Soon, it will be possible to produce electricity from heat
over 30 degrees emitted from a waste incinerator, refinery, or data processor.
The start-up Osmoblue has just confirmed the feasibility of this new concept.
A large proportion of the energy consumed – between 20% to
50%, according to some studies – is dispersed as heat. Although it is already
possible to recycle heat at temperatures over 150 degrees to produce
electricity or to heat homes, the rest is simply released into the environment.
At a time when companies are forced to be concerned with their environmental
impact, this deficiency must be remedied. The start-up OsmoBlue, based in
EPFL’s Laboratory of Microsystems, developed a process based on the principle
of osmosis to convert heat over 30 degrees into electricity.