Plant Microbial Fuel Cells–Based Energy Harvester System for Self-powered IoT Applications

The emergence of modern technologies, such as Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), the Internet-of-Things (IoT), and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications, involves the use of batteries, which pose a serious environmental risk, with billions of batteries disposed of every year. However, the combination of sensors and wireless communication devices is extremely power-hungry. Energy Harvesting (EH) is fundamental in enabling the use of low-power electronic devices that derive their energy from external sources, such as Microbial Fuel Cells (MFC), solar power, thermal and kinetic energy, among others. Plant Microbial Fuel Cell (PMFC) is a prominent clean energy source and a step towards the development of self-powered systems in indoor and outdoor environments. One of the main challenges with PMFCs is the dynamic power supply, dynamic charging rates and low-energy supply. In this paper, a PMFC-based energy harvester system is proposed for the implementation of autonomous self-powered sensor nodes with IoT and cloud-based service communication protocols. The PMFC design is specifically adapted with the proposed EH circuit for the implementation of IoT-WSN based applications. The PMFC-EH system has a maximum power point at 0.71 V, a current density of 5 mA cm − 2 , and a power density of 3.5 mW cm − 2 with a single plant. Considering a sensor node with a current consumption of 0.35 mA, the PMFC-EH green energy system allows a power autonomy for real-time data processing of IoT-based low-power WSN systems.

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Ultra-low-power energy harvester for microbial fuel cells and its application to environmental sensing and long-range wireless data transmission

Journal of Power Sources ◽

10.1016/j.jpowsour.2019.04.120 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 430 ◽

pp. 1-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Takahiro Yamashita ◽

Teppei Hayashi ◽

Hirofumi Iwasaki ◽

Masao Awatsu ◽

Hiroshi Yokoyama

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cells ◽

Low Power ◽

Long Range ◽

Data Transmission ◽

Microbial Fuel Cells ◽

Energy Harvester ◽

Wireless Data ◽

Environmental Sensing ◽

Ultra Low Power ◽

Wireless Data Transmission

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Low-power energy harvester from constructed wetland-microbial fuel cells for initiating a self-sustainable treatment process

Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments ◽

10.1016/j.seta.2021.101282 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 46 ◽

pp. 101282

Author(s):

Pratiksha Srivastava ◽

Andrew Belford ◽

Rouzbeh Abbassi ◽

Mohsen Asadnia ◽

Vikram Garaniya ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cells ◽

Low Power ◽

Constructed Wetland ◽

Microbial Fuel Cells ◽

Treatment Process ◽

Energy Harvester ◽

Sustainable Treatment

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A Low Power AC/DC Interface for Wind-Powered Sensor Nodes

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14071823 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (7) ◽

pp. 1823

Author(s):

Mohammad Haidar ◽

Hussein Chible ◽

Corrado Boragno ◽

Daniele D. Caviglia

Keyword(s):

Low Power ◽

Power Supply ◽

Energy Harvester ◽

Optimization Techniques ◽

Sensor Nodes ◽

Wireless Sensor ◽

Constant Voltage ◽

Interface Circuit ◽

Switching Converter ◽

Input Signals

Sensor nodes have been assigned a lot of tasks in a connected environment that is growing rapidly. The power supply remains a challenge that is not answered convincingly. Energy harvesting is an emerging solution that is being studied to integrate in low power applications such as internet of things (IoT) and wireless sensor networks (WSN). In this work an interface circuit for a novel fluttering wind energy harvester is presented. The system consists of a switching converter controlled by a low power microcontroller. Optimization techniques on the hardware and software level have been implemented, and a prototype is developed for testing. Experiments have been done with generated input signals resulting in up to 67% efficiency for a constant voltage input. Other experiments were conducted in a wind tunnel that showed a transient output that is compatible with the target applications.

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Ultra-Low Frequency Eccentric Pendulum-Based Electromagnetic Vibrational Energy Harvester

Micromachines ◽

10.3390/mi11111009 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 1009

Author(s):

Mingxue Li ◽

Huichao Deng ◽

Yufeng Zhang ◽

Kexin Li ◽

Shijie Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Power ◽

Energy Harvester ◽

Vibrational Energy ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Sensor Nodes ◽

Wireless Sensor ◽

Center Frequency ◽

Vibration Energy ◽

Outer Side ◽

Working Frequency

With the development of low-power technology in electronic devices, the wireless sensor network shows great potential in applications in health tracing and ocean monitoring. These scenarios usually contain abundant low-frequency vibration energy, which can be collected through appropriate energy conversion architecture; thus, the common issue of limited battery life in wireless sensor devices could be solved. Traditional energy-converting structures such as the cantilever-beam type or spring-mass type have the problem of high working frequency. In this work, an eccentric pendulum-based electromagnetic vibration energy harvester is designed, analyzed, and verified with the finite element analysis method. The pendulum that contains alternative distributed magnets in the outer side works as a rotor and has the advantages of a simple structure and low center frequency. The structure size is well scalable, and the optimal output performance can be obtained by optimizing the coil thickness and width for a given diameter of the energy harvester. The simulation results show that the energy harvester could work in ultra-low frequencies of 0.2–3.0 Hz. A full-scale prototype of the energy harvester is manufactured and tested. The center working frequency is 2.0 Hz with an average output power of 8.37 mW, which has potential for application in driving low-power wireless sensor nodes.

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