",isbn:"978-1-83880-692-7",printIsbn:"978-1-83880-691-0",pdfIsbn:"978-1-83962-902-0",doi:null,price:0,priceEur:0,priceUsd:0,slug:null,numberOfPages:0,isOpenForSubmission:!0,hash:"5cb54cc53caedad9ec78372563c82e2c",bookSignature:"Prof. Stefano de Luca, Dr. Roberta Di Pace and Dr. Chiara Fiori",publishedDate:null,coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/10988.jpg",keywords:"Railway, Transport, Railway Planning, Railway Management, Railway Operation, Railway Level, Traffic Analysis, Dispatching, Train Control, Passenger Demand, Costumer Satisfaction, Capacity Management",numberOfDownloads:null,numberOfWosCitations:0,numberOfCrossrefCitations:null,numberOfDimensionsCitations:null,numberOfTotalCitations:null,isAvailableForWebshopOrdering:!0,dateEndFirstStepPublish:"March 16th 2021",dateEndSecondStepPublish:"April 13th 2021",dateEndThirdStepPublish:"June 12th 2021",dateEndFourthStepPublish:"August 31st 2021",dateEndFifthStepPublish:"October 30th 2021",remainingDaysToSecondStep:"7 days",secondStepPassed:!0,currentStepOfPublishingProcess:3,editedByType:null,kuFlag:!1,biosketch:"Stefano de Luca acts as director of the “Transportation Systems Analysis” laboratory, delegate for Transport and Mobility, and for the Technological Transfer. 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She is an aggregate professor of Technique and Transport Economics (BSc, Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering) and Transportation Systems Design (MSc, Civil Engineering). Her main research fields include development of analytical tools for advanced traveler information systems, traffic flow modeling, network signal setting design, and advanced traffic management systems. 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1. Introduction
1.1. Structure and function of human placenta
Human placenta is an indispensable organ during pregnancy for supporting the development of the fetus. The placenta is a unique organ since it is a multicellular barrier, in which both maternal and fetal cells coexist. Placenta performs functions of metabolic exchange and endocrine regulation between two genetically distinct individuals, the mother and the fetus, while maintaining immunological tolerance between them [1, 2].
The term placenta derives from the latin and means “flat cake” because of its discoid shape. At the end of pregnancy, it is about 15–20 cm in diameter, 2–3 cm thick, and 500 g in weight, that is, 1/6 of the fetal weight.
The placenta is constituted by structures of fetal origin, such as, the placental disk, the fetal membranes, divided in amniotic and chorionic membranes, and the umbilical cord. The placenta is also composed by a membrane of maternal origin termed the decidua that originates from the endometrium. The functional unit of the placenta is the chorionic villosity that forms the border between maternal and fetal blood during pregnancy (Figure 1).
Figure 1.
First stage in the interaction between fetal and maternal blood circulation. The syncytiotrophoblast erodes maternal vessels.
1.2. Placenta development
Placenta development is a continuous process that starts during early embryological stages, even before gastrulation occurs. Four to five days after fecundation, the morula (solid mass of cells called blastomers) has reached the uterus. The appearance of a fluid-filled inner cavity marks the transition from morula to blastocyst and is accompanied by cellular differentiation: the surface cells become the trophoblast (giving rise to extraembryonic structures, including the placenta and the umbilical cord) and the inner cell mass gives rise to the embryo [3]. Just before the implantation into the endometrium, the internal cell mass or embryoblast, goes through important changes such as cellular reorganization that gives place to a top layer, the epiblast and a bottom layer named hypoblast or primitive endoderm. Some extraembryonic tissues such as the amnion derive from the epiblasts that delimit the amniotic cavity that hosts the embryo during pregnancy. Because of the increase in production of amniotic liquid during gestation, the amnion will expand, and merge with the trophoblast to give rise to the amnion-chorionic membrane. Another of the earliest differentiation events in human embryogenesis takes place in the trophoblast with the development of the external syncytiotrophoblast and the internal cytotrophoblast. The cytotrofoblast is constituted by highly proliferative mononucleated cells. Syncytiotrophoblast is formed by fusion of cytotrophoblastic cells and has high invasive capacity. This syncytium is responsible for the implantation or anchorage of the blastocyst within the uterine walls.
The lytic activity of the syncytiotrophoblast, which is responsible for the degradation of the matrix of the endometrium, reaches the uterine capillaries, eroding them. As a result of vascular damage, maternal blood comes out to the syncytiotrophoblast where it forms lacunae; this lacunar stage is the first one toward a fetomaternal circulation. At the same time, the epithelial-like cells of the cytotrofoblast, which have continued proliferating, form accumulations that project toward the syncytiotrophoblast forming the chorionic villi that penetrate the decidua basalis [4]. These finger-like structures (cytotrophoblast covered with syncytiotrophoblast) are invaded by an extraembryonic mesoderm that, in the fourth week after fertilization, gives rise to blood vessels within each villi which makes possible the establishment of the interaction between the fetal circulation, in these embryo vessels, and the maternal blood contained in the trophoblastic lacunae (Figure 1). The different layers of the trophoblast (the cytotrophoblast and the syncytiotrophoblast), the basal membranes of the fetal vessels, and the vascular endothelium of these vessels constitute the placenta barrier that regulates the metabolite exchange between both circulations (fetal and maternal). It has been estimated that this exchange surface is about 5 m2 at week 28 of gestation and reaches 10–11 m2 at term [5]. Moreover, this barrier undergoes a progressive thinning throughout pregnancy going from 10 microns at the beginning to 1 or 2 microns at the end of the gestation [6]. The umbilical cord connects placenta to the fetus. It is a narrow tube that contains two arteries and one vein to transport metabolites between mother and fetus.
1.3. Regenerative medicine and placenta
Regenerative medicine is an interdisciplinary field within translational medicine whose purpose is to heal or replace damaged tissues or organs as a result of age, illness or trauma. It may involve the transplantation of stem cells that will repair the damaged tissue, stimulate the body’s own repair processes or serve as delivery-vehicles for therapeutic agents such as genes, cytokines, or therapeutic drugs.
Stem cells are unspecialized cells that have the capacity to renew themselves or differentiate toward more specialized cells. The proliferation of stem cells is indispensable for the maintenance of the stemness niche. The differentiation is the process by which, under certain physiological or experimental conditions, unspecialized cells are induced to become tissue- or organ-specific cells. The differentiation potential of stem cells is essential during the development of the embryo. In the adult, the main function of stem cells is the maintenance of the tissue homeostasis acting as an internal repair system.
Both embryonic and adult tissues are sources of stem cells with therapeutic potential. However, embryonic stem cells have some limitations in clinical practice, such as ethical concerns, difficulty in obtaining, and tumorigenicity. Adult stem cells have been identified in many organs and tissues, including brain, bone marrow, peripheral blood, adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, skin, teeth, heart, gut, liver, and placenta. Though the number of stem cells is very small in many adult tissues, their isolation involves several risks and, once removed from the body, the cells have a limited capacity of proliferation and differentiation, making the generation of large quantities of stem cells difficult.
The placenta is a reservoir of stem cells with several advantages. What makes placenta such an interesting tissue for regenerative medicine? Placenta is spontaneously expulsed at birth, making the use of invasive methods unnecessary as in the case of other sources of adult stem cells. It is considered a medical waste and there are no ethical concerns in its use, unlike using embryonic stem cells [7]. Placenta is a high-yielding source of stem cells compared to other sources such as bone marrow and adipose tissue where the cell recovery decreases with donor age [8]. Versatility and differentiation potential of placental cells is very high probably due to their primitive origin [9]. Furthermore, pregnancy is an example of “tolerated allograft” and placenta is the immunoregulatory organ at the maternal-fetal interface [10]. Placenta is an immunoprivileged organ, and cells isolated from placenta display low immunogenicity in vitro [11] and in vivo [12] when xenotransplanted in immunocompetent animals. The feasibility of placental cells for allogeneic transplantation has been demonstrated [13].
In regenerative medicine, the effects of stem cells are not only restricted to cell or tissue restoration but also to transient paracrine actions. This paracrine action is related to factors produced and secreted by stem cells that will control the injury, modulate the immune responses, and promote self-repair in the surviving injured tissue [14]. Placenta plays a fundamental role in fetomaternal tolerance and this would explain why placenta-derived stem cells have an additional advantage over other stem cells in terms of immunomodulation [15].
Multiple mechanisms underlie maternal tolerance during pregnancy. Fetal and, in particular, placental tissues contribute to its immunoprivileged and immunoregulatory environment. Placental cells are characterized by the absence of MHC class II antigens that normally mediate graft rejection [16]. Placental cells not only express a low level of the highly polymorphic forms of the MHC class I antigens but also express the nonclassical form HLA-G that may play a role in the suppression of immune responses and contribute to maternal-fetal tolerance [17, 18]. Furthermore, through the release of hormones [19], cytokines [20], and soluble forms of MHC antigens, placental cells deviate maternal immune responses toward immune tolerance. Therefore, the cells of the innate immunity of the mother acquire a suppressive profile characterized by a diminished production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. In addition, the B cells and many T cells disappear, leaving the regulatory T cells (Tregs) as the major T-cell subpopulation, with both, immune suppressive and anti-inflammatory characteristics [21].
1.4. Placenta-derived stem cells
Different populations of cells with features of stem/progenitor cells have been isolated from placenta: hematopoietic, epithelial, trophoblasts, and mesenchymal cells.
Placenta is a hematopoietic organ since it harbors a large pool of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) that possess functional properties of true HSC. Placenta-derived HSC can differentiate into all types of mature blood cells and are able to sustain the hematopoiesis during the life of the embryo. Placental HSC activity declines toward the end of gestation, possibly reflecting mobilization of placental HSC to the fetal liver and other developing hematopoietic organs within the embryo, such as thymus, spleen, and bone marrow [22].
The three layers of the placenta, such as the amnion, the chorion, and the decidua, are sources of stem cells. The amniotic layer is composed of a single-cell epithelial layer and a deeper mesodermal layer derived from the epiblast and hypoblast, respectively [23]. The chorion sheet is composed of the inner chorionic mesoderm similar to the mesenchymal region of the amnion and an outer layer of trophoblastic origin. The decidua, the uterine component of the placenta, is also a source of cells of mesodermal origin.
Amniotic epithelial cells (AEC) are very valuable stem cells for regenerative medicine. They have stem cell molecular markers such as OCT-4, Nanog, SOX-2, and Rex-1 (23). AEC do not have telomerase reverse transcriptase, show a stable karyotype, and do not originate tumors when injected. Amnion does not express MHC class II antigens, so AEC can elude the immune system. AEC can also modulate the immune system through an inhibition of the proliferation of T- and B-cells. In addition, AEC inhibit inflammation, as has seen in vitro [24].
Chorion trophoblastic cells (CTC) represent a mixed and still poorly characterized population of stem cells and there are no reliable methods to isolate them [25], and also, no consistent marking for identifying this population of cells [26].
Most of stem cells isolated from the placental tissues are cells of mesodermal origin and are named amnion mesenchymal stromal cells (AMSC), chorion mesenchymal stromal cells (CMSC), chorionic villi mesenchymal stromal cells (CV-MSC), and decidua mesenchymal stem cells (DMSC) [9, 27, 28] depending on the layer of origin. Inside the umbilical cord, there is a connective tissue that surrounds the umbilical vein and the two umbilical arteries. This tissue, also known as Wharton’s jelly, is a rich source of mesenchymal stromal cells called umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSC) [29]. They are all considered true mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC), as they meet the three minimal criteria proposed by the International Society for Cellular Therapy [30]. First, placenta-derived MSC exhibit plastic adherence in culture. Second, they express a specific set of cell surface markers, such as CD105, CD73, and CD90, and do not express hematopoietic markers including CD34, CD45 and CD14 or CD11b, CD79a or CD19, and HLA-DR. Third, they have the ability to differentiate in vitro into different mesodermal cell lineages including adipocytes, chondrocytes, and osteoblasts. In addition, AMSC and CMSC are from fetal origin according to the first international workshop on placenta-derived stem cells [31].
Cells with properties of mesenchymal stromal cells have also been isolated from the amniotic fluid (AF) which is used to perform the evaluation of karyotyping and prenatal diagnostic testing. AF is a source of MSC that could be used as autologous cellular therapy for perinatal disorders [32]. These AF-MSC can be easily isolated, have minimal ethical objections, high renewal activity, multiple differentiation capacity, and maintain genetic stability in culture [33].
In this chapter, we will refer to placenta-derived mesenchymal stromal cells as placenta mesenchymal stromal cells (PMSC) regardless of the placenta region where they were isolated.
1.5. Placenta-derived mesenchymal stromal cells
Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) can be isolated from virtually all adult tissues in the body, although not always in large quantities. They are thought to be a precursor cell population capable of reconstituting all the cellular elements that comprise the supportive stromal tissue in each organ [34]. First described in bone marrow as a subset of non-hematopoietic cells [35], they have become the paradigm cell in regenerative medicine. MSC are the most widely studied cell type in both preclinical and clinical trials. The advantages of MSC include ease of isolation and subsequent maintenance in culture, high expansion capacity, high plasticity, and tissue repair activity. The restorative activity of MSC is not necessarily by the replacement of dead or damaged cells, but also, by paracrine actions that mediate immune-regulation and promote cell growth and/or differentiation (Figure 2). Besides, MSC do not form teratomas after transplantation, ensuring safety to the host and, their low immunogenicity makes them suitable for allogeneic transplantation. Furthermore, these cells have the ability to migrate to inflammatory microenvironments [36] and tumors [12, 37], where they play an active role inducing many processes, such as angiogenesis and wound healing, mainly in a paracrine manner [38]. This feature provides an important therapeutic advantage to MSC since they can be injected via systemic infusion and can be used as vehicles for the delivery of drugs such as anticancer agents to the tumor site.
Figure 2.
PMSC mechanisms of action. PMSC can migrate, home, and differentiate into tissue specific cells to repair injured tissue, transport restorative genes and used as a cellular vehicles of therapeutic agents. PMSC also exert their actions through paracrine effects and have immunomodulatory properties.
The use of placenta as a source of MSC has several advantages with respect to other adult MSC. Besides the ease of extraction of MSC from the placenta without invasive methods, the isolated MSC represent a more homogeneous and primitive population [9, 39]. The last feature is associated with a higher proliferative rate in culture compared to bone marrow MSC [40]. This fact makes it possible to achieve a greater number of cells in fewer passages reducing the risk of ex vivo senescence influencing gene expression and resulting in aging phenotype [41, 42]. The senescent state needs to be taken into account for quality control of PMSC in cellular therapy. In addition, the clinical efficacy and safety of PMSC could be higher, compared to other sources of MSC, since PMSC are younger cells that have been exposed less time to harmful agents, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), chemical and biological agents, and physical stressors [43]. Also, PMSC have a limited capacity to grow in culture related to low telomerase activity, which is also lost during proliferation, making them a safe product to be used in regenerative medicine [9]. Moreover, PMSC could be advantageous with respect to migratory properties and homing capacities into damaged tissues. Homing of MSC is basically dependent on the release of chemoattractants by the injured tissue and the expression of chemokine receptors on the MSC membrane. For extravasation into tissue, MSC have to attach to and migrate through the endothelium. Several integrins and other adhesion molecules are known to be expressed on MSC. Dependence on the VLA-4/VCAM-1 (very late antigen-4/vascular cell adhesion molecule-1) axis for MSC adherence to endothelial cells has been demonstrated [44]. PMSC have a higher expression of VLA-4 compared to bone marrow MSC suggesting that PMSC may have enhanced properties for homing to damaged tissue [45].
2. Therapeutic applications of placenta mesenchymal stromal cells (PMSC) in preclinical models
Stem cell therapies are expected to provide substantial benefits to patients suffering a wide range of pathologies. The plasticity and pleiotropic properties of PMSC that include immunomodulation and inflammation control, angiogenesis, neuroprotection, and antiapoptosis, among others, have been widely evaluated at the preclinical level [9, 46, 47].
2.1. Use of placental mesenchymal stem/stromal cells in cardiovascular diseases
2.1.1. Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction (MI) is a major cause of death and disability worldwide. MI occurs when there is an interruption in blood flow to the heart muscle followed by heart ischemia. Since regeneration of heart muscle is virtually absent, damaged myocardium after infarct is replaced by scar tissue leading to reduced cardiac function. PMSC transplantation is a promising strategy to restore cardiac function and reduce myocardial fibrosis in MI due to their angiogenic and immunosuppressive properties.
PMSC have the potential to differentiate into cardiomyocytes, and exhibit spontaneous beating under in vitro conditions suggesting that they can therapeutically act in the cardiac repair process [9, 48, 49]. Several groups have investigated the effects of PMSC when transplanted in animal models of MI. PMSC injected into rat hearts after the induction of a MI showed integration into cardiac tissues and in vivo transdifferentiation into cardiomyocytes [48]. The CXCR4 chemokine receptor and its ligand, stromal cell-derived factor (SDF-1) axis (CXCR4-SDF1) is the main pathway mediating migration of MSC toward injured tissues. Since it has been shown that chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) is greatly induced in PMSC by hypoxia, a high chemotactic response of PMSC to the ischemic microenvironment of the infarcted heart is expected [50]. Intravenous injection of PMSC in a rat model of infarct showed a sustained cardiac function over 32 weeks from injury [51]. Preconditioning PMSC by hyaluronan mixed ester of butyric and retinoic acid (HBR) potentiates their reparative capacity. Transplantation of preconditioned PMSC in pigs produced a significant reduction in scar size, higher myocardial perfusion and glucose uptake, enhanced capillary density, and decreased fibrous tissue [52]. The paracrine potential of conditioned medium (CM) of PMSC has also been evaluated. Injection of PMSC-CM limited infarct size and cardiomyocyte apoptosis, while promoting capillary density in the infarct border area in a rat model of ischemia/reperfusion [53].
2.1.2. Critical limb ischemia
Critical limb ischemia (CLI) is the advanced stage of peripheral artery disease (PAD) with progressive stenosis, and ultimately the obstruction of peripheral arteries. The consequences of the markedly reduced blood flow to the lower limbs are pain at rest, nonhealing ulcers, and gangrene. The risk factors of PAD are advanced age, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and mainly diabetes. Unfortunately, amputation, in many cases, is the only therapeutic option for CLI as blood capillaries cannot be corrected, and restenosis of vessels is produced.
Preclinical studies have reported benefits of cell therapy in neovascularization in several mouse models of hindlimb ischemia. PMSC have demonstrated pro-angiogenic effects when intramuscularly injected into the ischemic region of the affected limb, improving blood flow and promoting new vessel formation [54, 55, 56]. Similar results have been described in a diabetic nude rat model [57]. Moreover, CM from the PMSC also had pro-angiogenic action in a mouse hindlimb ischemic model, comparable to the PMSC transplanted group in the same study, revealing that PMSC action resulted primarily from a paracrine action of the angiogenic factors released from the PMSC [55]. However, in another study, cells were more efficacious than cell lysate in rescuing blood flow, probably indicating the importance of prolonged paracrine effect for maximal blood flow recovery [57].
2.1.3. Stroke
Stroke is an acute focal injury of the central nervous system (CNS) by a vascular cause, including cerebral infarction, intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and is a major cause of disability and death worldwide. Thrombolysis is the most commonly used therapeutic approach although most patients fall outside of the clinical time window for effective treatment.
Experimental data show that stem cell therapy can limit neuronal degeneration and improve the functional outcome. The neuroprotective action of PMSC has been demonstrated in a rat model of stroke. Intravenous administration of PMSC, 4 hours after the injury, resulted in a significant improvement of functional outcome and significant decrease of lesion volume, correlating with increased vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in the ischemic brain compared to controls [58].
2.2. Use of placental mesenchymal stem/stromal cells in cancer
Cancer is one of the main problems in public health worldwide. Despite great progresses having been made in understanding the molecular basis of cancer, and the rapid advances in diagnosis, the efficacy of current treatment strategies is limited and mortality is still high. Stem cell-based treatments have been extensively explored for their possible potential to treat various cancers. Tumor microenvironment resembles a wound environment as tumors are considered as unhealed wounds [60]. Inflammatory and wound microenvironments induce migration of PMSC [36, 61]. Due to the characteristic of placenta-derived MSC, these cells represent an important tool for their use in anticancer therapies. First, PMSC can migrate and engraft into the tumor site and directly affect tumor biology through paracrine signaling. Second, PMSC could be used for the specific delivery of drugs to tumors thus reducing the doses administered and the side effects. Third, PMSC can also be genetically modified to give a stable expression of antitumor factors specifically in the tumor.
Placenta-derived MSC have an intrinsic tropism for sites of injury regardless of tissue or organ. Furthermore, it has been shown that PMSC and CM from PMSC are able to inhibit the proliferation of several tumor cell lines [62]. Moreover, PMSC have an antitumor effect in vivo, inhibiting tumor progression when were intravenously injected in a rat model of mammary cancer [12]. Similarly, PMSC showed antitumor effects in vivo when previously expanded in the presence of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) [63] and when engineered to deliver growth factors to the tumor site, such as, pigment epithelium-derived factor [64], or endostatin [65].
2.3. Use of placental mesenchymal stem/stromal cells in neurological diseases
Neurodegeneration involves a progressive and irreversible loss of neurons. Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and multiple sclerosis are some of the more studied neurodegenerative syndromes. The neuromuscular disorder amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a degenerative process caused by motor neuron loss. To date, there is no cure for these diseases. Cell therapy with stem cells arises as a therapeutic alternative based, either on the replacement of the lost neurons, or on a neuroprotective action through release of neurotrophic factors. PMSC are able to differentiate in vitro into several neural lineages, including neurons [9, 66], oligodendrocytes [66], glial cells [67], and dopaminergic neurons [68].
2.3.1. Parkinson’s disease
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with a specific loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and depletion of dopamine levels in the striatum. The main therapeutic objective in PD is the recovery of dopaminergic neurotransmission in the striatum. Cellular replacement has been emerged as a suitable therapeutic strategy. First-trimester human PMSC differentiated to neural progenitors and transplanted into the striatum of a rat model of PD, underwent dopaminergic differentiation and showed an attenuation of the symptoms [69]. PD motor pathology is also accompanied by other disabilities, such as, mood disorders, constipation, and hyposmia. It is expected that besides the regenerative effects of PMSC, the secretion of trophic factors, their anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic effects, could also alleviate these nonmotor symptoms.
2.3.2. Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis is characterized by a deposition of β-amyloid peptide and hyperphosphorylation of tau causing loss of the synaptic and neuronal activities and neuroinflammation. It has been demonstrated that PMSC, transplanted into an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model, modulated the inflammatory response. Moreover, mice injected with PMSC presented higher levels of β-amyloid degrading enzymes, reduced levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and increased levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines (TGF-β and IL-10). The effect of PMSC injection resulted in an improvement of memory function [70].
2.3.3. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by loss of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, leading to muscle weakness, paralysis, respiratory problems, and eventually, death. Multiple intravenous injections of PMSC in a mouse model of ALS, resulted in a protection of motor neurons from inflammatory effectors delaying functional deterioration and increasing lifespan [71].
2.3.4. Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease of the central nervous system characterized by demyelinated areas in the brain and spinal cord that heal forming a glial scar (sclerosis). It is believed that MS is caused by T cell-mediated autoimmune reaction against proteins of the myelin sheath inducing oligodendrocytes and neuronal loss. Most of therapies in MS patients target the immune system or the inflammatory process. Since the pathogenic process of MS can be divided into inflammatory and degenerative phases, PMSC-based cell therapy seems appropriate since it may be able to specifically regulate immune responses and also induce neuronal regeneration. The animal model that closely resembles the MS symptoms is the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in mice where the animals are injected with myelin antigens that initiate an immune response. Several preclinical trials based on the treatment of EAE animals with PMSC have been published. Intracerebroventricular (ICV) transplantation of PMSC at day 5 (pre-symptomatology) or day 14 (at the beginning of the disease) after immunization, significantly reduced the severity of the disease and prolonged survival without delaying the onset of the disease [72]. Several intraperitoneal injections of PMSC in EAE mice delayed the onset of the symptoms and decreased disease incidence in the treated group respect to control, as well as inhibiting T cell proliferation and downregulating the production of pro-inflammatory factors while increasing the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines [73]. Likewise, ICV or intrathecal (ITH) injection of PMSC in EAE rats, also delayed the onset of motor symptoms, reduced inflammation, prevented axonal loss, and reduced disease severity [74].
2.4. Use of placental mesenchymal stem/stromal cells in bone and cartilage diseases
Bone regeneration is the physiological process of bone formation, which is involved in continuous remodeling throughout adult life, and can be observed during bone healing after damage. However, there are large lesions created by traumatism, infection, tumor resection or skeletal abnormalities in which physiological bone regeneration is not sufficient. There are also other conditions, such as osteoporosis, in which regeneration is compromised. PMSC have the potential to differentiate into osteogenic lineage, and seem to be an appropriate therapeutic option for bone regeneration. The use of 3D scaffolds that support cell differentiation and improve engraftment has become habitual in PMSC-mediated bone regeneration therapy. Several published studies confirm that PMSC have potent in vivo bone-forming capacity and may be worthwhile candidates for in vivo bone tissue repair. So, when PMSC were subcutaneously injected into severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice with hydroxyapatite/tricalcium phosphate particles as a vehicle, new bone formation was found throughout all implants [75]. Another study showed that PMSC administered in combination with nanobiphasic calcium phosphate ceramics in a rat model of femur bone defects produced complete healing of the defect in 3 months without evidence of fibrosis [76].
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative process of the cartilage in joints. There is still no treatment available to improve or reverse the degenerative process and current pharmacological treatments are only palliative. Given the potential of PMSC to differentiate into musculoskeletal lineages including bone and cartilage, MSC have been proposed as an optimal regenerative cellular therapy for degenerative musculoskeletal conditions as OA. There are numerous data that support this hypothesis in preclinical models. PMSC embedded in a collagen I gel and transplanted in a rat model of femoral cartilage defect appeared to cover the tissue defects with soft tissue positive for toluidine blue suggesting in vivo differentiation of transplanted cells [77]. Also PMSC grown on silk fibroin and transplanted into the knee in rabbits with knee osteochondral defects resulted in newly created hyaline cartilage without inflammatory response [78]. Similarly, PMSC seeded onto poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) and preconditioned in chondrogenic medium were well tolerated and found in the reparative tissue of OA rabbit knees 8 weeks after transplantation [79].
2.5. Use of placental mesenchymal stem/stromal cells in liver diseases
Cirrhosis is the common end-stage of most of the injuries affecting the liver such as virus infections, chronic alcoholism, metabolic diseases, or acute liver failure. A scar is formed by extracellular matrix, making the normal function of the liver difficult. Cirrhosis is an irreversible state that can become life-threatening and, frequently, liver transplantation is the only alternative for healing. Donor shortage and continuous need for immunosuppression are the main limitations to liver transplant and cell transplantation appears as a suitable alternative. In addition to fetal and adult hepatocytes, stem cells are considered for cell transplantation. PMSC can be helpful since their potential capacity to differentiate to hepatic-like cells and form functional three-dimensional structures have been reported [80].
Transplanted into animal models of disease, PMSC induced a significant reduction of fibrosis and of serum levels of transaminases. Liver regeneration has been proposed to be promoted by the induction of autophagy process [81], stimulation of liver cell proliferation [82], decreased apoptosis, and suppression of stellate cells activation [83]. Although no evidence of differentiation of the transplanted cells into hepatocytes was reported in a CCl4-induced fibrosis rat model [82], in other models, PMSC engraftment and expression of human albumin and α-fetoprotein have been reported [83, 84, 85].
2.6. Use of placental mesenchymal stem/stromal cells in intestinal inflammatory diseases
Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are chronic conditions caused by a sustained inflammation of the intestinal epithelium that ends in tissue destruction throughout the gastrointestinal tract. It is believed that these disorders are the result of an abnormal host immune response to intraluminal antigens in genetically predisposed individuals. Several genetic variants of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain 2 (NOD2) are associated with the development of Crohn’s disease [86]. Both pathologies have a major impact on the quality of life and there is no curative treatment. Furthermore, many patients are not responsive to current therapy.
Intraperitoneal administration of conditioned medium from PMSC ameliorated clinical parameters in a mouse model of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis [87]. Intraperitoneal injection of PMSC also prevented the loss of body weight and decreased the mortality of mice. These benefits were greater when NOD2-activated PMSC were used [88].
2.7. Use of placental mesenchymal stem/stromal cells in urological diseases
Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a widespread disorder, commonly associated with childbirth, with a detrimental impact on the quality of life. SUI triggers a weakening of muscles and ligaments causing involuntary leakage of urine during physical activity, sneezing, or coughing. Surgical intervention to place a tissue sling that provides support to the urethra is the usual therapeutic action.
Animal models of SUI have been employed to prove the benefits of cell therapy in this pathology. Periurethral injection of myogenic differentiated PMSC in SUI mice restored the urethral sphincter to apparently normal histology and function [89].
3. Use of placenta mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (PMSC) and nanotechnology for tissue regeneration
The goal of cell-based regenerative medicine is to repair, replace, or regenerate cells, tissues, or organs when damaged. However, there are still some unresolved issues such as engraftment of transplanted cells onto the injured tissue and the survival for the time needed to repair the damage. Nanotechnology can be very helpful since nanomaterials can be used as scaffolds to improve the engraftment of stem cells onto the damaged tissue. In addition, the use of nanoparticles (NPs) for gene/drug delivery can complement the therapeutic benefits of transplanted stem cells, and allow the tracking of the cells inside the body [90].
Several reports described the therapeutic application of PMSC combined with biomaterials. PMSC proliferation and differentiation into myocardial and neuronal cells improved when the cells were grown on top of gold-coated collagen nanofibers (GCNFs) [91]. The peptide hydrogel PuraMatrix® (PM; 3-D Matrix, Ltd) was used to support PMSC in rat models of both acute MI and post-MI ischemic cardiomyopathy. The peptide hydrogel and the PMSC create a film to coat the heart. The epicardial “coating” method has advantages with respect to intramyocardial injection such as higher survival of the transplanted cells and lower complications [92].
In bone regenerative medicine, the RKKP glass ceramic has been proposed as a biocompatible support for PMSC. RKKP exhibits a higher osteointegration rate compared to other ceramic materials mainly in osteopenic bone. Additionally, the biology of PMSC is not affected when grown over this support while maintaining their osteogenic potential [93] PMSC seeded over poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) nanofibrous scaffolds and subjected to osteogenic conditions have been successfully grafted in a rabbit model of sternal defect closure [94].
Some systems have shown suitable behaviors as recipients of PMSC for cartilage regeneration. Collagen sponge allowed the formation of a cartilage-like tissue both, in vitro and in vivo, under chondrogenic-inducing conditions [95]. Similarly, PMSC embedded in alginate incorporating nanosized calcium-deficient hydroxyapatite (nCDHA) and/or a recombinant protein containing arginine-glycine-aspartate (RGD) and seeded over poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) gave rise to cartilage formation [96].
The use of nanoparticles for gene/drug delivery can significantly contribute to the advance of regenerative medicine. The use of stem cells as carriers of NPs containing biologically active molecules (e.g., pro-survival, anti-inflammatory) or chemicals such as anticancer drugs is very promising. PMSC have been employed as a platform to load mesoporous silica nanoparticles. NP loading did not affect the chemotactic ability of PMSC toward tumors in vitro and in vivo. When carrying doxorubicin-loaded NP, PMSC promoted breast cancer cells death in a co-culture system [97]. In a proof of concept, ultrasound-responsive NPs loaded with antitumor drugs were transported to tumor tissues by PMSC, and the cargo was released by NPs only after ultrasound application [98].
In vivo monitoring of cells, after transplant, is needed and NP-based probes are useful for this purpose. They offer the possibility of tracking the bio-distribution and engraftment of cells into the body with minimally invasive techniques. However these probes have to ensure minimal changes in cell phenotype [97]. PMSC have been efficiently labeled with albumin-conjugated fluorescent nanodiamonds (FNDs) [99], with silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles incorporating rhodamine B isothiocyanate, MNPs@SiO2(RITC) [100], with rhodamine B labeled mesoporous silica nanoparticles [98] and with human serum albumin coated iron oxide nanoparticles (HSA-IONPs) [101] without any detrimental effect.
4. Therapeutic applications of placenta mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (PMSC) in clinical trials
Based on the benefits produced by transplanted PMSC in different animal models resembling human diseases, some clinical studies have been carried out and there are also an increasing number of ongoing clinical trials. The web pages http://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu and http://www.clinicaltrial.gov offer up-to-date information on clinical trials giving current status. There are a good number of completed trials of which no results have yet been published. Other completed studies and clinical trials have published reports with the results obtained demonstrating the safety of the use of PMSC. In general, therapeutic benefits have been found.
Intracoronary infusion of UC-MSC in MI patients resulted in safe and significantly improved myocardial viability and the perfusion within the infarcted area. Improvement in some parameters such as the increase in the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and decreases in end-diastolic volumes and LV end-systolic volumes were observed up to 18 months after treatment [102]. RIMECARD is a phase I/II clinical trial that has demonstrated the safety and efficacy of the intravenous infusion of UC-MSC in patients with chronic heart failure and reduced ejection fraction. Improvements in left ventricular function, functional status, and the quality of life were observed in treated subjects [103].
Cell therapy has been introduced as a new therapeutic attempt to restore blood flow and attenuate ischemia promoting collateral vessel formation in CLI. In January 2017, a Phase III study of PLX-PAD cells1 in the treatment of critical limb ischemia (CLI) has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Data from previous studies have shown that by increasing tissue perfusion, PMSC may improve the healing of wounds in CLI patients, and could allow for significant delays in events of amputation and death.
Safety and efficacy of UC-MSC infusion in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis have been reported in a 1-year follow-up study. There were no significant side effects or complications and there was a significant reduction in the volume of ascites and improvement in liver function, as indicated by the increase of serum albumin levels and a decrease in total serum bilirubin levels [104].
Therapeutic effects of PMSC transplantation in MS patients have been evaluated in different studies. Intravenous infusion of UC-MSC appears to be safe and well tolerated in patients with MS, and the overall symptoms of treated patients remained stable or improved compared to the control group [105]. In another clinical trial, patients with relapsing-remitting MS or with secondary progressive MS randomly received PMSC (PDA-001)2 and most treated subjects had stable or decreasing Expanded Disability Status Scale scores [106].
OA affecting the hip can mean, in many cases, the need for a total hip replacement (THR). A frequent side effect of THR is a gluteus medius injury. PMSC administered directly to the injured muscle during surgery have demonstrated their safety and efficacy inducing a greater increase in the gluteus medius muscle strength than placebo, and a significant improvement in muscle volume based on MRI. EudraCT Number: 2011-003934-16.
Safety of the intravenous administration of PMSC (PDA001) to moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease patients unresponsive to other therapies has been demonstrated and some remission rates of the disease have been reported [107]. Likewise, in a randomized controlled clinical trial, intravenous injection of PMSC patient condition improved significantly allowing a significant reduction in steroid dosage. Additionally, several patients with anal fistula showed remarkable improvement [108].
5. Conclusions
PMSC are promising candidates for use in regenerative medicine in humans. Cell therapy using PMSC is based mostly on three important characteristics of these types of cells: (i) their inherent reparative capacities or by secretion of paracrine factors; (ii) their homing and engraftment abilities; and (iii) their immune modulation capacities. However, clinical use of PMSC is still in its infancy and most of the trials are, to date, under development. Most studies of cellular therapy have been realized with autologous cells. Nevertheless, the use of patient’s own cells has several limitations. First, there is a time-limiting factor as the expansion and quality control of autologous cells may require several weeks. Furthermore, the cells can show less potency due to inherent aging aspects and, even, certain characteristics of the subject may render autologous transplantation unfeasible as occurs in the case of elderly patients and those having a specific systemic disease such as diabetes. In contrast, allogeneic MSC have the potential to be mass-produced rapidly so they can be readily available and administered immediately. They can be obtained under more standardized and strictly validated conditions and probably reduce costs. To date, published data regarding reliability of treatment with PMSC indicate that the use of PMSC is safe and therefore there are already products “off-the-shelf.” Although most clinical trials are ongoing or have no published results, there are some favorable data regarding to the efficacy of treatments with PMSC.
Stem cell nanomedicine is a very promising field that at the preclinical level has yielded very encouraging results. Treatment of certain pathologies can benefit from the use of scaffolds that provide a three-dimensional structure to give support to the cells, promoting their adhesion and growth, so definitely improving the engraftment and therefore the therapeutic results. Besides the use of cells as carriers of nanoparticles to deliver drugs inside the injured tissue and, even more, the possibility of stimulus-controlled release of the drug appears exciting.
Acknowledgments
This work was funded by project PI15/01803 [Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness) and cofunded by the European Regional Development Fund]; and by project Multimat Challenge (S2013/MIT-2862-CM, funded by the Regional Government of Madrid and EU Structural Funds), and approved by the Ethics Committee of our Institution.
The authors are very grateful to Ian Ure for proofreading the English version of this chapter.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
\n',keywords:"placenta, mesenchymal stromal cells, immunoregulation, regenerative medicine, nanotechnology, cancer, neurodegeneration, vascular, bone, cartilage, liver, urology, intestinal",chapterPDFUrl:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs/61292.pdf",chapterXML:"https://mts.intechopen.com/source/xml/61292.xml",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/61292",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/61292",totalDownloads:1183,totalViews:661,totalCrossrefCites:3,totalDimensionsCites:8,hasAltmetrics:0,dateSubmitted:"December 1st 2017",dateReviewed:"March 22nd 2018",datePrePublished:"November 5th 2018",datePublished:"January 23rd 2019",dateFinished:"May 8th 2018",readingETA:"0",abstract:"Placenta-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (PMSC) present several aspects that make them more attractive as cellular therapy than their counterparts from other tissues, such as MSC from bone marrow or adipose tissue in regenerative medicine. Placenta-derived MSC have been used to treat a variety of disorders, such as, cancer, liver and cardiac diseases, ulcers, bone repair, and neurological diseases. Placenta-derived MSC are relatively new types of MSC with specific immunomodulatory properties and whose mechanisms are still unknown. Placenta-derived MSC secrete some soluble factors that seem to be responsible for their therapeutic effects, i.e., they have paracrine effects. On the other hand, Placenta-derived MSC can also serve as cellular vehicles and/or delivery systems for medications due to their migration capacity and their tropism for injury sites. Nanotechnology is an important field, which has undergone rapid development in recent years for the treatment of injured organs. Due to the special characteristics of placenta-derived MSC, the combination of these cells with nanotechnology will be a significant and highly promising field that will provide significant contributions in the regenerative medicine field in the near future.",reviewType:"peer-reviewed",bibtexUrl:"/chapter/bibtex/61292",risUrl:"/chapter/ris/61292",book:{slug:"stromal-cells-structure-function-and-therapeutic-implications"},signatures:"Paz de la Torre, María Jesús Pérez-Lorenzo and Ana I. Flores",authors:null,sections:[{id:"sec_1",title:"1. Introduction",level:"1"},{id:"sec_1_2",title:"1.1. Structure and function of human placenta",level:"2"},{id:"sec_2_2",title:"1.2. Placenta development",level:"2"},{id:"sec_3_2",title:"1.3. Regenerative medicine and placenta",level:"2"},{id:"sec_4_2",title:"1.4. Placenta-derived stem cells",level:"2"},{id:"sec_5_2",title:"1.5. Placenta-derived mesenchymal stromal cells",level:"2"},{id:"sec_7",title:"2. Therapeutic applications of placenta mesenchymal stromal cells (PMSC) in preclinical models",level:"1"},{id:"sec_7_2",title:"2.1. Use of placental mesenchymal stem/stromal cells in cardiovascular diseases",level:"2"},{id:"sec_7_3",title:"2.1.1. Myocardial infarction",level:"3"},{id:"sec_8_3",title:"2.1.2. Critical limb ischemia",level:"3"},{id:"sec_9_3",title:"2.1.3. Stroke",level:"3"},{id:"sec_11_2",title:"2.2. Use of placental mesenchymal stem/stromal cells in cancer",level:"2"},{id:"sec_12_2",title:"2.3. Use of placental mesenchymal stem/stromal cells in neurological diseases",level:"2"},{id:"sec_12_3",title:"2.3.1. Parkinson’s disease",level:"3"},{id:"sec_13_3",title:"2.3.2. Alzheimer’s disease",level:"3"},{id:"sec_14_3",title:"2.3.3. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis",level:"3"},{id:"sec_15_3",title:"2.3.4. Multiple sclerosis",level:"3"},{id:"sec_17_2",title:"2.4. Use of placental mesenchymal stem/stromal cells in bone and cartilage diseases",level:"2"},{id:"sec_18_2",title:"2.5. Use of placental mesenchymal stem/stromal cells in liver diseases",level:"2"},{id:"sec_19_2",title:"2.6. Use of placental mesenchymal stem/stromal cells in intestinal inflammatory diseases",level:"2"},{id:"sec_20_2",title:"2.7. Use of placental mesenchymal stem/stromal cells in urological diseases",level:"2"},{id:"sec_22",title:"3. Use of placenta mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (PMSC) and nanotechnology for tissue regeneration",level:"1"},{id:"sec_23",title:"4. Therapeutic applications of placenta mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (PMSC) in clinical trials",level:"1"},{id:"sec_24",title:"5. Conclusions",level:"1"},{id:"sec_25",title:"Acknowledgments",level:"1"},{id:"sec_28",title:"Conflict of interest",level:"1"}],chapterReferences:[{id:"B1",body:'Cross JC, Werb Z, Fisher SJ. Implantation and the placenta: Key pieces of the development puzzle. Science. 1994;266(5190):1508-1518'},{id:"B2",body:'Siiteri PK, Stites DP. Immunologic and endocrine interrelationships in pregnancy. 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Stem Cells and Development. 2008;17(6):1095-1107'},{id:"B41",body:'Wagner W et al. Aging and replicative senescence have related effects on human stem and progenitor cells. PLoS One. 2009;4(6):e5846'},{id:"B42",body:'Bork S et al. DNA methylation pattern changes upon long-term culture and aging of human mesenchymal stromal cells. Aging Cell. 2010;9(1):54-63'},{id:"B43",body:'Brandl A et al. Oxidative stress induces senescence in human mesenchymal stem cells. Experimental Cell Research. 2011;317(11):1541-1547'},{id:"B44",body:'Ruster B et al. Mesenchymal stem cells display coordinated rolling and adhesion behavior on endothelial cells. Blood. 2006;108(12):3938-3944'},{id:"B45",body:'Karlsson H et al. Stromal cells from term fetal membrane are highly suppressive in allogeneic settings in vitro. Clinical and Experimental Immunology. 2012;167(3):543-555'},{id:"B46",body:'Abumaree MH et al. Human placental mesenchymal stem cells (pMSCs) play a role as immune suppressive cells by shifting macrophage differentiation from inflammatory M1 to anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages. Stem Cell Reviews. 2013;9(5):620-641'},{id:"B47",body:'Yust-Katz S et al. Placental mesenchymal stromal cells induced into neurotrophic factor-producing cells protect neuronal cells from hypoxia and oxidative stress. Cytotherapy. 2012;14(1):45-55'},{id:"B48",body:'Zhao P et al. Human amniotic mesenchymal cells have some characteristics of cardiomyocytes. Transplantation. 2005;79(5):528-535'},{id:"B49",body:'Okamoto K et al. ‘Working’ cardiomyocytes exhibiting plateau action potentials from human placenta-derived extraembryonic mesodermal cells. Experimental Cell Research. 2007;313(12):2550-2562'},{id:"B50",body:'Li L et al. Hypoxia modulates cell migration and proliferation in placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells. The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 2017;154(2):543-552 e3'},{id:"B51",body:'Lopez Y et al. Wharton\'s jelly or bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells improve cardiac function following myocardial infarction for more than 32 weeks in a rat model: A preliminary report. Current Stem Cell Research & Therapy. 2013;8(1):46-59'},{id:"B52",body:'Simioniuc A et al. Placental stem cells pre-treated with a hyaluronan mixed ester of butyric and retinoic acid to cure infarcted pig hearts: A multimodal study. Cardiovascular Research. 2011;90(3):546-556'},{id:"B53",body:'Danieli P et al. Conditioned medium from human amniotic mesenchymal stromal cells limits infarct size and enhances angiogenesis. Stem Cells Translational Medicine. 2015;4(5):448-458'},{id:"B54",body:'Prather WR et al. The role of placental-derived adherent stromal cell (PLX-PAD) in the treatment of critical limb ischemia. Cytotherapy. 2009;11(4):427-434'},{id:"B55",body:'Kim HG, Choi OH. Neovascularization in a mouse model via stem cells derived from human fetal amniotic membranes. Heart and Vessels. 2011;26(2):196-205'},{id:"B56",body:'Xie N et al. Transplantation of placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells enhances angiogenesis after ischemic limb injury in mice. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. 2016;20(1):29-37'},{id:"B57",body:'Liang L et al. Transplantation of Human Placenta-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Alleviates Critical Limb Ischemia in Diabetic Nude Rats. Cell Transplant. 2017;26(1):45-61'},{id:"B58",body:'Zahavi-Goldstein E et al. Placenta-derived PLX-PAD mesenchymal-like stromal cells are efficacious in rescuing blood flow in hind limb ischemia mouse model by a dose- and site-dependent mechanism of action. Cytotherapy. 2017;19(12):1438-1446'},{id:"B59",body:'Chen J et al. Neuroprotective effect of human placenta-derived cell treatment of stroke in rats. Cell Transplantation. 2013;22(5):871-879'},{id:"B60",body:'Dvorak HF. Tumors: Wounds that do not heal. Similarities between tumor stroma generation and wound healing. The New England Journal of Medicine. 1986;315(26):1650-1659'},{id:"B61",body:'Spaeth E et al. Inflammation and tumor microenvironments: Defining the migratory itinerary of mesenchymal stem cells. Gene Therapy. 2008;15(10):730-738'},{id:"B62",body:'Silini AR et al. The dichotomy of placenta-derived cells in cancer growth. Placenta. 2017;59:154-162'},{id:"B63",body:'Allen H et al. Human placental-derived adherent stromal cells co-induced with TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma inhibit triple-negative breast cancer in nude mouse Xenograft models. Scientific Reports. 2018;8(1):670'},{id:"B64",body:'Chen Q et al. Antitumor activity of placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells producing pigment epithelium-derived factor in a mouse melanoma model. Oncology Letters. 2012;4(3):413-418'},{id:"B65",body:'Zheng L et al. Antitumor activities of human placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells expressing endostatin on ovarian cancer. PLoS One. 2012;7(7):e39119'},{id:"B66",body:'Portmann-Lanz CB, et al. Turning placenta into brain: placental mesenchymal stem cells differentiate into neurons and oligodendrocytes. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2010;202(3):294 e1-294 e11'},{id:"B67",body:'Martini MM et al. Human placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells acquire neural phenotype under the appropriate niche conditions. DNA and Cell Biology. 2013;32(2):58-65'},{id:"B68",body:'Chen L, He DM, Zhang Y. The differentiation of human placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells into dopaminergic cells in vitro. Cellular & Molecular Biology Letters. 2009;14(3):528-536'},{id:"B69",body:'Park S et al. Dopaminergic differentiation of neural progenitors derived from placental mesenchymal stem cells in the brains of Parkinson\'s disease model rats and alleviation of asymmetric rotational behavior. Brain Research. 2012;1466:158-166'},{id:"B70",body:'Kim KS et al. Long-term immunomodulatory effect of amniotic stem cells in an Alzheimer\'s disease model. Neurobiology of Aging. 2013;34(10):2408-2420'},{id:"B71",body:'Garbuzova-Davis S et al. Multiple intravenous administrations of human umbilical cord blood cells benefit in a mouse model of ALS. PLoS One. 2012;7(2):e31254'},{id:"B72",body:'Fisher-Shoval Y et al. Transplantation of placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells in the EAE mouse model of MS. Journal of Molecular Neuroscience. 2012;48(1):176-184'},{id:"B73",body:'Bravo B et al. Restrained Th17 response and myeloid cell infiltration into the central nervous system by human decidua-derived mesenchymal stem cells during experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Stem Cell Research & Therapy. 2016;7:43'},{id:"B74",body:'Jiang H et al. Amelioration of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis through transplantation of placental derived mesenchymal stem cells. Scientific Reports. 2017;7:41837'},{id:"B75",body:'Kusuma GD et al. Ectopic bone formation by mesenchymal stem cells derived from human term placenta and the decidua. PLoS One. 2015;10(10):e0141246'},{id:"B76",body:'Reddy S et al. Evaluation of nano-biphasic calcium phosphate ceramics for bone tissue engineering applications: In vitro and preliminary in vivo studies. Journal of Biomaterials Applications. 2013;27(5):565-575'},{id:"B77",body:'Wei JP et al. Human amniotic mesenchymal cells differentiate into chondrocytes. Cloning and Stem Cells. 2009;11(1):19-26'},{id:"B78",body:'Li F et al. Human placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells with silk fibroin biomaterial in the repair of articular cartilage defects. Cellular Reprogramming. 2012;14(4):334-341'},{id:"B79",body:'Nogami M et al. Isolation and characterization of human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells and their chondrogenic differentiation. Transplantation. 2012;93(12):1221-1228'},{id:"B80",body:'Bornstein R et al. Human decidua-derived mesenchymal stromal cells differentiate into hepatic-like cells and form functional three-dimensional structures. Cytotherapy. 2012;14(10):1182-1192'},{id:"B81",body:'Jung J et al. Human placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells promote hepatic regeneration in CCl4 -injured rat liver model via increased autophagic mechanism. Stem Cells. 2013;31(8):1584-1596'},{id:"B82",body:'Tsai PC et al. The therapeutic potential of human umbilical mesenchymal stem cells from Wharton\'s jelly in the treatment of rat liver fibrosis. Liver Transplantation. 2009;15(5):484-495'},{id:"B83",body:'Zhang D, Jiang M, Miao D. Transplanted human amniotic membrane-derived mesenchymal stem cells ameliorate carbon tetrachloride-induced liver cirrhosis in mouse. PLoS One. 2011;6(2):e16789'},{id:"B84",body:'Cao H et al. Therapeutic potential of transplanted placental mesenchymal stem cells in treating Chinese miniature pigs with acute liver failure. BMC Medicine. 2012;10:56'},{id:"B85",body:'Yu J et al. Therapeutic effect and location of GFP-Labeled placental mesenchymal stem cells on hepatic fibrosis in rats. Stem Cells International. 2017;2017:1798260'},{id:"B86",body:'Hugot JP et al. Association of NOD2 leucine-rich repeat variants with susceptibility to Crohn\'s disease. Nature. 2001;411(6837):599-603'},{id:"B87",body:'Song JY et al. Umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cell extracts reduce colitis in mice by re-polarizing intestinal macrophages. Scientific Reports. 2017;7(1):9412'},{id:"B88",body:'Kim HS et al. Human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells reduce colitis in mice by activating NOD2 signaling to COX2. Gastroenterology. 2013;145(6):1392-403 e1-1392-403 e8'},{id:"B89",body:'Kim BS et al. Human amniotic fluid stem cell injection therapy for urethral sphincter regeneration in an animal model. BMC Medicine. 2012;10:94'},{id:"B90",body:'Hofmann MC. Stem cells and nanomaterials. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. 2014;811:255-275'},{id:"B91",body:'Orza A et al. Electrically conductive gold-coated collagen nanofibers for placental-derived mesenchymal stem cells enhanced differentiation and proliferation. ACS Nano. 2011;5(6):4490-4503'},{id:"B92",body:'Ichihara Y et al. Self-assembling peptide hydrogel enables instant epicardial coating of the heart with mesenchymal stromal cells for the treatment of heart failure. Biomaterials. 2018;154:12-23'},{id:"B93",body:'Ledda M et al. Placenta derived mesenchymal stem cells hosted on RKKP glass-ceramic: A tissue engineering strategy for bone regenerative medicine applications. BioMed Research International. 2016;2016:3657906'},{id:"B94",body:'Steigman SA et al. Sternal repair with bone grafts engineered from amniotic mesenchymal stem cells. Journal of Pediatric Surgery. 2009;44(6):1120-6; discussion 1126'},{id:"B95",body:'Liu D et al. Construction of tissue-engineered cartilage using human placenta-derived stem cells. Science China. Life Sciences. 2010;53(2):207-214'},{id:"B96",body:'Hsu SH et al. Chondrogenesis from human placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells in three-dimensional scaffolds for cartilage tissue engineering. Tissue Engineering. Part A. 2011;17(11-12):1549-1560'},{id:"B97",body:'Paris JL et al. Decidua-derived mesenchymal stem cells as carriers of mesoporous silica nanoparticles. In vitro and in vivo evaluation on mammary tumors. Acta Biomaterialia. 2016;33:275-282'},{id:"B98",body:'Paris JL et al. Vectorization of ultrasound-responsive nanoparticles in placental mesenchymal stem cells for cancer therapy. Nanoscale. 2017;9(17):5528-5537'},{id:"B99",body:'Su LJ et al. Fluorescent nanodiamonds enable quantitative tracking of human mesenchymal stem cells in miniature pigs. Scientific Reports. 2017;7:45607'},{id:"B100",body:'Park KS et al. Characterization, in vitro cytotoxicity assessment, and in vivo visualization of multimodal, RITC-labeled, silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles for labeling human cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells. Nanomedicine. 2010;6(2):263-276'},{id:"B101",body:'Sanganeria P et al. Effect of HSA coated iron oxide labeling on human umbilical cord derived mesenchymal stem cells. Nanotechnology. 2015;26(12):125103'},{id:"B102",body:'Gao LR et al. Intracoronary infusion of Wharton\'s jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells in acute myocardial infarction: Double-blind, randomized controlled trial. BMC Medicine. 2015;13:162'},{id:"B103",body:'Bartolucci J et al. Safety and efficacy of the intravenous infusion of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells in patients with heart failure: A phase 1/2 randomized controlled trial (RIMECARD trial [randomized clinical trial of intravenous infusion umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells on cardiopathy]). Circulation Research. 2017;121(10):1192-1204'},{id:"B104",body:'Zhang Z et al. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells improve liver function and ascites in decompensated liver cirrhosis patients. Journal of Gastroenterology. 2012;27(Suppl 2):112-120'},{id:"B105",body:'Li JF et al. The potential of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells as a novel cellular therapy for multiple sclerosis. Cell Transplant. 2014;23(Suppl 1):S113-S122'},{id:"B106",body:'Lublin FD et al. Human placenta-derived cells (PDA-001) for the treatment of adults with multiple sclerosis: A randomized, placebo-controlled, multiple-dose study. Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. 2014;3(6):696-704'},{id:"B107",body:'Mayer L et al. Safety and tolerability of human placenta-derived cells (PDA001) in treatment-resistant crohn\'s disease: A phase 1 study. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. 2013;19(4):754-760'},{id:"B108",body:'Zhang J et al. Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell treatment for Crohn\'s disease: A randomized controlled clinical trial. Gut and Liver. 2018;12(1):73-78'}],footnotes:[{id:"fn1",explanation:"PLX-PAD – Placenta eXpanded adherent stromal cells produced by PluriStem Ltd. PLX-PAD cells are derived from the decidua of human placenta and are expanded using the company’s 3D proprietary technology."},{id:"fn2",explanation:"PDA-001 (previously cenplacel-L) is a placenta adherent cells-based therapy developed by Celgene Cellular Therapeutics (CCT, a subsidiary of Celgene Corporation) to treat autoimmune diseases. It is administered as an intravenous injection."}],contributors:[{corresp:null,contributorFullName:"Paz de la Torre",address:null,affiliation:'
Regenerative Medicine Group, Research Centre, Research Institute of Hospital 12 de Octubre (imas12), Madrid, Spain
Regenerative Medicine Group, Research Centre, Research Institute of Hospital 12 de Octubre (imas12), Madrid, Spain
'},{corresp:"yes",contributorFullName:"Ana I. Flores",address:"anaisabel.flores@salud.madrid.org",affiliation:'
Regenerative Medicine Group, Research Centre, Research Institute of Hospital 12 de Octubre (imas12), Madrid, Spain
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Ulyanova",slug:"alexandra-v.-ulyanova"}]},{id:"66388",title:"Orexin System and Avian Muscle Mitochondria",slug:"orexin-system-and-avian-muscle-mitochondria",signatures:"Kentu Lassiter and Sami Dridi",authors:[{id:"274577",title:"Ph.D. Student",name:"Kentu",middleName:null,surname:"Lassiter",fullName:"Kentu Lassiter",slug:"kentu-lassiter"},{id:"274579",title:"Dr.",name:"Sami",middleName:null,surname:"Dridi",fullName:"Sami Dridi",slug:"sami-dridi"}]},{id:"68901",title:"Noncoding RNAs in the Cardiovascular System: Exercise Training Effects",slug:"noncoding-rnas-in-the-cardiovascular-system-exercise-training-effects",signatures:"Noemy Pereira, Camila Gatto, Edilamar Menezes de Oliveira and Tiago Fernandes",authors:[{id:"60681",title:"Dr.",name:"Edilamar Menezes",middleName:null,surname:"de Oliveira",fullName:"Edilamar Menezes de Oliveira",slug:"edilamar-menezes-de-oliveira"},{id:"144084",title:"Ph.D.",name:"Tiago",middleName:null,surname:"Fernandes",fullName:"Tiago Fernandes",slug:"tiago-fernandes"},{id:"277999",title:"MSc.",name:"Noemy",middleName:null,surname:"Pereira",fullName:"Noemy Pereira",slug:"noemy-pereira"},{id:"278002",title:"MSc.",name:"Camila",middleName:null,surname:"Gatto",fullName:"Camila Gatto",slug:"camila-gatto"}]},{id:"67281",title:"Inflammatory Muscle Diseases",slug:"inflammatory-muscle-diseases",signatures:"Doris Hissako Sumida, Fernando Yamamoto Chiba and Maria Sara de Lima Coutinho Mattera",authors:[{id:"283757",title:"Prof.",name:"Doris Hissako",middleName:null,surname:"Sumida",fullName:"Doris Hissako Sumida",slug:"doris-hissako-sumida"},{id:"294070",title:"Dr.",name:"Fernando Yamamoto",middleName:null,surname:"Chiba",fullName:"Fernando Yamamoto Chiba",slug:"fernando-yamamoto-chiba"},{id:"294072",title:"MSc.",name:"Maria Sara De Lima Coutinho",middleName:null,surname:"Mattera",fullName:"Maria Sara De Lima Coutinho Mattera",slug:"maria-sara-de-lima-coutinho-mattera"}]},{id:"62090",title:"Leucine and Its Importance for Cell Signalling Pathways in Cancer Cachexia-Induced Muscle Wasting",slug:"leucine-and-its-importance-for-cell-signalling-pathways-in-cancer-cachexia-induced-muscle-wasting",signatures:"Andre Gustavo Oliveira, Bread Cruz, Sarah Christine Pereira de Oliveira, Lais Rosa Viana, Natalia Angelo Da Silva Miyaguti, Luiz Alberto Ferreira Ramos, Rafael Rossi Valentim and Maria Cristina Cintra Gomes-Marcondes",authors:[{id:"242462",title:"Prof.",name:"Maria Cristina Cintra",middleName:null,surname:"Gomes-Marcondes",fullName:"Maria Cristina Cintra Gomes-Marcondes",slug:"maria-cristina-cintra-gomes-marcondes"},{id:"243467",title:"Dr.",name:"Lais Rosa",middleName:null,surname:"Viana",fullName:"Lais Rosa Viana",slug:"lais-rosa-viana"},{id:"243468",title:"Dr.",name:"Andre Gustavo",middleName:null,surname:"Oliveira",fullName:"Andre Gustavo Oliveira",slug:"andre-gustavo-oliveira"},{id:"243470",title:"Dr.",name:"Bread",middleName:null,surname:"Cruz",fullName:"Bread Cruz",slug:"bread-cruz"},{id:"243471",title:"Dr.",name:"Rafael",middleName:null,surname:"Rossi Valentim",fullName:"Rafael Rossi Valentim",slug:"rafael-rossi-valentim"},{id:"243472",title:"Dr.",name:"Luiz Alberto",middleName:null,surname:"Ferreira Ramos",fullName:"Luiz Alberto Ferreira Ramos",slug:"luiz-alberto-ferreira-ramos"},{id:"243767",title:"MSc.",name:"Natalia Angelo Da Silva",middleName:null,surname:"Miyaguti",fullName:"Natalia Angelo Da Silva Miyaguti",slug:"natalia-angelo-da-silva-miyaguti"},{id:"243768",title:"B.Sc.",name:"Sarah Christine",middleName:null,surname:"Pereira De Oliveira",fullName:"Sarah Christine Pereira De Oliveira",slug:"sarah-christine-pereira-de-oliveira"}]},{id:"62824",title:"Adipose Tissue Remodeling during Cancer Cachexia",slug:"adipose-tissue-remodeling-during-cancer-cachexia",signatures:"Miguel Luiz Batista Júnior and Felipe Henriques",authors:[{id:"242418",title:"Dr.",name:"Miguel Luiz",middleName:null,surname:"Batista Júnior",fullName:"Miguel Luiz Batista Júnior",slug:"miguel-luiz-batista-junior"},{id:"297029",title:"Dr.",name:"Felipe",middleName:null,surname:"Henriques",fullName:"Felipe Henriques",slug:"felipe-henriques"}]},{id:"70415",title:"Current Approaches in Immunoassay Methods Focus on Skeletal Muscle Proteins",slug:"current-approaches-in-immunoassay-methods-focus-on-skeletal-muscle-proteins",signatures:"Gisela Gaina",authors:[{id:"242747",title:"Dr.",name:"Gisela",middleName:null,surname:"Gaina",fullName:"Gisela Gaina",slug:"gisela-gaina"}]}]}]},onlineFirst:{chapter:{type:"chapter",id:"65239",title:"Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting: Basic Principles and Applications",doi:"10.5772/intechopen.83495",slug:"thermoelectric-energy-harvesting-basic-principles-and-applications",body:'\n
\n
1. Background about energy harvesting
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Energy harvesting represents the energy derived from ambient sources that is extracted and directly converted into electrical energy. This way to provide energy is further used when another energy source is not available (off-grid use) to supply small- and medium-sized electronic devices, as well as electrical systems, with power from nW to hundreds of mW [1, 2]. Generally, energy harvesting refers to an environment with regular and well-assessed ambient energy sources. Energy harvesting is applied when there is a match between the available energy and the energy required.
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Another term, energy scavenging, refers to an environment with strong non-uniform and unknown ambient energy sources [3]. Some examples of differences between the two terms are presented in Table 1.
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\n
\n
\n
\n\n
\n
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Scavenging
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Harvesting
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\n\n\n
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Thermal
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Forest fires
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Furnace covers
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\n
\n
Photonic
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Interior lighting
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Diurnal solar cycles
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\n
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Mechanical
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Foot traffic
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Motors, ductwork
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Table 1.
The difference between the terms “scavenging” and “harvesting” [3].
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The ambient energy sources used for energy harvesting are temperature gradient, electromagnetic radiation, light, motion and chemical energy (Figure 1).
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Figure 1.
Energy harvesting sources.
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An energy harvester consists of:
an energy source (which is natural or artificial);
one or more transducers that convert environmental energy into electrical energy;
an energy storage device (e.g., a rechargeable battery or a capacitor that stores the harvested energy);
The most used energy harvesters are: thermal harvester based on the thermoelectric effect; light harvester based on the photoelectric effect; electromagnetic harvester based on induction; chemical harvester based on different reactions on the electrodes surfaces; piezoelectric harvester based on mechanical vibrations or human motion (which converts pressure or stress into electricity); radio-frequency (RF) harvester (that captures the ambient radio-frequency radiation).
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Thermoelectric energy harvesting mainly depends on the operation of the thermoelectric generator (TEG). A TEG converts heat directly into electrical energy according to the Seebeck effect. In this case, the motion of charge carriers (electrons and holes) leads to a temperature difference across this device. Its operation is described in Section 2.3. Furthermore, the thermoelectric energy harvesting system can generate power from hundreds of μW to mW for different sensors and transmitters.
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In the last decades, the specialists’ attention has been focused on the development of green energy technology to decrease fossil fuel utilisation and greenhouse gas emissions. A thermoelectric harvester produces green energy for energy harvesting with a multitude of advantages: maintenance-free, because of the use of highly reliable and compact solid-state device; silent and quiet; highly efficient in environmental terms because the heat is harvested from waste heat sources and converted into electricity; operation with high maximum temperatures (up to 250°C); useful scalable applications configured to harvest wide amounts of energy when necessary; possibility to harvest power from both hot surface or cold surface; green energy behaviour, being eco-friendly [5]. A TEG device produces energy without using fossil fuel, leading to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
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Unlike thermodynamic PV systems or conventional heat engines (Rankine, Stirling), the energy conversion efficiency of the TEG is limited to about 5–15% [6]. The temperature difference across the TEG system and the dimensionless thermoelectric figure-of-merit (\n\nZT\n\n) have a major impact on the energy conversion efficiency [7]. It is desirable to obtain the maximum electric output power and efficiency when a TEG system operates. In case of waste heat recovery applications [8], only electric output power is significant and the heat not recovered is lost [9]. Considering that thermal energy harvesting has a reduced efficiency (5–6%), this could represent a major barrier for its extensive utilisation. An improvement in the TEG efficiency bigger than 10% has been lately obtained due to the progress of new thermoelectric materials [10].
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The recovery of the electrical energy from waste heat using diverse sources is depicted in Figure 2.
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Figure 2.
Electrical energy recovered from waste heat.
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2. Basic principles of thermoelectric energy generation
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\n
2.1. Thermoelectric effects
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The thermoelectric effects are reversible phenomena leading to direct conversion between thermal and electrical energy [9]. Direct energy conversion relies on the physical transport properties of the thermoelectric materials (thermal conductivity, electric conductivity and Seebeck coefficient) and their energy conversion efficiency in terms of the figure-of-merit. These materials are suitable to convert thermal energy into electrical energy and vice-versa. The main phenomena that occur in a thermoelectric device are the thermoelectric effects (Seebeck, Peltier, Thomson), and the Joule effect.
When the electrical energy is converted into thermal energy, the phenomenon is known as the Peltier effect, with applications in cooling and heating. The device used in such applications is called thermoelectric cooler (TEC) [11, 12, 13]. In this case, thermoelectric modules are efficient temperature controllers [14].
When the thermal energy is converted into electrical energy, the phenomenon is known as the Seebeck effect, with applications for power generation. The device used in such applications is called thermoelectric generator (TEG) [15, 16].
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The Seebeck effect occurs when a temperature difference across a conductor provides a voltage at the conductor ends. Two distinct conductors A and B are linked together to compose the junctions of a circuit (Figure 3). These conductors are connected electrically in series and thermally in parallel. One junction has the hot temperature Th and another one has the cold temperature Tc, with Th bigger than Tc. The Seebeck effect appears due to the thermal diffusion which provokes the motion of the charge carriers (electrons or holes) across (or against) temperature difference in the conductors.
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Figure 3.
Schematic of the Seebeck effect in an open circuit.
\n
The Seebeck voltage at the circuit junctions can be written as:
where \n\n\nα\nA\n\n\n and \n\n\nα\nB\n\n\n are the Seebeck coefficients for the conductors A and B, in V·K−1.
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The Seebeck coefficient of a thermoelectric material or thermopower\n\n\nα\nAB\n\n\n is the connection parameter between the input temperature difference and the output voltage difference. The Seebeck coefficient of a thermoelectric material depends on temperature, as well as on other two physical transport properties (thermal conductivity, electric conductivity). It determines the thermoelectric material performance. Its magnitude ranges from μV·K−1 to mV·K−1 and depends on the junction temperature, and its sign is influenced by the semiconductor material [17]. Furthermore, the sign of the Seebeck coefficient depends on the type of carriers (electrons e− and holes h+) conducting the electric current. If the electric current is conducted by e−, the sign of the Seebeck coefficient is negative. If the electric current is conducted by h+, the sign of the Seebeck coefficient is positive [18].
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The Seebeck coefficient\n\n\n\nα\nAB\n\n\n, the temperature gradient \n\n∇\nT\n\n, and the electric field \n\nE\n\n are written under the following relationship:
\n
\n\n\nα\nAB\n\n=\n\nE\n\n∇\nT\n\n\n\nE2
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The Thomson effect affirms that in any conductive material in which the electrical current flows in the presence of a temperature difference between two ends, heat is also released or absorbed. The Thomson heat released or absorbed is given as:
where \n\nρ\n=\n\n1\nσ\n\n\n is the electrical resistivity in \n\n\n\nΩ\n·\nm\n\n\n\n,\n\n\nσ\n\n is the electrical conductivity in \n\n\n\nS\n·\n\nm\n\n−\n1\n\n\n\n\n\n, \n\nJ\n\n is the current density in \n\n\n\nA\n·\n\nm\n\n−\n2\n\n\n\n\n\n, \n\n\nμ\nAB\n\n\n is the Thomson coefficient in [V·K−1], and \n\n∇\nT\n\n is \n\n∇\nT\n=\n\n\nd\nT\n\n\nd\nx\n\n\n\n is the temperature gradient along the conductor in \n\n\n\nK\n.\n\n\n\n
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Joule heating occurs when an electric current that flows through a conductor produces heat. Joule heating does not change its sign in Eq. (3), while Thomson heating (the second term) changes its sign, following J.
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Therefore, the sign convention of the Thomson coefficient is considered as [17]:
positive when the current flows from the low-temperature side to the high-temperature side of the conductor and the heat is absorbed through it;
negative when the current flows inversely and the heat is rejected from it;
null when the current flows from the high to the low side and vice-versa and the heat is neither generated nor absorbed.
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The following relationships hold between the Seebeck coefficient and the Peltier coefficient, as well as between the Seebeck coefficient and the Thomson coefficient. These are called Thomson relations [14]:
2.2. Thermoelectric effects and thermodynamic processes
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Thermoelectric effects that take place in TEG devices are subject to the thermodynamic laws. According to thermodynamics, the heat transfer across a finite temperature difference is an irreversible process and the entropy change of such process is positive. The heat conduction and Joule heating are considered as irreversible processes.
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The heat is irreversibly produced according to the Joule effect when an electrical current flows through a conductor or semiconductor. The Joule effect takes place at the TEG interconnects due to their electrical contact resistance or in a thermocouple. Other irreversibilities are found in the heat transfer between the TEG and the local environment [9]. If the irreversible processes are removed, the entropy becomes null. In this case, the ideal conditions given by the Carnot efficiency or COP (coefficient of performance) are achieved [19]. A deep overview of steady-state irreversible processes as heat conduction in semiconductor materials, metals and other solid-state devices is presented in [19, 20]. The Seebeck, Thomson and Peltier effects are reversible thermodynamic processes [21]. When the current flows through a conductor, both the Joule effect and the Thomson effect take place simultaneously, and the magnitude of the Thomson effect is about two times less than the magnitude of the Joule effect [17].
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\n
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2.3. TEG structure and model
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The TEG device is composed of one or more thermoelectric couples. The simplest TEG consists of a thermocouple, comprising a pair of P-type and N-type thermoelements or legs connected electrically in series and thermally in parallel. The differentiation between N- and P-doped materials is important. The P-type leg has a positive Seebeck coefficient and an excess of holes h+. The N-type leg has a negative Seebeck coefficient and an excess of free electrons e− [22]. The two legs are linked together on one side by an electrical conductor forming a junction or interconnect, usually being a copper strip. Let us denote the voltage at the outside terminal connected to the N-type leg on the cold side of TEG as V2, while the voltage at the external terminal connected to the P-type leg on the cold side of TEG is V1 (Figure 4). An electrical load having resistance RL is connected in series with the output terminals of TEG creating an electric circuit. When the electric current flows in this electrical load, an electrical voltage is generated at its terminals. The TEG device will generate DC electricity as long as there is a temperature gradient between its sides. When the temperature difference ΔT = Th − Tc across the TEG device increases, more electric output power will be generated.
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Figure 4.
Schematic of a TEG device with a single thermoelectric couple and two legs.
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A number of thermoelectric couples n form a TEG system wired electrically in series and sandwiched between two ceramic plates to maximise the output voltage from the TEG (Figure 5).
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Figure 5.
Schematic of a TEG device with n thermoelectric couples.
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In this case, the equivalent internal resistance of the thermoelectric couples in series is:
where \n\nρ\n=\nR\n·\n\nS\nL\n\n\n is the electrical resistivity of each leg, S is the cross-sectional area of the each leg in\n\n\n\n\nm\n2\n\n\n\n, \n\nL\n\n is the leg length in \n\n\nm\n\n\n, k is the thermal conductivity of each leg in \n\n\n\nW\n·\n\n\n\nm\n·\nK\n\n\n\n−\n1\n\n\n\n\n\n, and the thermal conductance of each leg is\n\n\nK\n=\nk\n\nS\nL\n\n\n in \n\n\n\nW\n·\n\nK\n\n−\n1\n\n\n\n\n\n
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These relations are further simplified considering that N-type and P-type legs are the same as form (\n\nL\n=\n\nL\nP\n\n=\n\nL\nN\n\n\n and \n\nS\n=\n\nS\nP\n\n=\n\nS\nN\n\n\n) and material properties (\n\nρ\n=\n\nρ\nP\n\n=\n\nρ\nN\n\n\n, and \n\nk\n=\n\nk\nP\n\n=\n\nk\nN\n\n\n). The equivalent internal resistance becomes:
If the electrical contact resistance \n\n\nR\na\n\n\n is not negligible, the equivalent internal resistance of the thermoelectric couples in series becomes:
where the load resistance \n\n\nR\nL\n\n\n is connected to the output of the circuit where the electric output power generated by TEG is consumed; the Seebeck voltage is VSeebeck = VP − VN = αPN · ΔT. The relationship between VSeebeck and ΔT is non-linear, therefore αPN depends on temperature.
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The electric output power delivered by TEG to the load is:
On the other side, the electric output power absorbed by the load (considering the conventional sign, with the current flowing as indicated in Figure 5) is:
The maximum electrical output power delivered by TEG is obtained if the load resistance is equal to the equivalent internal resistance of the thermoelectric couples in series \n\n\n\n\nR\nL\n\n=\nR\n\n\n\n [23].
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The heat flow rate absorbed at the hot junction of the TEG depends on the Peltier heat, the heat conduction and the Joule heat. The heat flow rate absorbed at the hot junction depends on the thermoelectric material properties and leg geometries:
A TEG could be considered as a thermal battery, a physical structure used to store and release thermal energy. The electromotive force of this thermal battery is the Seebeck voltage (Figure 6).
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Figure 6.
Equivalent circuit of a TEG device.
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2.4. Components of a thermoelectric energy harvesting system
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A thermoelectric energy harvesting system consists of the following parts (Figure 7):
Thermoelectric generator (TEG): if ΔT is kept between the hot and cold sides of the device, an external circuit can be supplied by the voltage resulting at the TEG output terminals, providing power to the external electrical load. A single TEG generates power from 1 to 125 W. The use of more TEGs in a modular connection may increase the power up to 5 kW and ΔTmax could be bigger than 70°C.
Heat source, for example, a heat pipe system (the TEG devices and the heat pipe system can be used together in waste heat recovery systems). The heat pipe is a passive (no moving parts or fan) metallic device which has a high heat transfer capacity (very high thermal conductivity), with minimal thermal resistance and almost no heat loss; it operates in a medium temperature to high-temperature range; the common working fluid is water operating at a temperature of about 300°C; for higher operating temperature ranges other working fluids are used (e.g., naphthalene or liquid metals like potassium and sodium) [24]; heat pipes are used for temperature regulation of the TEGs; in some applications (e.g., industrial glass processes) a heat exchanger can be attached on the hot side; its role is to absorb the thermal energy (e.g., from the glass process exhaust stream) and to transfer it to the TEG, which converts it partially into electrical energy; the remaining unconverted thermal energy is transferred from the TEG cold side to the cold source, and is dissipated to the environment at ambient temperature Tamb.
Cold source is the heat transfer system containing heat exchangers (heat sinks, coils, cooling blocks and radiators) to enhance the heat dissipation across the TEG; this process is useful to obtain a bigger temperature difference across the TEG [7, 25]; the heat sink is a device that has the role to transfer heat from a hot surface to a fluid (gas, ambient air or liquid); the assessment and design of different heat sink types for TEG system is presented in [26]. The metal heat sink contains many fins. To increase its dissipation rate, the fins area, the heat transfer coefficient, and the fin thermal conductivity are raised.
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Figure 7.
Block diagram of a thermoelectric energy harvesting system.
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The heat sink is required at the TEG when a high heat flow rate is applied on the TEG hot side, and the cold side is kept at low temperature, leading to high conversion efficiency; in this case, the TEG efficiency is strongly influenced by the TEG design.
DC-DC converter (Boost, Buck-Boost, Buck, Sepic, or Cuk converter), which is a power electronic circuit designed for voltage conversion (to convert a DC source from one voltage level to another voltage level) [27]; since the output voltage of the TEG is low or is not constant, it is necessary to provide a DC-DC converter; its role is to increase the output voltage obtained in the TEG (which depends on the number of TEGs in series and on the TEG features) corresponding the requirements of the external load. For these DC-DC converters, accurate control is necessary. In this case, the implementation of the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithm within the DC-DC converter controller is essential. To enhance the real system feasibility, it is necessary to harvest from TEGs as much electric output power as possible; the effectiveness of TEG operation could be checked by assessing the DC-DC converter operation and the MPPT control.
DC load, used to be connected to a supercapacitor or to recharge a battery to store energy; the battery stores DC voltages at a charging mode and powers DC electrical energy in a discharging mode; typical DC loads for TEG like batteries operate at 12 V; the output voltage of the TEG device at the MPP (Maximum Power Point) must be higher than 12 V for example in buck converter applications [27]; to avoid the battery overcharging a battery regulator is sometimes used; the electric power output from the DC-DC converter can be stored over time in a supercapacitor, to be released to the load when needed [28].
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The efficiency of the thermoelectric energy harvesting system is defined as the ratio of the electrical energy output (used or stored) to the total energy input. This efficiency also contains the electrical efficiency of TEGs, the heat exchangers efficiency, as well as the efficiency of the DC-DC converter. The total energy input especially depends on the energy obtained from the hot source. Also, the total energy input depends to a lesser extent on the mechanical energy needed to operate the thermoelectric energy harvesting system (e.g., pressure losses in the heat exchangers or cooling of the cold heat sink) [29].
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Researchers are focused on the improvement of the thermoelectric conversion efficiency of TEGs. For this reason, two objectives must be fulfilled. The first objective is to improve the dimensionless figure-of-merit ZT by the optimisation of thermoelectric materials. The second objective is to decrease the thermal resistance between the heat source and the hot side of the TEG, as well as between the cold side of the TEG and the environment [30].
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2.5. Efficiency assessment of a TEG device
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The electrical efficiency of a TEG (or thermoelectric conversion efficiency) is the ratio between the electric output power P delivered to the load and the rate of heat input \n\n\n\nQ\ṅ\n\nh\n\n\n absorbed at the hot junction of the TEG and transferred through the TEG. This means that a TEG converts the rate of heat input \n\n\n\nQ\ṅ\n\nh\n\n\n into electric output power\n\n\nP\n\n with electrical efficiency\n\n\n\nη\nTEG\n\n\n [5].
where T is the absolute temperature representing the mean temperature between the cold side and hot side of the TEG and is written as \n\nT\n=\n\n\n\nT\nh\n\n+\n\nT\nc\n\n\n2\n\n\n .
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The efficiency corresponding to \n\n\nP\nmax\n\n\n\nis:
The TEG device operates as all thermal engines with efficiency less than the efficiency of ideal Carnot cycle \n\n\nη\nC\n\n=\n\n\n\nT\nh\n\n−\n\nT\nc\n\n\n\nT\nh\n\n\n=\n\n\n∆\nT\n\n\nT\nh\n\n\n<\n1\n\n [31]:
\n
\n\n\nη\nTEGmax\n\n<\n\nη\nC\n\n\nE23
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In this case, the thermoelectric conversion efficiency is limited by the Carnot efficiency and is written, by introducing the reduced efficiency \n\n\nη\nr\n\n\n, as:
For a cold side temperature of Tc = 300 K and ΔT in the range of 20 K, \n\n\nη\nTEGmax\n\n≅\n1\n%\n\n is obtained [32]. As observed in Eq. (24), the TEG efficiency strongly depends on the operating temperatures of TEG (\n\n∆\nT\n\n between the junctions), the dimensionless thermoelectric figure-of-merit ZT, and additionally the TEG design (cross-sectional area, length and shape) [33].
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The TEG efficiency\n\n\n\nη\nTEG\n\n\n rises almost linearly with \n\n∆\nT\n\n, and the ratio \n\n\n\nη\nr\n\n\nT\nh\n\n\n\n is almost constant [5]. The bigger the temperature difference, the more efficient the TEG device will be. A TEG can work at about 20% of the Carnot efficiency over a large temperature range [24]. The TEG efficiency is about 5% and its electric output power is delivered at any ΔT. If materials with ZT = 10 would exist, there could be TEGs with \n\n\nη\nTEG\n\n=\n25\n%\n\n at ΔT = 300 K [25].
\n
The thermoelectric waste heat recovery is influenced to a bigger extent by the thermoelectric conversion efficiency\n\n\n\nη\nTEG\n\n\n, and to a lesser extent by the heat exchanger design. The ratio between thermal efficiency \n\n\nη\nt\n\n\n and thermoelectric conversion efficiency represents the fraction of waste heat passed through the thermoelectric couples, given as [34]:
\n
\n\nε\n=\n\n\nη\nt\n\n\nη\nTEG\n\n\n\nE26
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The maximum efficiency \n\n\nη\nTEGmax\n\n\n depends on the temperature difference \n\n∆\n\nT\nTEG\n\n\n at which the TEG works [31]. The maximum conversion efficiency occurs when:
2.5.1. The dimensionless thermoelectric figure-of-merit \n\nZT\n\n\n
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The dimensionless thermoelectric figure-of-merit \n\nZT\n\n is used to characterise a thermoelectric material performance, as well as the efficiencies of various TEGs working at the same temperatures [24].
\n
ZT depends on the physical transport properties: the thermal conductivity \n\nk\n\n, the electrical conductivity\n\n\nσ\n=\n\n1\nρ\n\n\n, and the Seebeck coefficient\n\n\nα\n\n:
The upper side term\n\n\n\nα\n2\n\n·\nσ\n\n is called the power factor, a parameter that assesses the performance of a thermoelectric material.
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The higher is ZT, more performant is the thermoelectric material and the better is the TEG. In the practical applications, the maximum ZT is about 2 and corresponds to a maximum conversion efficiency of about 20% [35].
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A good thermoelectric material must fulfil the following requirements:
Seebeck coefficient as high as possible to maximise energy conversion; the generated open-circuit-voltage is proportional to the Seebeck coefficient and to the temperature difference across the TEG (VSeebeck = αPN · ΔT). In this case, a high Seebeck coefficient leads to a high voltage. This condition is very important for increasing the energy conversion [22].
Electrical conductivity \n\nσ\n\n as high as possible in order to reduce Joule heating due to the internal electrical losses [22].
Thermal conductivity \n\nk\n\n as low as possible to maintain heat at the junctions, to allow a large ΔT maintained across the TEG, and to minimise thermal losses through the thermoelectric material [19].
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The effective figure-of-merit of TEG, \n\n\nZT\nTEG\n\n\n depends on the dimensionless thermoelectric figure-of-merit, and the specific contact electrical resistivity according to the expression:
where \n\n\nρ\na\n\n=\n\nR\na\n\n·\n\nS\na\n\n\n is the specific contact electrical resistivity. Ideally, for an efficient TEG \n\n\nρ\na\n\n<\n1\nμΩ\n·\n\ncm\n2\n\n\n and instead, for a typical TEG, \n\n\n\nρ\na\n\n<\n2\n·\n\n10\n\n−\n4\n\n\nΩ\n·\n\ncm\n2\n\n\n [36].
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Although the low efficiency is a drawback to the progress of TEGs, researchers’ and manufacturers’ attention is focused on the improvement of the following characteristics:
the dimensionless thermoelectric figure-of-merit \n\nZT\n\n;
the operating range of thermoelectric materials to work with the ΔT as high as possible;
the use of low-price materials to reduce the negative impact of low efficiency [29].
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The most popular thermoelectric material is Bismuth Telluride (Bi2Te3). Its utilisation in TEGs is limited (only for industrial modules with an average value of ZT from 0.5 to 0.8) because the maximum temperature at the hot side of the devices is relatively reduced [29]. In the power generation applications, the best commercially available TEGs made of Bi2Te3 have a ZT of about 1 at the temperature 300 K, leading to a low thermal efficiency of the thermoelectric device (less than 4%) [24]. The thermoelectric materials must be both stable from the chemical point of view and strong from the mechanical point of view at high temperatures (e.g., for the automotive exhaust waste heat recovery, at specific working conditions, the range of the average exhausts temperature is from 500 to 600°C with values increasing up to 1000°C) [37]. To improve the thermoelectric properties of TEG, the researchers’ attention is focused on the development of new thermoelectric materials. Calcium manganese and lead telluride are the thermoelectric materials used in the TEG legs, because they resist at higher temperatures. The hot side of TEG is made of materials having a high ZT at higher temperatures (e.g., lead telluride). The cold side of the TEG is made of materials having high ZT at reduced temperatures (e.g., Bi2Te3) [24]. At present, even though the research of the thermoelectric materials development is focused on obtaining the high ZT of 2, unfortunately the efficiency of TEG is limited to\n\n\n\nη\nTEG\n\n<\n10\n%\n\n [38]. Significant progress has been made towards increasing the thermoelectric efficiency of different inorganic material classes (e.g., skutterudites [39], tellurides [40, 41], half-Heuslers [42] and silicides [43]). The researchers’ attention is focused on the development of organic materials for thermoelectric energy harvesting due to their advantages (e.g., low-cost, reliability, low weight and so on). For this reason, some polymers with different doping levels (like polyaniline (PANI), polyamide (PA), and poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) or PEDOT) are assessed for future applications [44].
\n
To obtain high efficiency, segmented TEGs use high-temperature differences to raise the Carnot efficiency \n\n\nη\nC\n\n\n [45]. When a TEG operates with a high-temperature difference, each thermoelement of the device can be divided into multiple segments of different thermoelectric materials. In this way, each material is working in a more limited temperature range where this has a good performance [46]. The segmented design of a TEG is an efficient mode to improve its performance. In this case, two or more thermoelectric materials along the direction of the leg height are used to match the optimal temperature range of the thermoelectric material. It means that a thermoelectric material with high efficiency at raised temperature is segmented with another thermoelectric material with high efficiency at reduced temperature [45]. The maximum efficiency is obtained when the relative current density \n\n\nJ\n¯\n\n\n is equal to the compatibility factor \n\nu\n\n of the thermoelectric material [47]:
The compatibility factor is used for choosing the proper material [48]. El-Genk and Sabre [46] obtained a TEG energy conversion efficiency of about 12% by using a segmented thermoelectric couple. Snyder [47] observed that the segmentation of the thermoelements with SnTe or PbTe produced low extra power, while the filled Skutterudite obtained an increment in efficiency from 10.5 to 13.6%. Further studies [47, 48] reported that the segmentation was efficient only for \n\nu\n≤\n2\n.\n\n Ngan et al. [49] demonstrate that segmentation reduces the total efficiency by neglecting the compatibility factor of thermoelectric materials. Hung et al. [50] showed that the performance and the power production of the segmented TEG are three times bigger than a normal TEG. The analytical assessment concerning the effect of the leg geometry on the performance of the segmented TEG was performed in [51, 52]. Their conclusion is that both power and efficiency are increased when the segmented TEG is used. Vikhor and Anatychuk [53] carried out a theoretical analysis. The results showed an efficiency of the segmented TEGs bigger than 15% compared to the non-segmented TEGs. Zhang et al. [54] proposed a design method of optimization with predictive performance to obtain maximum conversion efficiency. In this case, the segmented modules consisted of Bi2Te3-based alloys and CoSb3-based skutterudites, with an efficiency of 12% when working under a Δt = 541°C. The very low losses and the good design based on the numerical evaluation showed that the conversion efficiency was up to 96.9% of the theoretical efficiency.
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2.5.2. TEG design for energy harvesting applications
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In TEG systems, a crucial factor is the optimisation of the systems design, together with the heat source and heat sink attached to the TEG device. Industrial utilisation of TEGs needs other components (like heat exchangers and DC-DC converter) to form a powerful TEG [29].
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The TEG performance is influenced not only by the low conversion efficiency, but also by the heat transfer conditions on the cold and hot sides of TEG and its geometry. The ΔT between two junctions depends on the good heat transfer between TEGs and heat sources or heat sinks. For this reason, the design and interactions between heat exchangers and TEGs are very important problems. There are two paths to solve these problems together. The first path is the optimisation of the TEGs system. The second path is the enhancement of the heat transfer at the TEG sides [55].
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2.5.2.1. Optimization of the TEG device
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The TEG device optimisation is correlated with the impact of the geometry device [56]. It has been demonstrated that an important rise in the electric output power from TEG is obtained by changing the leg geometry. The leg geometry is optimised by determining the leg height and the number of thermocouples, leading to maximisation of electric output power or efficiency at given operating conditions. Therefore, there is interdependence between the optimal leg geometry and the electrical load resistance RL for a TEG. Hodes [23] presented a method to compute the leg geometry (number and height) that maximises the electric output power and \n\n\nη\nTEG\n\n\n with negligible or finite electrical contact resistance at TEG interconnects. If a TEG has a low number of legs, the energy conversion is low, because the RL is not sufficient to obtain an adequate high voltage. Inversely, if a TEG has too many legs, the total equivalent resistance of the TEG will increase and relatively high Joule losses will occur in the TEG when the load is supplied.
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There is an optimal solution also for the leg length. If the leg is long, the electric output power is limited due to the increase in the internal resistance of the leg that limits the electric current. Conversely, a short leg will behave as a good thermal conductor that reduces the temperatures between its ends; hence, even though the internal electrical resistance will be low, the electric output power will not be significant and the electric conversion efficiency will be low [9].
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Lavric et al. [57] demonstrated that the electric output power is influenced by the effects above mentioned (a reduction of the leg length leads to a reduction of the electrical resistance; an increase of the leg length leads to the higher temperature difference across the TEG). If the geometric parameters of the TEG (leg length, semiconductor pair number and the base area ratio of semiconductor columns to TEG) are optimised, the electric output power and the thermoelectric conversion efficiency are considerably improved. Such an improvement is also reported in [58]. The first step was to consider the electric output power as the objective function and the inputs were the geometric parameters. The electrical output power values were about 269, 314, 338, and 893% higher than the values of the initial design. The second step was to consider the TEG conversion efficiency \n\n\nη\nTEG\n\n\n as the objective function. A \n\n\nη\nTEG\n\n\n rise is obtained for the optimal design at the same time with an important reduction of P. Finally, the third step was to use multi-objective optimization to improve both P and \n\n\nη\nTEG\n\n\n, simultaneously.
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Two dimensionless parameters influence the maximisation of the electric output power and the conversion efficiency of TEG [35]:
slenderness ratio, which is a geometric parameter:
The thermal efficiency of the TEG can be improved while decreasing the slenderness ratio for large external load parameters. Yilbas and Sahin [35] obtained high conversion efficiency for the slenderness ratio \n\n0\n<\nx\n<\n1\n\n in the case of all the external load parameters.
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Zhang et al. [55] propose a design method of thermoelectric elements segmentation of TEG, considering their length as the first design parameter. The optimal length ratio, referring to the highest values of the maximum electric output power, and the thermoelectric conversion efficiency are influenced by thermoelectric materials, leg geometry and heat transfer characteristics. Zhang et al. [59] proposed two new parameters, namely, the power factor associated with the electric output power, and the efficiency factor associated with the thermoelectric conversion efficiency. These new parameters are useful for obtaining the optimum temperature range of each segment:
considering that the thermoelectric materials of the TEG legs have the same physical transport properties (αP = –αN; σp = σN; kP = kN) and \n\nm\n\n is a variable factor that depends on the leg cross-sectional area, and on the heat transfer coefficients on both TEG sides.
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2.5.2.2. Heat transfer enhancement at the hot and cold sides
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The fins attached to the heat transfer surfaces are very important for enhancing the heat transfer at the hot and cold sides. One interface is between the heat sink and the TEG cold side, and the other interface is between the heat source and the TEG hot side.
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An increment of the fin height and fin number results when the electric output power of the TEG rises [60]. An optimal connection between the height and the number of fins to provide the maximum net electric output power is obtained in Jang et al. [60]. The heat transfer increases when the fin number is higher and the fin height rises, due to the extension of the heat transfer area. However, when the height of the fin increases over a given value, the change in the output electrical power becomes less significant. Borcuch et al. [61] investigated the effect of hot side heat exchanger design on the operating parameters of a TEG. Furthermore, the heat sink connected to the TEG device must be thermally matched with the TEG to maximise the electric output power and voltage. In this case, the thermal interface losses are practically negligible, that means \n\n\nT\nheat sink\n\n≅\n\nT\nc\n\n\n and \n\n\nT\nheat source\n\n≅\n\nT\nh\n\n\n.
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To maximise the output voltages of TEG, a big number of thermocouples are necessary, and their total thermal resistance must be equal to the thermal resistance of the heat sink. The reduced thermal resistance of the TEG decreases very much the temperature difference [62].
where \n\n\n\nQ\ṅ\n\nh\n\n\n the heat flow is given by Eq. (18) through the TEG, \n\n\nT\nheat sink\n\n\n is the heat sink temperature, and \n\n\nT\namb\n\n\n is the environmental temperature.
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The thermal resistance and thermal conductance of TEG are linked with each other by an inverse ratio as:
considering that \n\n\nR\nhs\n\n\n and \n\nR\n\n are connected in series with the total resistance \n\n\nR\ntot\n\n=\nR\n+\n\nR\nhs\n\n\n, and\n\n\n\nT\nheat source\n\n\n is the heat source temperature.
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The following cases may be considered:
If \n\n\nR\n\nR\nhs\n\n\n<\n1\n\n, a big heat source-to-environment \n\n∆\nT\n\n occurs across the heat sink and \n\n\n\n∆\nT\n\nTEG\n\n<\n∆\n\nT\nheat sink\n\n\n. In this case, a reduction of the thermoelectric conversion efficiency \n\n\nη\nTEG\n\n\n is observed, leading to a reduction of the TEG electric output power.
If \n\n\nR\n\nR\nhs\n\n\n>\n1\n\n, a big heat source-to-environment \n\n∆\nT\n\n occurs across the TEG and \n\n\n\n∆\nT\n\nTEG\n\n>\n∆\n\nT\nheat sink\n\n\n. In this case, an increment of the \n\n\nη\nTEG\n\n\n is observed, leading to a limited electric output power.
When \n\n\nR\n\nR\nhs\n\n\n=\n1\n\n, the electric output power has a peak. In this case, the lengths and cross sections of thermoelectric legs are adapted, \n\nR\n=\n\nR\nhs\n\n\n and \n\n∆\nT\n\n is equally divided between the heat sink and the TEG.
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Also, when the heat sinks are attached to both sides of the TEG, the total thermal resistance (thermal interfaces resistances and thermal resistances of the heat sinks) is equal to the \n\n\nR\nTEG\n\n\n for maximum electric output power [62]. The contact resistance decreases the electric output power by decreasing ΔT across the TEG. Furthermore, the thermal contact resistance between the TEG and the heat sink or heat source is decreased to reduce the contact effect [63].
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Astrain et al. [64] demonstrated the significance of decreasing the thermal resistance between the heat source and the hot side of the TEG, as well as the cold side of TEG and the environment. The numerical model assesses the TEG performance, taking into account the heat exchangers attached on both sides of the TEG, the heat source, as well as the heat sink. The results obtained show a good accuracy of the model. The results demonstrated that increasing by 10% the thermal resistances of both heat exchangers, the electric output power is improved by 8%. Martínez et al. [65] optimised the heat exchangers fixed on both sides of a TEG to maximise the electric output power. They have concluded that the thermal resistances of the heat exchangers are very important for TEG design. Zhou et al. [66] studied the heat transfer features of a TEG device. The heat transfer intensification on the cold side of the TEG leads to a significant reduction of the temperature and thermal resistance on this side, and implicitly a rise of the electric output power of the TEG device. Furthermore, Zhou et al. [66] highlighted that the refrigerant which flows by heat exchangers produce higher net powers than conventional heat sink with fins. An in-depth review of the heat sink for TEG and parameters affecting TEG performance is presented in [26].
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The refrigeration system of the TEG has been assessed by Aranguren et al. [30]. This system consists of a multi-channel heat exchanger attached to the cold side of the TEG, another heat exchanger used to decrease the refrigerant temperature, the pump to circulate the refrigerant, and the connecting pipes. A numerical model has been implemented to compute the total thermal resistance and the power consumption in the system components. In this model, all system elements have been included to obtain an accurate analysis. The combination of computational and experimental results shows that the system configuration leading to the maximum net power is different with respect to the configuration resulting in the lowest total thermal resistance.
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3. Applications using thermoelectrics in the power generation mode
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The favourable characteristics of the thermoelectric devices promote the development of standalone TEGs for energy harvesting in a wide range of applications (Figure 8) as military, aerospace (e.g., powering spacecraft), biological systems (e.g., to power implanted pacemakers) and other applications (e.g., power for wristwatches or mobile communications) [67]. The key element to improve the energy conversion efficiency of TEG is the effect of waste heat recovery. Waste heat represents the heat produced by machines (e.g., exhaust pipes from automobiles), industrial processes (e.g., cooling towers, burnt solid waste and radioactive wastes), electrical equipment (e.g., kerosene lamps) and the human body. For various TEG applications (e.g., waste thermal power recovery using TEGs and powering of wireless sensors by TEGs) even if ΔT is restricted, the available heat is higher than the capacity of the harvesters. In this case, the heat source delivers a constant heat flow rate at a constant ΔT. Low \n\n\nη\nTEGmax\n\n\n in such applications does not mean low TEG performance [32].
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Figure 8.
Energy conversion applications.
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3.1. Low-power generation for thermoelectric harvesting
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3.1.1. Microelectronic applications
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The TEG devices are especially suitable for waste heat harvesting for low-power generation to supply electric energy for microelectronic applications. Wearable TEGs harvest heat generated by the body to generate electricity. For this reason, it is possible to use waste human body heat to power a TEG watch device. In this case, the wristwatch can capture the thermoelectric energy. Now, body-attached TEGs are commercially available products including watches operated by body temperature and thin film devices. Some manufacturers produce and commercialise wristwatches with an efficiency about 0.1% at 300 mV open circuit voltage from 1.5 K temperature drop and 22 μW of electric output power under of TEG normal operation. A thermo-clock wristwatch produces a voltage of 640 mV and gives a power of 13.8 μW for each °C of temperature difference. A wristwatch with 1040 thermoelements generates in the same conditions at about 200 mV [25]. The wearable TEG performance is affected by the utilisation of the free air convection cooling on the cold side of TEG, the low operating temperature difference between the body and environment, as well as the demand for systems that are thin and lightweight, being practical for long-term usage [68].
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Furthermore, various microelectronic devices, like wireless sensor networks, mobile devices (e.g., mp3 player, smartphones and iPod), and biomedical devices are developed. The thermoelectric energy harvesters are microelectronic devices made of inorganic thermoelectric materials, at different dimensions, with a lifetime of about 5 years [69] and electric output powers are cardiac pacemakers (\n\nP\n=\n70\n÷\n100\n\nμW\n\n) [70], pulse oximeter \n\n\n\nP\n=\n100\n\nμW\n\n\n\n [71], wireless communication \n\n\n\nP\n∼\n3\n\nmW\n\n\n\n [72], electrocardiography (ECG)/electroencephalography (EEG)/electromyography (EMG) with \n\nP\n=\n60\n÷\n200\n\nμW\n\n [73], EEG headband (\n\nP\n=\n2\n÷\n2.5\n\nmW\n\n) [74], ECG system (\n\nP\n∼\n0.5\n\nμW\n)\n\n [75], Hearing aid (\n\nP\n∼\n1\n\nμW\n)\n\n [76] and Wireless EEG [77]. Together with the progress of flexible thermoelectric materials (both organic and inorganic materials), flexible TEGS system benefits from special attention. The flexible thermoelectric materials and maximum electric output power of various TEG systems are reported in [44].
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For these microelectronic devices, standard batteries are used. These batteries are made of various inorganic materials (like nickel, zinc, lithium, lead, mercury, sulphuric acid and cadmium) that are not friendly for the human body. In this case, the body-attached TEGs could be an alternative solution because the materials used are non-toxic [36].
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A TEG to be applied in a network of body sensors has been presented in [78]. In this case, the device has been fixed in a body zone, where the maximum body heat has been obtained and also maximum energy. This equipment is capable of storing about 100 μW on the battery, leading to an output voltage of 2.4 V. Another TEG has been designed to be used on the wrist [79]. The output voltage of the device was 150 mV under normal conditions and an electric output power of 0.3 nW.
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3.1.2. TEG as a thermal energy sensor
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Thermal energy sensors (like heat-flux sensors, infrared sensors, power ultrasound effect sensors, fluid-flow sensors and water condensation detectors) are used to convert heat flow rates into electrical signals by a TEG system [36].
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The heat-flux sensors are used to evaluate the thermoelectric properties of micro-TEGs. In this case, the generated power and the thermoelectric conversion efficiency are measured with high accuracy [80]. The electrical signal generated by the heat-flux sensor is proportional to the heat flow rate applied to the sensor surface. The convective heat flow rate is measured from the temperature difference between two sides of a thermal resistive element plate placed across the flow of heat. The heat radiated from the mass is absorbed by the infrared sensor (IR) and the temperature increase leads to the generation of the Seebeck voltage. The thermoelectric IR sensor operates in a range from 7 to 14 μm [69].
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3.2. High-power generation for thermoelectric harvesting
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About 70% of energy in the world is wasted as heat and is released into the environment with a significant influence on global warming [81]. The waste heat energy released into the environment is one of the most significant sources of clean, fuel-free and cheap energy available. The unfavourable effects of global warming can be diminished using the TEG system by harvesting waste heat from residential, industrial and commercial fields [36].
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TEG is substantially used to recover waste heat in different applications ranging from μW to MW. Different waste heat sources and temperature ranges for thermoelectric energy harvesting are shown in Table 2 [69].
Reciprocating engine exhausts Catalytic crackers Annealing furnace cooling systems
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\n
\n
Low temperature (230–650°C)
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32–55 27–50 27–88
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Cooling water Air compressors Forming Dies and pumps
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\n\n
Table 2.
Different waste heat sources and temperature ranges for thermoelectric harvesting technology.
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3.2.1. Automotive applications
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The automotive industry is considered as the most attractive sector in which TEGs are used to recover the lost heat. Various leading automobile manufacturers develop TEGs (\n\nP\n∼\n1\n\nkW\n)\n\n for waste recovery to reduce the costs of the fuel for their vehicles [82]. It has been demonstrated that vehicles (the gasoline vehicle and hybrid electric vehicles) have inefficient internal combustion engines. This can be observed in the Sankey diagram depicted in [83], which presents the energy flow direction of an internal combustion engine. The fuel combustion is used in a proportion of 25% for vehicle operation, 30% is lost into the coolant and 40% is lost as waste heat with exhaust gases. In this case, the TEG technology could be an option to recuperate the waste heat energy for gasoline vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles. A significant power conversion could be achieved by combining cooling system losses with the heat recovery from automobile exhausts. The use of TEG systems with an energy conversion of 5% would raise the electrical energy in a vehicle by 6% (5% from exhaust gases and 1% from the cooling system) [25].
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A TEG with \n\nZT\n=\n1.25\n\n and efficiency of 10%, can recover about 35–40% of the power from the exhaust gas where the power generated can help to increase the efficiency to up 16% [84]. The components where TEGs could be attached in a vehicle are the exhaust system and the radiators. In this case, the amount of waste heat is decreased and exhaust temperatures are reduced. These aspects require more efficiency from the TEG device. Furthermore, the design of such power conversion system takes into account various heat exchangers mounted on the TEG device. These systems have a lifecycle from 10 to 30 years and the materials accumulated on their surfaces from the exhaust gas, air or coolant represent a major concern in order to not damage their proper operation [85]. Important testing is helpful to confirm the reliability of TEG systems in automotive applications. Furthermore, the design requires knowing the maximum electric output power and conversion efficiency from TEG systems [37].
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The main components of the automotive TEG that considers waste heat like their energy source are one heat exchanger which takes heat from engine coolant and the exhaust gases and release it to the hot side of the TEG; the TEG system; one heat exchanger which takes the heat from the TEG and releases it to the coolant or to the air; the electrical power conditioning and the interface unit to supply the electric output power of the TEG system to the automobile electric system (Figure 9). Supplementary at these components, there are secondary components (e.g., the electronic unit, the electric pump, sensors system, valves, fans and so on) depending on the vehicle design and application type [85].
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Figure 9.
The main components of an automotive TEG system.
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Thacher et al. [86] carried out the feasibility of the TEG system installed in the exhaust pipe in a light truck by connecting a series of 16 TEG modules. The experimental results showed good performance of the system at high speeds. Hsiao et al. [87] carried out an analytical and experimental assessment of the waste heat recovery system from an automobile engine. The results showed better performance by attaching TEGs to the exhaust pipe than to the radiators. Hsu et al. [88] introduced a heat exchanger with 8 TEGs and 8 air-cooled heat sink assemblies, obtaining a maximum power of 44 W. An application to recover waste heat has been developed by Hsu et al. [89], for a system consisting of 24 TEGs used to convert heat from the exhaust pipe of a vehicle to electrical energy. The results show a temperature increase at the hot side Th from 323 to 403 K and a load resistance of 23–30 Ω to harvest the waste heat for the system. Tian et al. [90] theoretically analysed the performance between a segmented TEG (Bi2Te3 used in low-temperature region and Skutterudite in high-temperature areas) used to recover exhaust waste heat from a diesel engine and traditional TEG. They found that a segmented TEG is suitable for large temperature difference and a high-temperature heat source, and has a higher potential for waste heat recovery compared to the traditional device. Meng et al. [91] addressed the automobile performance when applying TEG in exhaust waste heat recovery. The results showed that the effects of the different properties and the heat loss to the environmental gas on performance are considerable.
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The conversion efficiency for the TEG system could be in the range of 5–10% [83]. The researchers’ attention is focused on the development of new thermoelectric materials that offer improved energy conversion efficiency and a working temperature range more significant than for internal combustion engines. It is planned by 2020, about 90% of cars in the USA to have mounted TEGs for their cooling equipment, thus replacing the air conditioning systems. In this case, an amount of 5% of daily average gasoline consumption would be saved and a significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions would be obtained [25].
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To recover waste heat from the exhaust gas of engines, the research efforts of manufacturers focused on different solutions to compete in the production of ever-cleaner cars. Even if the cost of the bismuth telluride is relatively high, the technical feasibility of TEGs for the automobile industry is widely demonstrated, making it very attractive. The goal of the manufacturers is to develop TEG systems with automated production and low-cost thermoelectric materials [29].
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3.2.2. Air applications
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3.2.2.1. Space vehicle applications
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A considerable amount of heat is released into the atmosphere from space vehicles (turbine engines from helicopters and aircraft jet engines) [29]. To obtain a significant reduction of the gas pollutant into the environment, it is necessary a remarkable reduction of electricity consumption and utilisation of the available energy in these types of vehicles. Implicitly, their operating costs are reduced [25].
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To power these space vehicles, TEG systems are used (e.g., on fixed-wing aircraft). The backup TEG is a type of static thermoelectric energy harvesting system with a significant temperature difference across the TEG around 100°C [92].
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TEG for energy harvesting uses the available temperature gradient and collects sufficient energy to power up an energy wireless sensor node (WSN) to be autonomous. This WSN is used for health monitoring systems (HMS) in an aircraft structure. The main components of a WSN are the energy source and the wireless sensor unit. An in-depth review of WSN mechanisms and applications is presented in [10].
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A TEG energy harvesting captures enough energy for a wireless sensor. One side of the TEG is fixed directly to the fuselage and the other side is attached to a phase-change material (PCM) heat storage unit to obtain a temperature difference during take-off and landing (Figure 10). PCM is considered an essential element for the heat storage unit because it can maximise the ΔT of the TEG system to solve the low TEG conversion efficiency [93]. In this case, the electrical energy is generated [94]. Water is an adequate PCM for heat storage. The temperature difference across the TEG is obtained from the slow changing temperature of the heat storage unit and the rapidly changing temperature of the aircraft fuselage. A lot of energy is produced during the PC, through latent heat [95, 96].
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Figure 10.
Schematic of the thermoelectric harvesting system in an aircraft.
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An application of Bi2Te3 modules on turbine nozzles has been addressed in [97]. Even though the electric power that can be harvested may be significant, the weight of the cold exchanger is still excessive for the specific application.
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Future applications in aircraft may be envisioned in locations in which there are hot and cold heat flows, especially with the use of light thermoelectric materials. However, one of the main issues remains the weight of the heat exchangers [29].
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3.2.2.2. Spacecraft applications
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The radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) are a solid and highly reliable source of electrical energy to power space vehicles being capable of operating in vacuum and to resist at high vibrations [98, 99]. RTGs are used to power space vehicles for distant NASA space expeditions (e.g., several years or several decades) where sunlight is not enough to supply solar panels [29]. The natural radioactive decay of plutonium-238 releases huge amounts of heat, which is suitable for utilisation in RTGs to convert it into electricity. The thermoelectric materials used the thermocouples of the RTGs are adequate for high temperature considering that the heat source temperature is about 1000°C [100]. These semiconductor materials can be silicon germanium (Si Ge), lead tin telluride (PbSnTe), tellurides of antimony, germanium, and silver (TAGS) and lead telluride (PbTe).
\n
\n
\n
\n
3.2.3. Marine applications
\n
Up to now, just a few surveys have been performed in the marine industry due to the lack of clear and stringent international rules at the global level. The marine transport has a significant influence on climate change because is a large amount of the greenhouse gas emissions [29]. The naval transport generates a wide amount of waste heat, used to provide thermal energy onboard and seldom electrical energy. The heat sources on the marine vessels are the main engine, lubrication oil cooler, an electrical generating unit, generator and incinerators. The utilisation of waste heat onboard is for heating heavy fuel oil and accommodation places, and for freshwater production. The main engine represents the principal source of waste heat. Board incinerators are used for burning the onboard waste instead to be thrown overboard to pollute the sea water. The incinerators are the most favourable TEG systems due to the availability of their high-temperature differences [101, 102].
\n
The specialists’ attention is focused on the future design and optimisation of the high-power density TEGs for the marine environment, as well as on the development of hybrid thermoelectric ships considered as green platforms for assessing the efficiency of TEGs [103].
\n
\n
\n
3.2.4. Industrial applications
\n
The industry is the field where most amounts of heat are emitted and released into the atmosphere in the form of flue gases and radiant heat energy with a negative impact to the environmental pollution (emissions of CO2). For this reason, thermoelectric harvesters are good candidates to recover waste heat from industries and convert it into useful power (e.g., to supply small sensing electronic device in a plant).
\n
Utilisation of TEGs in the industrial field is beneficial from two points of view:
in the industrial applications where recoverability of the waste heat by the conventional system (radiated heat energy) is very difficult to be done;
in the industrial applications where the use of thermoelectric materials reduces the need for maintenance of the systems and the price of the electric power is low, even if the efficiency is low [29].
\n
The results of a test carried out on a TEG system attached at a carburising furnace (made of 16 Bi2Te3 modules and a heat exchanger) are indicated in [104]. The system harvested about 20% of the heat (P = 4 kW). The maximum electrical output power generated by TEG has been approximately 214 W, leading to thermoelectric conversion efficiency 5%. Aranguren et al. [105] built a TEG prototype. The TEG has been attached at the exhaust of a combustion chamber, with 48 modules connected in series and two different kinds of finned heat sinks, heat exchangers and heat pipes. This TEG was used to recover waste heat from the combustion chamber. In this case, the main objective has been to maximise the electric output power generated by the TEG.
\n
For this reason, the dissipation systems have been used on both sides of TEG. This prototype has obtained a 21.56 W of net power using about 100 W/m2 from the exhaust gases of the combustion chamber. To recover the radiant heat from melted metal from the steelmaking industry, the TEG systems are also considered good candidates [29].
\n
Furthermore, TEGs are useful for recovery of waste heat from the cement rotary kiln to generate electricity, considering that the rotary kiln is the main equipment used for large-scale industrial cement production [106]. The performance of this hybrid Bi2Te3 and PbTe thermoelectric heat recovery system is obtained by developing a mathematical model. In this case, about 211 kW electrical output power and 3283 kW heat loss are saved by using a thermoelectric waste heat energy recovery system. The contribution of TEG is about 2%.
\n
The electric output power evaluation of a TEG system attached to an industrial thermal oil heater is presented in Barma et al. [107]. The impact of different design and flow parameters has been assessed to maximise the electrical output power. The estimated annual electrical power generation from the proposed system was about 181,209 kWh. The thermal efficiency of the TEG based on recently developed thermoelectric materials (N-type hot forged Bi2Te3 and P-type (Bi,Sb)2Te3 used for the temperature range of 300–573 K) was enhanced up to 8.18%.
\n
\n
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3.2.5. Residential applications
\n
In residential applications, TEGs can be feasible where the heat is transferred from high temperatures to a reduced temperature heat source, and then is released into the environment. In addition, TEG can be also feasible when thermal energy is accessible in high amounts without additional costs. Types of residential applications where TEG systems could be mounted are with TEGs attached to domestic boilers, TEGs attached to stoves, as well as TEGs attached to solar systems [27].
\n
\n
3.2.5.1. TEGs connected to the local heating boiler
\n
The heating boilers for residential applications provide central heating and hot water. These heating boilers are highly used in the places where the winter season with temperatures under 0°C has a long duration and the heating is necessary for all this period. The fuels used by these heating boilers can be biomass (e.g., firewood, wood pellets, wood chips) or renewable resources that provide a lower carbon footprint compared to fossil fuels [108, 109]. In spite of higher pollution, some residential applications use fossil fuel-fired boilers (boilers supplied with natural gas) due to their low maintenance [27]. Furthermore, the fuel combustion is high, providing combustion temperatures bigger than 1000°C.
\n
Instead, the heating boilers contain enhanced heat transfer surfaces due to the fins, and inside them combustion takes place at over 500°C. The heat obtained is used for water heating at temperatures fewer than 80°C. By considering that some thermoelectric materials are available for high temperatures, TEGs are very suitable for this type of equipment. In this case, high-temperature differences are obtained if the TEG cold side is mounted to the water heating side and the TEG hot side is mounted to the combustion chamber of the heat exchanger. The TEG system attached to the heating boiler must provide an electric output power \n\nP\n=\n30\n÷\n70\nW\n\n, as this boiler has to generate the power necessary to supply the auxiliary devices and the pumps of the heating system. These boilers are widely reviewed in [27].
\n
\n
\n
3.2.5.2. TEGs attached to the stove
\n
At the global level, over than 14% of the population is still living without electricity access according to the Energy Access Outlook 2017 [110]. To deliver a small amount of electricity by using power plants to this population could be very costly. Grid connection of villages in remote areas supposes to take into account the cost of the connection of the new power lines to the grid and the distribution cost on long distances [29]. Also, traditional biomass stoves (‘threestone fires’, ‘built-in stoves’ or ‘mud-stoves’) have a reduced thermal efficiency due to incomplete fuel burning, and a lot of the heat generated is wasted through the exhausts. Furthermore, the indoor air quality is very poor related to the utilisation of biomass fuels with a negative impact on the users’ health (e.g., lung diseases, respiratory tract infections, cardiac problems, stroke, eye diseases, tuberculosis and cancer) [111].
\n
Considering that most of the stoves are used in the rural areas in remote locations away from the grid, where the income of the population is very low, the solutions with such hybrid systems (TEGs attached to stoves) must be as inexpensive as possible. These hybrid systems must be very reliable and durable, taking into account this vital problem [111]. In this case, a TEG device attached to the stove equipment used for heating and food preparation could be an attractive option. The biomass stoves-powered TEG uses heat exchangers on both sides of TEG, as well as a power management system. The internal temperatures of a stove are bigger than 600°C, while most commercial TEGs can operate continuously at temperatures higher than 250°C, so that an appropriate hot side temperature could be obtained. To obtain a maximum electric output power, the cold side temperature must be very low. In this case, the cold sink dissipates a big amount of heat maintaining its low temperature [112].
\n
According to the literature survey, various extensive reviews about stove-attached TEG systems have been presented [27, 29, 111, 112, 113, 114]. A good option is the utilisation of the stoves using water as the cooling medium of the TEG to produce the maximum electric output power. The electrical output power decreases if the number of the TEGs is increased on the same heat sink. Such a hybrid system is suitable for complete combustion. The overall efficiency could be substantially improved [111].
\n
\n
\n
3.2.5.3. TEGs attached to the solar systems
\n
Solar TEG (STEG) systems, PV systems and concentrating solar power plants can generate electricity by using the solar heat. A STEG is composed of a TEG system sandwiched between a solar absorber and a heat sink as shown in Figure 11. The solar flux is absorbed by the solar absorber and concentrated into one point. Then, the heat is transferred through TEG by using a pipeline, and is partially converted into electrical power by the TEG. A heat sink rejects the excess heat at the cold junction of the TEG to keep a proper ΔT across the TEG [115].
\n
Figure 11.
Components of STEG system.
\n
Due to the development of the thermoelectric materials, a solar TEG with an incident flux of 100 kW/m2 and a hot side temperature of 1000°C could obtain 15.9% conversion efficiency. The solar TEG is very attractive for standalone power conversion. The efficiency of a solar TEG depends on both the efficiency with which sunlight is absorbed and converted into heat, and the TEG efficiency\n\n\nη\nTEG\n\n\n. Furthermore, the total efficiency of a solar TEG is also influenced by the heat lost from the surface. The efficiency of solar TEG systems is relatively small due to the low Carnot efficiency provoked by the reduced temperature difference across the TEG and the reduced ZT [116]. Its improvement needs to rise temperature differences and to develop new materials with high ZT like nanostructured and complex bulk materials (e.g., a device with ZT = 2 and a temperature of 1500°C would lead to obtain a conversion efficiency about 30.6%) [117]. According to the literature survey, both residential and commercial applications gain much more interest in the regions of incident solar radiation of solar TEGs. This can be explained by the fact that most of the heat released at the cold side of the TEG can be used for domestic hot water and space heating [115].
\n
\n
\n
\n
3.2.6. Grid integration of TEG
\n
Most TEG applications have been designed for autonomous operation within a local system. Of course, the TEG output may be connected to different types of loads. In general, a TEG can be seen as a renewable energy power generation source that supplies an autonomous system or a grid-connected system. To be suitable for grid connection, the TEG needs an appropriate power conditioning system. This power conditioning system has to be a power electronic system, with specific regulation capabilities, different with respect to the ones used for solar photovoltaic and wind power systems [114], because the TEG operating conditions are different with respect to the other renewable energy sources. Molina et al. [118] proposed a control strategy to perform energy conversion from DC to AC output voltage, which maintains the operation of the thermoelectric device at the MPP. In the same proposal, active and reactive power controls are addressed by using a dedicated power conditioning system.
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
4. Conclusions
\n
This chapter has addressed the structures and applications of TEGs in various contexts. It has emerged that the TEG is a viable solution for energy harvesting, able to supply electrical loads in relatively low-power applications. The TEG efficiency is also typically low. Thereby, the advantages of using TEG have to be found in the characteristics of specific applications in which there is a significantly high-temperature difference across the TEG system, and other solutions with higher efficiency cannot be applied because of various limitations. These limitations may be the relatively high temperatures for the materials adopted, the strict requirements on the system to be used (regarding the type of operation, emissions of pollutants, the position of the device during operation or noise). In these cases, TEGs may be fully competitive with the other solutions.
\n
In particular, the use of TEGs is entirely consistent with the provision of green energy through energy harvesting from even small temperature differences. Some low-power applications have been identified on electronic circuits, sensors, waste heat recovery, residential energy harvesting and automotive systems. In other applications to enhance the efficiency of the systems for energy production with a higher power, the efficiency increase is still somewhat limited to consider that an investment in TEG integration may be profitable. Nevertheless, there is a growing interest in the potential of thermoelectric applications. For the future, faster development of TEG solutions can be expected in a broader range of green energy applications. This development depends on improvements in the TEG technology, better information on the TEG characteristics, and the testing of new solutions aimed at promoting better integration in the energy production systems.
\n
\n
Nomenclature
Acronyms
COP
coefficient of performance
DC
direct current
ECG
electrocardiography
EEG
electroencephalography
EMG
electromyography
HMS
health monitoring systems
IR
infrared sensor
MPP
maximum power point
MPPT
maximum power point tracking
PANI
polyaniline
PA
polyamide
PCM
phase-change material
PC
phase-change
PEDOT
poly
RF
radio-frequency
RTG
radioisotope thermoelectric generator
STEG
solar thermoelectric generator
TEG
thermoelectric generator
WSN
wireless sensor node
Symbols
\n\n\nE\n\n\n
electric field (\n\nV\n·\n\nm\n\n−\n1\n\n\n\n)
\n\n\nI\n\n\n
electrical current (\n\nA\n)\n\n
\n\n\nJ\n\n\n
current density (\n\nA\n·\n\nm\n\n−\n2\n\n\n\n)
\n\n\n\nJ\n¯\n\n\n\n
relative current density (\n\nA\n·\n\nm\n\n−\n2\n\n\n\n)
\n',keywords:"thermal energy, Seebeck effect, thermoelectric generator, thermoelectric materials, design, low-power applications",chapterPDFUrl:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs/65239.pdf",chapterXML:"https://mts.intechopen.com/source/xml/65239.xml",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/65239",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/65239",totalDownloads:3676,totalViews:3863,totalCrossrefCites:14,dateSubmitted:"May 15th 2018",dateReviewed:"December 12th 2018",datePrePublished:"January 21st 2019",datePublished:"February 20th 2019",dateFinished:"January 18th 2019",readingETA:"0",abstract:"Green energy harvesting aims to supply electricity to electric or electronic systems from one or different energy sources present in the environment without grid connection or utilisation of batteries. These energy sources are solar (photovoltaic), movements (kinetic), radio-frequencies and thermal energy (thermoelectricity). The thermoelectric energy harvesting technology exploits the Seebeck effect. This effect describes the conversion of temperature gradient into electric power at the junctions of the thermoelectric elements of a thermoelectric generator (TEG) device. This device is a robust and highly reliable energy converter, which aims to generate electricity in applications in which the heat would be otherwise dissipated. The significant request for thermoelectric energy harvesting is justified by developing new thermoelectric materials and the design of new TEG devices. Moreover, the thermoelectric energy harvesting devices are used for waste heat harvesting in microscale applications. Potential TEG applications as energy harvesting modules are used in medical devices, sensors, buildings and consumer electronics. This chapter presents an overview of the fundamental principles of thermoelectric energy harvesting and their low-power applications.",reviewType:"peer-reviewed",bibtexUrl:"/chapter/bibtex/65239",risUrl:"/chapter/ris/65239",signatures:"Diana Enescu",book:{id:"7695",title:"Green Energy Advances",subtitle:null,fullTitle:"Green Energy Advances",slug:"green-energy-advances",publishedDate:"February 20th 2019",bookSignature:"Diana Enescu",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7695.jpg",licenceType:"CC BY 3.0",editedByType:"Edited by",isbn:"978-1-78984-200-5",printIsbn:"978-1-78984-199-2",pdfIsbn:"978-1-83962-051-5",editors:[{id:"226207",title:"Ph.D.",name:"Diana",middleName:null,surname:"Enescu",slug:"diana-enescu",fullName:"Diana Enescu"}],productType:{id:"1",title:"Edited Volume",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},authors:[{id:"226207",title:"Ph.D.",name:"Diana",middleName:null,surname:"Enescu",fullName:"Diana Enescu",slug:"diana-enescu",email:"diana.enescu@valahia.ro",position:null,institution:null}],sections:[{id:"sec_1",title:"1. Background about energy harvesting",level:"1"},{id:"sec_2",title:"2. Basic principles of thermoelectric energy generation",level:"1"},{id:"sec_2_2",title:"2.1. Thermoelectric effects",level:"2"},{id:"sec_3_2",title:"2.2. Thermoelectric effects and thermodynamic processes",level:"2"},{id:"sec_4_2",title:"2.3. TEG structure and model",level:"2"},{id:"sec_5_2",title:"2.4. Components of a thermoelectric energy harvesting system",level:"2"},{id:"sec_6_2",title:"2.5. Efficiency assessment of a TEG device",level:"2"},{id:"sec_6_3",title:"2.5.1. The dimensionless thermoelectric figure-of-merit \n\nZT\n\n\n",level:"3"},{id:"sec_7_3",title:"2.5.2. TEG design for energy harvesting applications",level:"3"},{id:"sec_7_4",title:"2.5.2.1. Optimization of the TEG device",level:"4"},{id:"sec_8_4",title:"2.5.2.2. Heat transfer enhancement at the hot and cold sides",level:"4"},{id:"sec_12",title:"3. Applications using thermoelectrics in the power generation mode",level:"1"},{id:"sec_12_2",title:"3.1. Low-power generation for thermoelectric harvesting",level:"2"},{id:"sec_12_3",title:"3.1.1. Microelectronic applications",level:"3"},{id:"sec_13_3",title:"3.1.2. TEG as a thermal energy sensor",level:"3"},{id:"sec_15_2",title:"3.2. High-power generation for thermoelectric harvesting",level:"2"},{id:"sec_15_3",title:"3.2.1. Automotive applications",level:"3"},{id:"sec_16_3",title:"3.2.2. Air applications",level:"3"},{id:"sec_16_4",title:"3.2.2.1. Space vehicle applications",level:"4"},{id:"sec_17_4",title:"3.2.2.2. Spacecraft applications",level:"4"},{id:"sec_19_3",title:"3.2.3. Marine applications",level:"3"},{id:"sec_20_3",title:"3.2.4. Industrial applications",level:"3"},{id:"sec_21_3",title:"3.2.5. Residential applications",level:"3"},{id:"sec_21_4",title:"3.2.5.1. TEGs connected to the local heating boiler",level:"4"},{id:"sec_22_4",title:"3.2.5.2. TEGs attached to the stove",level:"4"},{id:"sec_23_4",title:"3.2.5.3. TEGs attached to the solar systems",level:"4"},{id:"sec_25_3",title:"3.2.6. Grid integration of TEG",level:"3"},{id:"sec_28",title:"4. Conclusions",level:"1"},{id:"sec_31",title:"Nomenclature",level:"1"}],chapterReferences:[{id:"B1",body:'Roundy S, Steingart D, Frechette L, Wright P, Rabaey J. Power sources for wireless sensor networks. In: 1st European Workshop on Wireless Sensor Networks Berlin; 2004\n'},{id:"B2",body:'Vullers RJM, van Schaijk R, Doms I, Van Hoof C, Mertens R. Micropower energy harvesting. Solid-State Electronics. 2009;53(7):684-693. DOI: 10.1016/j.sse.2008.12.011\n'},{id:"B3",body:'Steingart D, Roundy S, Wright PK, Evans JW. Micropower materials development for wireless sensor networks. MRS Bulletin. 2008;33(4):408-409. DOI: 10.1557/mrs2008.81\n'},{id:"B4",body:'Sim ZW. Radio frequency energy harvesting for embedded sensor networks in the natural environment [MS Degree thesis]. Manchester, England; 2011\n'},{id:"B5",body:'Snyder GJ. 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Integrity - We are consistent and dependable, always striving for precision and accuracy in the true spirit of science.
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Openness - We communicate honestly and transparently. We are open to constructive criticism and committed to learning from it.
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Disruptiveness - We are eager for discovery, for new ideas and for progression. We approach our work with creativity and determination, with a clear vision that drives us forward. We look beyond today and strive for a better tomorrow.
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What makes IntechOpen a great place to work?
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IntechOpen is a dynamic, vibrant company, where exceptional people are achieving great things. We offer a creative, dedicated, committed, and passionate environment but never lose sight of the fact that science and discovery is exciting and rewarding. We constantly strive to ensure that members of our community can work, travel, meet world-renowned researchers and grow their own career and develop their own experiences.
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If this sounds like a place that you would like to work, whether you are at the beginning of your career or are an experienced professional, we invite you to drop us a line and tell us why you could be the right person for IntechOpen.
Integrity - We are consistent and dependable, always striving for precision and accuracy in the true spirit of science.
\n\n
Openness - We communicate honestly and transparently. We are open to constructive criticism and committed to learning from it.
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Disruptiveness - We are eager for discovery, for new ideas and for progression. We approach our work with creativity and determination, with a clear vision that drives us forward. We look beyond today and strive for a better tomorrow.
\n\n
What makes IntechOpen a great place to work?
\n\n
IntechOpen is a dynamic, vibrant company, where exceptional people are achieving great things. We offer a creative, dedicated, committed, and passionate environment but never lose sight of the fact that science and discovery is exciting and rewarding. We constantly strive to ensure that members of our community can work, travel, meet world-renowned researchers and grow their own career and develop their own experiences.
\n\n
If this sounds like a place that you would like to work, whether you are at the beginning of your career or are an experienced professional, we invite you to drop us a line and tell us why you could be the right person for IntechOpen.
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