Generate electricity from excess heat, directly, with “Multiferroic Composite-Electroplating: Electricity Generation from Excess Heat.”
Everywhere, heat is going to waste, not being used for electricity generation.
There are now 2 types of devices that convert heat into electricity.
1. “THERMO-ELECTRIC (TEGs)” Using “Thermocouples”.
TEGs are inefficient. Nevertheless, work should be done on finding ways to clad all heat-emitting devices in TEGs. Even if a single device only generated a small amount of electricity from excess heat, if millions of devices, if every heat-emitting device in every household was generating that small amount—it would add up to a very large amount of electricity.
2. MULTIFERROIC COMPOSITES
Recently, a multiferroic composite of nickel, cobalt, manganese, and tin has been shown to create a magnetic field from variations in temperature. This magnetic field can then be used for electricity generation from excess heat—to generate it much more efficiently than thermocouples.
New Alloy Can Convert Heat Directly Into Electricity | Popular Science (popsci.com)
I suggest finding a way to encase, or house, or clad, heat-emitting devices, like a furnace, with this multiferroic composite.
The multiferroic composite must then be surrounded by a coil, which generates electricity from the magnetic field.
Alternately, a sheath or covering or attachment could be invented to retro-fit already manufactured heat-emitting devices.
HEAT SOURCES ARE EVERYWHERE
Stoves, ranges, ovens, microwaves, furnaces, registers, radiators, hot water heaters, electric lamps, fireplaces, pot-bellied stoves, and electronics like TVs and computers all generate excess heat in the household.
Car engines generate a lot of waste excess heat.
GENERATORS OF HUGE AMOUNTS OF HEAT
Steel mills and other kinds of factories generate huge amounts of excess heat.
Power plants—coal-fired, natural-gas-powered, and nuclear—interestingly generate massive amounts of excess heat for electricity generation. If this heat could be used to generate more electricity, a potentially valuable feedback loop might be created.
And geothermal sources like geysers and hot springs generate much excess heat. Just to name a few.
Some might object that multiferroic composite electricity generators would generate a small amount of electricity in relation to the amount of heat. I would argue that, when you have huge amounts of excess heat available, as in a power plant, then the amount of electricity generated from multiferroic composite generators would not be small, but significant.
GENERATORS OF SMALL AMOUNTS OF HEAT
Especially useful would be re-fitting electric ranges, stoves, and ovens, to recycle, in a feedback loop, the electricity the excess heat of the device generates back into the operation of the device.
Why are cooking devices important?
Cooking devices are necessities. Electric cooking devices pollute and de-forest less. But they use a lot of electricity. If the amount they use could be decreased, electric cookers could be used in third-world villages and run by solar power or by some other locally-generated means.
The amount of electricity generation from heat with multi-ferroic composites is still very small.
But—to reiterate—if every heat-generating source in the world was cladded with them, a lot of electricity would be produced, because there are a lot of heat-generating devices in the world.
Also, the higher the temperature, and the larger the heat generator, the more electricity. Thus, the large amount of excess heat steel mills, power plants (including nuclear power plants), and geothermal sources give off, the electricity they could produce would not be inconsiderable.
CUSTOMERS
Owners and managers of factories, steel mills, kilns, utilities—any commercial buildings that generate a lot of heat.
Appliance manufacturers.
Construction companies.
Do-it-yourself home-builders.
Retro-fitters.
Anyone interested in clean, green electricity generation and conservation/efficiency.