Abstract
Incomplete combustion in household cooking remains a major source of indoor air pollution, releasing hazardous gases such as carbon monoxide (CO) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Traditional catalytic and adsorptive filters degrade over time, requiring frequent replacement and limiting long-term pollutant capture efficiency. This study presents a thermoelectric-powered regeneration system that autonomously restores the adsorption capacity of amine-functionalized filters through energy harvested from the combustion heat itself. Using COMSOL Multiphysics (v6.4), a coupled Heat Transfer, Thermoelectric, and Chemical Species Transport model was developed to simulate pollutant adsorption and regeneration cycles under variable temperature and airflow conditions. The results demonstrate that a single thermoelectric generator (TEG) array operating across a 220 K temperature gradient can supply up to 2.8 W of regenerative heating power, reducing CO and VOC surface concentrations by 87.6% and 81.3%, respectively, within a 6-minute regeneration window. Over 50 simulated regeneration cycles, sorbent capacity loss remains below 4%. These results indicate that a thermoelectric-powered, self-regenerating filter module can significantly extend service life and reduce exposure to combustion pollutants in indoor cooking environments.