertainty on TEG performance from the aspects of temperature-related material performance, electric heating condition, structure and geometric size, and establish a new balanced impedance matching model for the first time. [PERSON] et al. [16] applied TEG technology to an integrated energy system for collecting solar energy and geothermal energy, and used the TEG module to replace the condenser in the system. The results showed that the design can effectively reduce the total cost of the system. [PERSON] et al. [17] designed a small boiler waste heat recovery device to study the performance of TEG under different operating conditions, and the boiler obtained auxiliary power. [PERSON] et al.