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Turbine in the exhaust stream will cost energy
One problem I foresee with putting a turbine in the exhaust stream is that it would increase back pressure on the engine and thus require the engine to do more work and use more fuel. This might be mitigated by running a parallel exhaust line to the turbine, but then why not just do a turbocharger?
Another way to use the waste heat would be to create steam and then run the turbine/generator off of the steam. This is ancient tech and quite doable without placing any added obstructions in the exhaust stream. The trick would be to make sure the steam turbine generates enough energy to pay for its own weight. That shouldn't be difficult.
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