TOKYO —

Kobe Steel Ltd said Tuesday it has developed a compact power generator using exhaust steam. The device, which has a maximum output of 132 kilowatts, turns its screws by using exhaust steam generated through industrial waste combustion.

Users of the device, if they operate the machine for 6,000 hours per year, will be able to reduce their annual carbon dioxide emissions by 440 tons compared with use of electricity generated by thermal power plants.

The device, called Steam Star, can also be adopted by plants using steam as a source of heat in the manufacturing process, including those processing foods, paper-pulp and wood materials.

Kobe Steel plans to add new models with higher outputs. The company aims to receive orders for 300 units in fiscal 2011 ending in March 2012.

JCN

2 Comments

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  TJrandom at 02:54 PM JST - 16th July

  This is a good direction – turning what otherwise would be wasted heat into electricity.

  Now if they could just extend this to lower temperatures and exhaust volumes. Like the exhaust from a car or truck, from the grill of a restaurant, the exhaust from heating the bath, etc. Even on the scale that the small solar chargers use for car batteries or cell phones would be useful.

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  presto345 at 10:59 PM JST - 16th July

  The trick, or should I say, challenge, is to create less waste heat in the first place. But that would mean a chemical revolution as we have been stuck for so long on heat=energy and energy=heat. Still a start would be harnessing the hidden, no, wasted, energy from plants. In European cities waste heat from power plants in used to heat homes directly.

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