Abstract
There are several small energy sources that can be exploited to provide useful energy: small temperature differences, mechanical vibrations, flow variations, latent exhausts are just some examples. The recovery of such common and small energy sources, usually wasted, for example with the conversion into useful amounts of electrical energy, is called energy harvesting. Energy harvesting allows low-power embedded devices to be powered from naturally-occurring or unwanted environmental energy (e.g. pressure or temperature difference). The main aim in the last years of researches in such field, was the increasing of the efficiency of such components, with a higher power output and a smaller size. At present, a wide range of systems incorporating energy harvesters are now available commercially, all of them specific to certain types of energy source. Energy harvesting from dissipation processes such as fluid lamination is a challenge for many different applications. In addition, control valves to dissipate overpressures are common usage of many plants and systems. This paper surveys the market opportunities of such harvesting systems, considering the trade-offs affecting their efficiency, their applicability, and ease of deployment. Particular attention will be devoted to small energy harvesters than can exploit small expansions, such as from lamination valves or to systems that can feed mini sensors from small pressure drops, promising compactness, efficiency and cost effectiveness.
Highlights
Particular attention will be devoted to small energy harvesters than can exploit small expansions, such as from lamination valves or to systems that can feed mini sensors from small pressure drops, promising compactness, efficiency and cost effectiveness
Energy harvesting is the process in which a small amount of energy, that would otherwise be lost such as heat, light, sound, vibration, wind, magnetic force or movement, is transformed into an electric current and stored for later usage [1]
In order to attract investments in the field of energy harvesting in industrial application and to pursue waste heat/waste energy valorisation processes that are currently promoted in different industrial sectors, micro-turbines and blade less turbines could be turnkey technology considering their low capital costs, their easy integration in processes and the possibility to work with different types of fluid, even with small pressure drops
Summary
Energy harvesting is the process in which a small amount of energy, that would otherwise be lost such as heat, light, sound, vibration, wind, magnetic force or movement, is transformed into an electric current and stored for later usage [1]. It is well-known for its applications in solar cells and electro dynamo but it knows numerous new innovative uses thanks to recent digital trends, especially Internet of Things (IoT). The most common energy sources used for energy harvesting are mechanical, thermal energy and solar radiation [2]. There is an increasing attention on energy harvesting in the last years, driven both by a higher energy/environmental responsibility (which drives energy harvesting application in large scale installation like waste heat valorisation, fluid expansion valorization, etc.) and by an increasing need of power for sensors in the modern IoT environment (which drives technological and market development for technologies like piezo, thermoelectric, microPV, etc.)
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