TEG-Powered Long-Range Wireless Real-Time Steam Leaks Detection in Steamtraps

This paper presents an innovative waste heat-powered, long-range wireless, and battery-less industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) device. It is designed to measure and predict steam leaks in steam pipelines, and particularly in steam traps. This self-powered device will aid energy-intensive industries (chemical, petrochemical, oil refineries, pharma, etc.) in becoming more environmentally friendly and profitable as they transition towards the Industry 4.0 paradigm. Moreover, thanks to continuous power provided by thermoelectric generators, the device operates without batteries, enabling the use of long-range wireless protocols such as LoRaWAN, thus minimizing internal wireless infrastructure, and incorporating edge computing to reduce the overall cloud computing. The adoption of this device in such industries would permit important energy savings and manual audits related steam leak inspections. These capabilities are challenging to achieve in battery-powered IoT devices due to battery life limitations and wiring costs in wired sensors.