Experimental Evidence of the Viability of Thermoelectric Generators to Power Volcanic Monitoring Stations

Abstract

Although there is an important lack of commercial thermoelectric applications mainly due to their low efficiency, there exist some cases in which thermoelectric generators are the best option thanks to their well-known advantages, such as reliability, lack of maintenance and scalability. In this sense, the present paper develops a novel thermoelectric application in order to supply power to volcanic monitoring stations, making them completely autonomous. These stations become indispensable in any volcano since they are able to predict eruptions. Nevertheless, they present energy supply difficulties due to the absence of power grid, the remote access, and the climatology. As a solution, this work has designed a new integral system composed of thermoelectric generators with high efficiency heat exchangers, and its associated electronics, developed thanks to Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. Thus, the heat emitted from volcanic fumaroles is transformed directly into electricity with thermoelectric generators with passive heat exchangers based on phase change, leading to a continuous generation without moving parts that powers different sensors, the information of which is emitted via LoRa. The viability of the solution has been demonstrated both at the laboratory and at a real volcano, Teide (Canary Islands, Spain), where a compact prototype has been installed in an 82 °C fumarole. The results obtained during more than eight months of operation prove the robustness and durability of the developed generator, which has been in operation without maintenance and under several kinds of meteorological conditions, leading to an average generation of 0.49 W and a continuous emission over more than 14 km.

Providing Energy Self-Sufficiency to LoRaWAN Nodes by Means of Thermoelectric Generators (TEGs)-Based Energy Harvesting

“…In particular situations, TEGs can represent the most convenient solution. An example is provided in [22], where TEGs can ensure the energy self-sufficiency of a monitoring station by exploiting heat coming from volcanic fumaroles. Forest monitoring is another field where WSNs are widely employed, especially for fire detection [23]; in these situations, the so-called "ground-air thermoelectric generators" [24,25] represent a valid alternative to other energy sources, such as sun or wind.…”

Early Career Researchers Present Their Latest Work at the Virtual Conference on Thermoelectrics 2020

“…A number of talks were dedicated to novel applications of thermoelectrics, which were significantly diversified to cover MEMS-based microharvesting generators, 37 local power generation for volcanic monitoring, 38 and hybrid thermoelectric−photovoltaic power sources. 39 By no means do these highlights capture the entirety of the vast array of topics that were discussed during VCT2020, but this list nonetheless provides a snapshot of some of the exciting developments in the field of thermoelectrics.…”

“…A number of talks were dedicated to novel applications of thermoelectrics, which were significantly diversified to cover MEMS-based microharvesting generators, local power generation for volcanic monitoring, and hybrid thermoelectric–photovoltaic power sources …”

An Electrical Contacts Study for Tetrahedrite-Based Thermoelectric Generators

“…These devices can be used in many industries for waste heat recovery, good examples with great potential being the cement, steel, ceramic, and glass ones [ 5 , 6 , 7 ]. However, TEGs can also be used for other applications, such as in biology, remote monitoring stations, sensors, personal devices (e.g., fitness bands), or electronics for the Internet of Things (IOT) [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Another important field of application is aerospace, especially for energy generation, either from radioisotope generators (to power exploration rovers on remote locations and for outer solar system missions) or from concentrated solar light (to power satellites on space [ 11 , 12 ]).…”