|  Author | Topic: Alternative Fuels (Read 10,495 times) |
Big Bunny
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« Reply #285 on Dec 7, 2007, 7:58pm » | |
Cleaner Diesels Thanks To Laser Light
ScienceDaily (Dec. 7, 2007) — Researchers have developed a laser system to investigate soot development in diesel engines. Small soot particles are not retained by a soot filter but are, however, more harmful than larger soot particles. Therefore, soot development needs to be tackled at the source. Laser Induced Incandescence is a technique that reveals exactly where soot is generated and can be used by project partners to develop cleaner diesel engines.
Measuring soot formation in a diesel engine is far from easy. Due to the turbulent environment in the combustion cylinder, no two combustion cycles are the same. Furthermore, the measurements are difficult to reproduce as the pressure at which fuel is injected into the cylinder causes an extra source of turbulence.
Bougie made his measurements in a glass cylinder with an engine adapted for this purpose.
Laser Induced Incandescence (LII) can be used to investigate optimal engine conditions that reduce soot emission from the engine. LII can be deployed in different types of engines and with different fuels. Bougie carried out measurements during higher and lower loading of the engine and for two different fuel injection systems: a line pump system and a common rail system.
Neither the engine load nor the injection system was found to affect the primary particle size of the soot emitted. However, there are many other motor settings that can lead to an improvement in the combustion.
The results of the measurements can now be used to verify existing combustion models at Eindhoven University of Technology. Together with the STW users' committee (participants are: DAF, Eindhoven University of Technology, Delft University of Technology, the University of Twente, Cyclone Fluid dynamics, EP Controls BV, Paul Scherrer Institute (Villigen, Switzerland), Royal Netherlands Naval College, TNO and Shell), Eindhoven University of Technology will investigate further improvements to the measuring system with the ultimate objective of producing cleaner diesel engines.
Bougie's doctoral research was part of a programme of the Institute for Molecules and Material (IMM) of the Radboud University Nijmegen and was performed in cooperation with the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland.
Bas Bougie's research was funded by Technology Foundation STW.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071207095100.htm
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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| | Re: Alternative Fuels
« Reply #286 on Dec 9, 2007, 1:33am » | |
Sunshine To Petrol Project Seeks Fuel From Thin Air
![[image]](http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/8700/0712081501352f6c61hz1.jpg "[image]")
Sandia researcher Rich Diver checks out the solar furnace which will be the initial source of concentrated solar heat for the CR5 prototype. Eventually parabolic dishes will provide the thermal energy. (Credit: Photo by Randy Montoya)
ScienceDaily (Dec. 8, 2007) — Using concentrated solar energy to reverse combustion, a research team from Sandia National Laboratories is building a prototype device intended to chemically “reenergize” carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide using concentrated solar power. The carbon monoxide could then be used to make hydrogen or serve as a building block to synthesize a liquid combustible fuel, such as methanol or even gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
The prototype device, called the Counter Rotating Ring Receiver Reactor Recuperator (CR5, for short), will break a carbon-oxygen bond in the carbon dioxide to form carbon monoxide and oxygen in two distinct steps. It is a major piece of an approach to converting carbon dioxide into fuel from sunlight.
The Sandia research team calls this approach “Sunshine to Petrol” (S2P). “Liquid Solar Fuel” is the end product — the methanol, gasoline, or other liquid fuel made from water and the carbon monoxide produced using solar energy.
CR5 inventor Rich Diver says the original idea for the device was to break down water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen could then fuel a potential hydrogen economy.
The Sandia researchers came up with the idea to use the CR5 to break down carbon dioxide, just as it would water. Over the past year they have shown proof of concept and are completing a prototype device that will use concentrated solar energy to reenergize carbon dioxide or water, the products of combustion. This will form carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and oxygen, which ultimately could be used to synthesize liquid fuels in an integrated S2P system.
Coresearchers on the project are Jim E. Miller and Nathan Siegel. Project champion is Ellen B. Stechel, manager of Sandia’s Fuels and Energy Transitions Department.
Stechel says that researchers have known for a long time that theoretically it might be possible to recycle carbon dioxide, but many thought it could not be made practical, either technically or economically.
“Hence, it has not been pursued with much vigor,” she says. “Not only did we think it was possible, the team has developed a prototype that they fully anticipate will successfully break down carbon dioxide in a clever and viable two-step process.”
Stechel notes that one driver for the invention is the need to reduce greenhouse gases.
“This invention, though probably a good 15 to 20 years away from being on the market, holds a real promise of being able to reduce carbon dioxide emissions while preserving options to keep using fuels we know and love,” she says. “Recycling carbon dioxide into fuels provides an attractive alternative to burying it.”
Providing funding for Sunshine to Petrol is Sandia’s internal Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program. The research has also attracted interest and some funding from DoD/DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency).
“What’s exciting about this invention is that it will result in fossil fuels being used at least twice, meaning less carbon dioxide being put into the atmosphere and a reduction of the rate that fossil fuels are pulled out of the ground,” Diver says.
As an example, he says, coal would be burned at a clean coal power plant. The carbon dioxide from the burning of the coal would be captured and reduced to carbon monoxide in the CR5. The carbon monoxide would then be the starting point of making gasoline, jet fuel, methanol, or almost any type of liquid fuel.
The prospect of a liquid fuel is significant because it fits in with the current gasoline and oil infrastructure. After the synthesized fuel is made from the carbon monoxide, it could be transported through a pipeline or put in a truck and hauled to a gas station, just like gasoline refined from petroleum is now. Plus it would work in ordinary gasoline and diesel engine vehicles.
Miller says that while the first step would be to capture the carbon dioxide from sources where it is concentrated — e.g., power plants, smokestacks, and breweries — the ultimate goal would be to snatch it out of the air. A S2P system that includes atmospheric carbon dioxide capture could produce carbon-neutral liquid fuels.
“Our overall objective with this prototype is to demonstrate the practicality of the CR5 concept and to determine how test results from small-scale testing can be expanded to work in real devices,” Miller says. “The design is conservative compared to what might eventually be developed.”
Diver says the prototype should be completed by early next year. He hand-built the precision device in a shop at Sandia’s National Solar Thermal Test Facility and is now waiting on a few parts to finalize it. Initial tests will break down water into hydrogen and oxygen. That will be followed by tests that similarly break down carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide and oxygen.
Besides having a nearly completed prototype, the research team has already proven that the chemistry works repeatedly through multiple cycles without losing performance and on a short enough cycle time for a practical device.
“We just now have to do it all in one continuous working device,” Siegel says.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071208150135.htm
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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| | Re: Alternative Fuels
« Reply #287 on Dec 12, 2007, 10:50am » | |
November 30, 2007
Biodiesel Takes to the Sky
An unmodified Czechoslovakian jet flew burning nothing but cooking oil
By David Biello
![[image]](http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/6808/927d3da9e7f299df32a95a7do1.jpg "[image]")
FRYING FUEL: BioJet 1 flew for 37 minutes with only pure cooking oil in its engines.
COURTESY OF RUDI WIEDEMANN
Biodiesel may not become the airplane fuel of the future but it did prove effective enough to recently power a 1968 L-29 Czechoslovakian jet—dubbed BioJet 1—up to 17,000 feet (5,180 meters) over 37 minutes. A three minute, 15-second test the day before was the world's first flight entirely fueled by cooking oil.
"She flew and she flew just fine," says physicist Rudi Wiedemann, president and CEO of Biodiesel Solutions, Inc., whose company provided the fuel for the historic October flight: fresh canola oil refined into biodiesel. "We wanted to show that it was doable by just going out and doing it."
Specifically, Doug Rodante, president of Green Flight International (a company in Florida that promotes alternative aviation fuels), and chief test pilot Carol Sugars, a senior pilot with the United Parcel Service (UPS), conducted extensive fuel tests on the ground, beginning with a 20 percent blend of biodiesel and normal jet fuel (kerosene known as Jet A) and progressing to 100 percent biodiesel (B100) as their confidence increased.
Revolutions per minute in the engine on B100 were at 98 percent, Rodante notes. "We didn't get full power, but we got an acceptable amount" he says. "It was a nonissue in climb performance and time to altitude."
The L-29 jet (acquired from the Ukrainian military) is one of the few planes capable of burning biodiesel at present, thanks to a built-in fuel warming system. Biodiesel can gel at cooler temperatures, such as those experienced on a winter's day or at high altitude. "Jet fuel and biofuel mix is something that is easily done. I don't believe 100 percent biofuel is the answer," Rodante says. "We can implement a 20 percent mix with no modifications in other aircraft."
Such a blend would offer significant environmental benefit—most notably reduced emissions of carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas. "As little as 20 percent biodiesel in petroleum diesel fuel will reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent," Wiedemann says. Airplanes emit roughly 12 percent of the man-made greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, but they are among the fastest growing sources and, potentially, the most damaging because of their release higher in the atmosphere. And the U.S. Air Force has been evaluating alternative fuels, including biofuels from animal fats, going so far as to certify the B-52 bomber to burn such synthetic fuels.
The Green Flight team is currently evaluating the exact emissions of the biodiesel burning as well as how it affected the various seals and rings in the L-29's jet engines. Until the latter testing is wrapped up and Biojet 1's safety is confirmed, the Federal Aviation Administration has grounded the plane. But Rodante says the evaluations could be completed within the next few weeks, after which he plans to fly the experimental jet from Reno, Nev., to Orlando, Fla.—the first transcontinental biodiesel flight, in eight stops. And, eventually, he hopes to fly a similarly fuelled plane around the world. "Aviation emissions are something that needs to be addressed," he says. "We're not moving fast enough."
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=biodiesel-takes-to-the-sky
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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| | Re: Alternative Fuels
« Reply #288 on Dec 13, 2007, 5:05am » | |
Making Gas Out Of Crude Oil: Discovery Could Lead To Dramatic Improvement In Fossil Fuel Processing
ScienceDaily (Dec. 12, 2007) — An international team that includes University of Calgary scientists has shown how crude oil in oil deposits around the world -- including in Alberta's oil sands -- are naturally broken down by microbes in the reservoir.
Their discovery could revolutionize heavy oil and oil sands production by leading to more energy-efficient, environmentally friendly ways to produce this valuable resource.
Understanding how crude oil biodegrades into methane, or natural gas, opens the door to being able to recover the clean-burning methane directly from deeply buried, or in situ, oil sands deposits, says Steve Larter, U of C petroleum geologist in the Department of Geoscience who headed the Calgary contingent of the research team.
The oil sands industry would no longer have to use costly and polluting thermal, or heat-based, processes (such as injecting steam into reservoirs) to loosen the tar-like bitumen so it flows into wells and can be pumped to the surface.
"The main thing is you'd be recovering a much cleaner fuel," says Larter, Canada Research Chair in Petroleum Geology. "Methane is, per energy unit, a much lower carbon dioxide emitter than bitumen. Also, you wouldn't need all the upgrading facilities and piping on the surface."
Biodegradation of crude oil into heavy oil in petroleum reservoirs is a problem worldwide for the petroleum industry. The natural process, caused by bacteria that consume the oil, makes the oil viscous, or thick, and contaminates it with pollutants such as sulphur. This makes recovering and refining heavy oil difficult and costly.
Some studies have suggested that biodegradation could by caused by aerobic bacteria, which use oxygen. But Larter and colleagues from the U of C, University of Newcastle in the U.K., and Norsk Hydro Oil & Energy in Norway, report in the journal Nature that the dominant process is, in fact, fermentation. It is caused by anaerobic bacteria that live in oil reservoirs and don't use oxygen.
"This is the main process that's occurring all over the Earth, in any oil reservoir where you've got biodegradation," Larter says.
Using a combination of microbiological studies, laboratory experiments and oilfield case studies, the team demonstrated the anaerobic degradation of hydrocarbons to produce methane. The findings offer the potential of 'feeding' the microbes and rapidly accelerating the breaking down of the oil into methane.
"Instead of 10 million years, we want to do it 10 years," Larter says. "We think it's possible. We can do it in the laboratory. The question is: can we do it in a reservoir?"
Doing so would revolutionize the heavy oil/oil sands industry, which now manages to recover only about 17 per cent of a resource that consists of six trillion barrels worldwide. Oil sands companies would be able to recover only the clean-burning natural gas, leaving the hard-to-handle bitumen and contaminants deep underground.
Understanding biodegradation also provides an immediate tool for predicting where the less-biodegraded oil is located in reservoirs, enabling companies to increase recovery by targeting higher-quality oil. "It gives us a better understanding of why the fluid properties are varying within the reservoir," Larter says. "That will help us with thermal recovery processes such as SAGD (steam-assisted gravity drainage)."
The research team also discovered an intermediate step in the biodegradation process. It involves a separate family of microbes that produce carbon dioxide and hydrogen from partly degraded oil, prior to it being turned into methane. This paves the way for using the microbes to capture this CO2 as methane, which could then be recycled as fuel in a closed-loop energy system. This would keep the CO2, a greenhouse gas blamed for global warming and climate change, out of the atmosphere.
The petroleum industry already has expressed interest in trying to accelerate biodegradation in a reservoir, Larter says. "It is likely there will be field tests by 2009."
http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2007/12/071212201431.htm
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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| | Re: Alternative Fuels
« Reply #289 on Dec 13, 2007, 5:34am » | |
Fuel Cells Help Make Noisy, Hot Generators A Thing Of The Past
![[image]](http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/1614/071212202013c9d947xe9.jpg "[image]")
The process of converting JP-8 into hydrogen for use in the on-board fuel cell. (Credit: Image courtesy of DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)
ScienceDaily (Dec. 12, 2007) — Advances in fuel desulfurization and reforming lead to a successful demonstration of a portable fuel cell system using JP-8 military jet fuel.
See further:
http://chem11.proboards2.com/index.cgi?b....e=19#1197541998
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
|
Big Bunny
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| | Re: Alternative Fuels
« Reply #290 on Dec 13, 2007, 5:36am » | |
Wind Power Explored Off California's Coast
![[image]](http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/8310/071212201424cd2bfcnj1.jpg "[image]")
Offshore wind farm at Middelgrunden, near Copenhagen, Denmark. Stanford researchers have recently assessed California's offshore wind energy potential. (Credit: LM Glasfiber, Image courtesy of Stanford University)
ScienceDaily (Dec. 12, 2007) — In many ways, wind energy seems an ideal energy source. Fields of mighty turbines spinning in rhythm could harness carbonless power and shuttle it off to homes and industries. But questions remain about the feasibility of wind parks: How much will they cost? Can this unpredictable energy source be relied upon to contribute appreciably to the country's power needs?
A team of Stanford researchers set out to find answers in a recent study of the California coast and will present their research during a Dec. 13 poster session at this year's meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. The poster is titled ''California Offshore Wind Energy Potential.''
Michael Dvorak, a Stanford doctoral student in civil and environmental engineering, joined Mark Jacobson, professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Cristina Archer, consulting assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, in evaluating the potential for harvesting wind energy offshore in California.
''This is basically the first study that's a detailed look at places where we could develop offshore wind energy in California,'' Dvorak said. ''Some of the studies have looked at the wind speeds offshore, but they hadn't looked at the [water] depth and wind speeds at this high of resolution.''
Deeper water means higher costs for building wind turbines. Not only would it require more materials to reach the bottom and anchor the structures, but, as the water depth increases, so does the power of the waves constantly slamming into the turbine supports, Dvorak said.
Furthermore, most engineering research worldwide has been focused on building turbines in shallow water, like that of the North Sea in Europe, where all of the existing offshore wind parks are. Consequently, most available technology is geared toward building turbines in water less than 20 meters deep. Though wind speeds are usually higher further offshore, the study concluded it would likely be more economical to build in shallower water.
To assess wind speeds, the team employed computer models like those used by meteorologists to predict weather patterns. The researchers looked at wind speeds in 2005 and 2006 at locations along California's coast to estimate how much power could be generated annually.
Findings indicated that two of the three study areas are less than ideal for harvesting wind energy. Water depths of greater than 50 meters in the San Francisco Bay Area would require floating platforms, similar to those used for oil and gas exploration, but not yet developed for use in wind technology. In most of Southern California, the winds die down during the summer and thus would not generate a steady amount of power throughout the year.
The third study area the researchers looked at was a specific area in Northern California off Cape Mendocino. They found that a wind park at this site would supplant about 5 percent of California's electricity coming from carbon-emitting sources, Dvorak said. When combined with offshore wind energy at several other sites, it may be possible to produce between at least a quarter-and potentially all-of California's electricity.
Unfortunately, most transmission lines available to deliver power are in the southern part of the state, where winds are not as strong. But Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is looking into ocean wave-energy projects in Northern California, which also would require new transmission lines.
''There's a chance the wind and wave-energy projects could dovetail together and lower the transmission costs for both projects,'' Dvorak said.
A recent study authored by Archer and Jacobson and published in the November Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology examined ways to link wind farms to further exploit economies of scale and thereby reduce the cost of wind energy. Interconnecting multiple parks can offset the intermittent nature of wind and make it a more dependable source of energy, the authors said. And, like the wave-energy project, it would be cheaper to have an integrated set of transmission lines instead of separate connectors to each wind park.
Offshore wind farms have made headlines lately, as some residents of Cape Cod have argued that a potential Cape Wind project there would spoil their pristine view. A survey conducted earlier this year by Opinion Research Corp. found that, despite a vocal minority, 84 percent of all Massachusetts residents and 58 percent who live on or near Cape Cod support the Cape Wind project, Dvorak said.
''The proposed Cape Cod wind project, if it was built, would be the largest offshore wind park in the world,'' Dvorak said, noting smaller projects in Europe have been met with more support. Projects in Denmark, for example, began with one or two offshore turbines, he added. The proposed Cape Cod wind park calls for the construction of 130 turbines in Nantucket Sound.
In informal conversations with people who live near Cape Mendocino, Dvorak said most people seemed willing to sacrifice their view to have an environmentally friendly source of power.
Still, he added, ''You would want to do a pretty extensive survey of the local population and the environment to see how they would be affected.''
Another limiting factor is the development of new technology. Under provisions of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, the construction of ships and offshore equipment-both of which are needed to build the wind turbines-must be done in the United States, even though there are experienced crews and ships outfitted for this sort of work in Europe.
''You can't actually farm it out to a foreign vessel,'' Dvorak said. ''So the first offshore wind project of this type is going to incur a lot of extra cost.''
It would take seven to eight years before a wind park like the one in Northern California could start producing electricity, Dvorak said, given the required environmental considerations.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071212201424.htm
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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| | Re: Alternative Fuels
« Reply #291 on Dec 14, 2007, 9:24am » | |
Unexpected Activity Of Fuel Cell Catalysts Revealed
![[image]](http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/8042/0712131403351c93808te3.jpg "[image]")
A scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) image taken of ceria nanoparticles on a gold surface. Size: 40 x 40 nanometers. (Credit: Image courtesy of DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory)
ScienceDaily (Dec. 14, 2007) — Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have unveiled important details about a class of catalysts that could help improve the performance of fuel cells. With the goal of producing "clean" hydrogen for fuel cell reactions in mind, the researchers determined why two next-generation catalysts including gold, cerium, titanium, and oxygen nanomaterials exhibit very high activity.
Fuel cells combine hydrogen and oxygen without combustion to produce direct electrical power and water. They are attractive as a source of power for transportation applications because of their high energy efficiency, the potential for using a variety of fuel sources, and their zero emissions. However, a major problem facing this technology is that the hydrogen-rich materials feeding the reaction often contain carbon monoxide (CO), which is formed during hydrogen production. Within a fuel cell, CO "poisons" the expensive platinum-based catalysts that convert hydrogen into electricity, deteriorating their efficiency over time and requiring their replacement.
"Fuel cell reactions are very demanding processes that require very pure hydrogen," said Brookhaven chemist Jose Rodriguez. "You need to find some way to eliminate the impurities, and that's where the water-gas shift reaction comes into play."
The "water-gas shift" (WGS) reaction combines CO with water to produce additional hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide. With the assistance of proper catalysts, this process can convert nearly 100 percent of the CO into carbon dioxide. Rodriguez's group, which includes researchers from Brookhaven's chemistry department, the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN), and the Central University of Venezuela, studied two "next-generation" WGS nanoscale catalysts: gold-cerium oxide and gold-titanium oxide.
"These nanomaterials have recently been reported as very efficient catalysts for the WGS reaction," said Brookhaven chemist Jan Hrbek. "This was a surprising finding because neither bulk gold nor bulk ceria and titania are active as catalysts."
To determine how these nanocatalysts work, the research team developed so-called "inverse model catalysts." The WGS catalysts usually consist of gold nanoparticles dispersed on a ceria or titania surface -- a small amount of the expensive metal placed on the inexpensive oxide. But to get a better look at the surface interactions, the researchers placed ceria or titania nanoparticles on a pure gold surface.
"For the first time, we established that although pure gold is inert for the WGS reaction, if you put a small amount of ceria or titanium on it, it becomes extremely active," Rodriguez said. "So although these inverse catalysts are just models, they have catalytic activity comparable to, and sometimes better than, the real deal."
Using a technique called x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy at Brookhaven's National Synchrotron Light Source, as well as scanning tunneling microscopy and calculations, the researchers discovered that the catalysts' oxides are the reason for their high activity.
"The oxides have unique properties on the nanoscale and are able to break apart water molecules, which is the most difficult part of the WGS reaction," Hrbek said. Added Brookhaven physicist Ping Liu: "After you dissociate the water, the reaction continues on to eliminate CO. But if you don't have nanosized oxide particles, none of this will work."
The researchers plan to continue their study of these catalysts at the NSLS and CFN in order to further explore the reaction mechanism and optimize its performance.
Full results will be published online in the December 14, 2007, edition of the journal Science.
Funding for this research was provided by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, within the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071213140335.htm
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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| | Re: Alternative Fuels
« Reply #292 on Dec 15, 2007, 6:52am » | |
Hybrids Post Strong US Sales in November; Up 82% Year-on-Year
6 December 2007
![[image]](http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/7454/ushybridsales20071112a9mq4.jpg "[image]")
Total hybrid sales by month.
Reported sales of hybrids in the US in November rose 82% year-on-year to reach 33,233 total units, representing 2.8% of all light-duty vehicles sold during the month. GM does not break out its hybrid sales separately, and so is not reflected in the hybrid number—thus, the actual hybrid total and new market share will slightly higher.
Total light-duty vehicle sales in the US dropped 1.6% year-on-year in November to 1,179,848 units, according to Autodata, with sales of light trucks dropping 7.4% and sales of passenger cars increasing 5.5%.
![[image]](http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/7674/ushybridsales20071122a9rj7.jpg "[image]")
Hybrid share of new vehicle sales by month.
Toyota posted a strong month, with Prius sales hitting 16,737 units, up 109% from the year before. Camry Hybrid turned in 5,118 units, up 65% from the year before and representing 14.5% of all Camry models sold. Sales of the Highlander Hybrid were back up after a slump for several months to 2,577 units—an increase of 55% from November 2006 and representing 20.9% of all Highlander models sold.
On the Lexus side of the house, sales of the Rx 400h climbed 26% to 1,674 units compared to November 2006, representing 20.8% of Rx 350/400h models sold. The high-end Lexus 600h posted 170 units, for 6.4% of the 2,668 units sold of the LS 460/600h models. The GS 450h posted 100 units, down 43% from November 2006, and representing 46.3% of the combined GS 460/450h sales and 4.5% of all GS models.
![[image]](http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/4945/ushybridsales20071132a9wf8.jpg "[image]")
Hybrid component of brand sales
Ford turned in strong results for its Escape and Mariner hybrids, with combined sales up 50% from the year before to 2,224 units, representing 15.2% of combined model sales.
Honda’s Civic Hybrid posted 3,238 units, up 47% from November 2006 and representing 12.9% of all Civic sales in the month. The Accord Hybrid posted 204 units (0.9% of all Accord sales), down 34% from the year before.
Nissan had its best month yet for the Altima Hybrid, with 1,191 units representing 6% of all Altima sales. The Altima Hybrid is sold in only eight states.
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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| | Re: Alternative Fuels
« Reply #293 on Dec 16, 2007, 9:48am » | |
Hydrogen Fuel-cell Membrane Structure Conundrum Solved
ScienceDaily (Dec. 16, 2007) — Fuel-cell cars are reaching commercial viability in today’s increasingly eco-conscious society, but despite their promise, even scientists have struggled to explain just how the fuel-cell’s central component – the proton exchange membrane – really works.
However, a team of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory has offered a new model that provides the best explanation to date for the membrane’s structure and how it functions. And armed with that information, scientists should be able to build similar fuel-cell membrane materials that are less expensive or have different properties, such as higher operating temperatures.
A fuel cell works by pumping hydrogen gas through the proton exchange membrane. In the process, the hydrogen gives up electrons in the form of electricity, then combines with oxygen gas to form water as the by-product. It can also work in reverse – when current is applied, water is split into its component gases, hydrogen and oxygen.
The model proposed by Ames Laboratory scientists Klaus Schmidt-Rohr and Qiang Chen, and detailed in the December issue of the journal Nature Materials, looked specifically at Nafion®, a widely used perfluorinated polymer film that stands out for its high selective permeability to water and protons. Schmidt-Rohr, who is also a professor of chemistry at Iowa State University, suggests that Nafion® has a closely packed network of nanoscale cylindrical water channels running in parallel through the material.
“From nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), we know that Nafion® molecules have a rigid backbone structure with hair-like ‘defects’ along the chain,” Schmidt-Rohr said, “but we didn’t know just how these molecule were arranged. Some have proposed spheroidal water clusters, others a web-like network of water channels.”
“Our theory is that these hydrophobic (water-hating) backbone structures cluster together,” he continued, “to form long rigid cylinders about 2.5 nanometers in diameter with the hydrophilic ‘hairs’ to the inside of the water-filled tubes.”
Though the cylinders in different parts of the sample may not align perfectly, they do connect to create water channels passing through the membrane material, which can be 10’s of microns thick. It’s this structure of relatively wide diameter channels, densely packed and running mostly parallel through the material that helps explain how water and protons can so easily diffuse through Nafion®, “almost as easily as water passing through water” Schmidt-Rohr said.
To unlock the structure mystery, Schmidt-Rohr turned to mathematical modeling of small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering, or SAXS/SANS. X-ray or neutron radiation is scattered by the sample and the resulting scattering pattern is analyzed to provide information about the size, shape and orientation of the components of the sample on the nanometer scale.
Using an algorithm known as multidimensional Fourier transformation, Schmidt-Rohr was able to show that his model of long, densely packed channels closely matches the known scattering data of Nafion®. Mathematical modeling of other proposed structures, in which the water clusters have other shapes or connectivities, did not match the measured scattering curves.
“Our model also helps explain how conductivity continues even well below the freezing point of water,” Schmidt-Rohr said. “While water would freeze in the larger channels, it would continue to diffuse in the smaller-diameter pores.”
Schmidt-Rohr added that additional analysis is needed to determine how the cylinders connect through the membrane.
Ames Laboratory, celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2007, is operated for the Department of Energy by Iowa State University. The Lab conducts research into various areas of national concern, including the synthesis and study of new materials, energy resources, high-speed computer design, and environmental cleanup and restoration.
The article, “Parallel cylindrical water nanochannels in Nafion fuel-cell membrane” by Schmidt-Rohr and Chen, is published in Nature Materials.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071211232823.htm
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
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"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
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« Reply #294 on Dec 16, 2007, 10:08am » | |
Wind Turbines Produce 'Green' Energy And Airflow Mysteries
![[image]](http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/5821/0712152124252b8ff75sh3.jpg "[image]")
Using laser pulses and model wind turbines, Johns Hopkins researchers are able to collect important data about the airflow that is likely to occur around full-size machines that produce "green" energy. (Credit: Will Kirk/JHU)
ScienceDaily (Dec. 15, 2007) — Using smoke, laser light, model airplane propellers and a campus wind tunnel, a team led by Johns Hopkins University researchers is trying to solve the airflow mysteries that surround wind turbines, an increasingly popular source of “green” energy. The National Science Foundation recently awarded the team a three-year, $321,000 grant to support the project.
The rise in oil prices and a growing demand for energy from non-polluting sources has led to a global boom in construction of tall wind turbines that convert the power of moving air into electricity. The technology of these devices has improved dramatically in recent years, making wind energy more attractive. For example, Denmark is able to produce about 20 percent of its electric energy through wind turbines.
But important questions remain: Could large wind farms, whipping up the air with massive whirling blades, alter local weather conditions? Could changing the arrangement of these turbines lead to even more efficient power production? The researchers from Johns Hopkins and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute hope their work will help answer such questions.
“With diameters spanning up to 100 meters across, these wind turbines are the largest rotating machines ever built,” said research team leader Charles Meneveau, a turbulence expert in Johns Hopkins’ Whiting School of Engineering.
“There’s been a lot of research done on wind turbine blade aerodynamics, but few people have looked at the way these machines interact with the turbulent wind conditions around them. By studying the airflow around small, scale-model windmills in the lab, we can develop computer models that tell us more about what’s happening in the atmosphere at full-size wind farms.”
To collect data for such models, Meneveau’s team is conducting experiments in a campus wind tunnel. The tunnel uses a large fan to generate a stream of air moving at about 40 mph. Before it enters the testing area, the air passes through an “active grid,” a curtain of perforated plates that rotate randomly and create turbulence so that air currents in the tunnel more closely resemble real-life wind conditions. The air currents then pass through a series of small model airplane propellers mounted atop posts, mimicking an array of full-size wind turbines.
The researchers gather information on the interaction of the air currents and the model turbines by using a high-tech procedure called stereo particle-image-velocimetry. First, they “seed” the air in the tunnel with a form of smoke—tiny particles that move with the prevailing airflow. Above the model turbines, a laser generates two sheet-like pulses of light in quick succession. A camera captures the position of particles at the time of each flash. “When the images are processed, we see that there are two dots for every particle,” said Meneveau, who is the university’s Louis M. Sardella Professor of Mechanical Engineering.
“Because we know the time difference between the two laser shots, we can calculate the velocity. So we get an instantaneous snapshot of the velocity vector at each point. Having these vector maps allows us to calculate how much kinetic energy is flowing from one place to another, in much greater detail than what was possible before.”
Raul B. Cal, a Johns Hopkins postdoctoral fellow who is working on the project with Meneveau, said this data could lead to a better understanding of real wind farm conditions. “What happens when you put these wind turbines too close together or too far apart? What if you align them staggered or in parallel?” he asked. “All of these are different effects that we want to be able to comprehend and quantify, rather than just go out there and build these massive structures, implementing them and not knowing what’s going to happen.”
Meneveau pointed out that dense clusters of wind turbines also could affect nearby temperatures and humidity levels, and cumulatively, perhaps, alter local weather conditions. Highly accurate computer models will be needed to unravel the various effects involved. “Our research will provide the fluid dynamical data necessary to improve the accuracy of such computer models,” Meneveau said. “We’d better know what the effects are in order to implement wind turbine technology in the most sustainable and efficient fashion possible.”
Meneveau and Cal are collaborating with Luciano Castillo, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Hyung S. Kang, an associate research scientist in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins.
The project’s funding was provided through the National Science Foundation’s Energy for Sustainability Program.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071215212425.htm
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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« Reply #295 on Dec 19, 2007, 9:12am » | |
Nano Flakes May Revolutionize Solar Cells
ScienceDaily (Dec. 19, 2007) — A new material, nano flakes, may revolutionise the transformation of solar energy to electricity. If so, even ordinary households can benefit from solar electricity and save money in the future.
If researcher Martin Aagesen’s future solar cells meet the expectations, both your economy and the environment will benefit from the research. Less than 1 per cent of the world’s electricity comes from the sun because it is difficult to transform solar energy to electricity. But Martin Aagesen’s discovery may be a huge step towards boosting the exploitation of solar energy.
"We believe that the nano flakes have the potential to convert up to 30 per cent of the solar energy into electricity and that is twice the amount that we convert today," says Martin Aagesen who is a PhD from the Nano-Science Center and the Niels Bohr Institute at University of Copenhagen. During his work on his PhD thesis, Martin found a new and untried material.
"I discovered a perfect crystalline structure. That is a very rare sight. While being a perfect crystalline structure we could see that it also absorbed all light. It could become the perfect solar cell," says Martin Aagesen. The discovery of the new material has sparked a lot of attention internationally and has led to an article in Nature Nanotechnology.
"The potential is unmistakeable. We can reduce the solar cell production costs because we use less of the expensive semiconducting silicium in the process due to the use of nanotechnology. At the same time, the future solar cells will exploit the solar energy better as the distance of energy transportation in the solar cell will be shorter and thus lessen the loss of energy," says Martin Aagesen who is also director of the company SunFlake Inc. that pursues development of the new solar cell.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071218105420.htm
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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| | Re: Alternative Fuels
« Reply #296 on Dec 21, 2007, 4:26am » | |
Chicken Fat Converted Into Biodiesel Using Supercritical Methanol
![[image]](http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/4258/071220230827b46e2fav5.jpg "[image]")
University of Arkansas graduate student Brent Schulte worked with this batch of tall oil fatty acid. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Arkansas, Fayetteville)
ScienceDaily (Dec. 20, 2007) — Chemical engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas have investigated supercritical methanol as a method of converting chicken fat into biodiesel fuel. The new study also successfully converted tall oil fatty acid, a major by-product of the wood-pulping process, into biodiesel at a yield of greater than 90 percent, significantly advancing efforts to develop commercially viable fuel out of plentiful, accessible and low-cost feedstocks and other agricultural by-products.
“Major oil companies are already examining biodiesel as an alternative to petroleum,” said R.E. “Buddy” Babcock, professor of chemical engineering. “With the current price of petroleum diesel and the results of this project and others, I think energy producers will think even more seriously about combining petroleum-based diesel with a biodiesel product made out of crude and inexpensive feedstocks.”
Under Babcock’s guidance, Brent Schulte, a chemical-engineering graduate student in the university’s College of Engineering, subjected low-grade chicken fat, donated by Tyson Foods, and tall oil fatty acids, provided by Georgia Pacific, to a chemical process known as supercritical methanol treatment. Supercritical methanol treatment dissolves and causes a reaction between components of a product – in this case, chicken fat and tall oil – by subjecting the product to high temperature and pressure.
Substances become “supercritical” when they are heated and pressurized to a critical point, the highest temperature and pressure at which the substance can exist in equilibrium as a vapor and liquid. The simple, one-step process does not require a catalyst.
Schulte treated chicken fat and tall oil with supercritical methanol and produced biodiesel yields in excess of 89 and 94 percent, respectively. With chicken fat, Schulte reached maximum yield at 325 degrees Celsius and a 40-to-1 molar ratio, which refers to the amount of methanol applied. The process also produced a respectable yield of 80 percent at 300 degrees Celsius and the same amount of methanol. At 275 degrees Celsius and the same amount of methanol, the process was ineffective. Ideal results using tall oil fatty acid were achieved at 325 degrees Celsius and a 10-to-1 molar ratio. At 300 degrees Celsius and the same amount of methanol, the conversion produced a yield of almost 80 percent. Again, at 275 degrees Celsius, the process was ineffective.
Previous efforts, including a study two years ago by another one of Babcock’s graduate students, to make biodiesel out of low-cost feedstocks – as opposed to refined oils – have used one of two conventional methods, base-catalyzed or acid-catalyzed esterification. Although successful at producing biodiesel, these conventional methods struggle to be economically feasible due to long reaction times, excessive amounts of methanol required and/or undesired production of soaps during processing.
“The supercritical method hit the free fatty-acid problem head on,” Babcock said. “Because it dissolves the feed material and eliminates the need for the base catalyst, we now do not have the problems with soap formation and loss of yield. The supercritical method actually prefers free fatty acid feedstocks.”
Biodiesel is a nonpetroleum-based alternative diesel fuel that consists of alkyl esters derived from renewable feedstocks such as plant oils or animal fats. The fuel is made by converting these oils and fats into what are known as fatty acid alkyl esters. The conventional processes require the oils or fats be heated and mixed with a combination of methanol and sodium hydroxide as a catalyst. The conversion process is called transesterification.
Most biodiesel is produced from refined vegetable oils, such as soybean and rapeseed oil, which are expensive; they generally account for 60 to 80 percent of the total cost of biodiesel. Due to these high feedstock prices, biodiesel production struggles to be economically feasible. Currently, as Babcock alluded, biodiesel cannot compete with petroleum diesel unless the per-gallon price of diesel remains higher than $3. For these reasons, researchers recently have focused efforts on less refined and less-expensive feedstocks as a more viable competitor to conventional diesel.
Biodiesel has many benefits. In addition to reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil, it is better for the environment than purely petroleum-based products. As a renewable, biodegradable and thus carbon-neutral material, biodiesel does not contribute to greenhouse gases. In fact, it decreases sulfur and particulate-matter emissions. It also provides lubrication for better-functioning mechanical parts and has excellent detergent properties.
“Biodiesel provides an effective, sustainable-use fuel with many desirable properties,” Schulte said. “In addition to being a renewable, biodegradable and carbon-neutral fuel source, it can be formed in a matter of months from feedstocks produced locally, which promotes a more sustainable energy infrastructure. It also decreases dependence on foreign oil and creates new labor and market opportunities for domestic crops.”
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071220230827.htm
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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« Reply #297 on Dec 22, 2007, 12:08am » | |
Hydrogen Storage For Cars?
ScienceDaily (Dec. 21, 2007) — Hydrogen is the fuel of the future. Unfortunately, one problem remains: Hydrogen is a gas and cannot easily be pumped into a tank like gasoline. Storage in the form of solid hydrides, chemical compounds of hydrogen and a metal or semimetal, are good storage materials in principle, but have not been well suited to automotive applications.
An American research team at the Ford Motor Company in Dearborn and the University of California, Los Angeles, has now developed a novel hydride that could be a useful starting point for the development of future automotive hydrogen-storage materials.
As Jun Yang and his team have reported* an “autocatalytic” reaction mechanism causes the composite made of three different hydrides to rapidly release hydrogen at lower temperatures and without dangerous by-products.
Certain hydrogen compounds, such as lithium borohydride (LiBH4 ) and magnesium hydride (MgH2), can release hydrogen and then take it up again. However, for automotive applications, they require temperatures that are too high to release hydrogen, the hydrogen release and uptake are far too slow, and decomposition reactions release undesirable by-products such as ammonia. In addition, these compounds can only be “recharged” under very high pressure and temperature conditions. The combination of two different hydrides (binary hydride) has previously been shown to improve things, as these compounds partly release hydrogen at lower temperatures than either of the individual components.
The researchers led by Yang went a step further and combined three hydrogen-containing compounds—lithium amide (LiNH2), lithium borohydride, and magnesium hydride—in a 2:1:1 ratio to form a ternary hydride. This trio has substantially better properties than previous binary materials.
The reason for this improvement is a complex sequence of reactions between the various components. The first reactions begin as soon as the starting components are ground together. Heating starts off more reactions, releasing the hydrogen. The mixture is “autocatalytic”, which means that one of the reactions produces the product cores for the following reaction, which speeds up the entire reaction sequence. The result is a lower desorption temperature; the release of hydrogen begins at 150 °C. In addition the hydrogen is very pure because neither ammonia nor any other volatile decomposition products are formed. Recharging the ternary hydride with hydrogen can be accomplished under moderate conditions.
*Journal reference: A Self-Catalyzing Hydrogen Storage MaterialAngewandte. Chemie International Edition 2008, 47, doi: 10.1002/anie.200703756
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071221101718.htm
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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« Reply #298 on Dec 22, 2007, 5:12am » | |
Fastest Eco-Boat
![[image]](http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/3835/5461157e376mz6.jpg "[image]")
London, United Kingdom, December 17, 2007—A crew member works on the deck of Earthrace, said to be the world's fastest eco-boat, at the QE2 pier in Greenwich. The picture was taken during a photo-call to announce an attempt by the boat to break the round-the-world speed record.
Pete Bethune, the New Zealand skipper of Earthrace, said the circumnavigation of the globe would begin from Valencia in Spain on March 1, 2008, according to the news agency Press Association.
Bethune will be attempting to break the current world record of 74 days, 20 hours, and 58 minutes set in 1998.
The boat runs completely on biodiesel with a net zero carbon footprint. As a symbolic gesture, the captain and two volunteers underwent liposuction to produce 2.5 gallons (10 liters) of human fat, enough to power the boat 9 miles (15 kilometers).
—Photograph by Press Association/AP Images
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/....k60/photo5.html
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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Big Bunny
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« Reply #299 on Dec 22, 2007, 7:33am » | |
Seabed Microbe Study Leads To Low-cost Power, Light For The Poor
![[image]](http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/7039/0712201524271dbf0e1dt6.jpg "[image]")
Peter Girguis' fuel cell uses an electrode, wires, and a small circuit board about the size of a pack of cards. The electricity flows from the electrode into the circuit board and out of one of two outlets on the other side. (Credit: Kris Snibbe/Harvard News Office)
ScienceDaily (Dec. 20, 2007) — A Harvard biology professor’s fascination with seafloor microbes has led to the development of a revolutionary, low-cost power system consuming garbage, compost, and other waste that could provide light for the developing world.
Assistant Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Peter Girguis has developed a fuel cell run by the natural activity of anaerobic microbes. The cells can be manufactured for just a few U.S. dollars, putting them within reach of many of the world’s poor who today do not have access to electricity.
Though the power output is relatively low, Girguis said it should be sufficient to run low-energy lighting or to recharge batteries for a host of devices such as cell phones, an increasingly important communications method in the developing world.
“There are 2.8 billion people on Earth without electricity who are clamoring for [power],” Girguis said. “Most people want electricity for lighting and telecommunication.”
Girguis’ work was recently awarded a $10,580 Lindbergh Grant by the Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation. The grant — the amount Lindbergh used to build his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis — was one of 14 awarded this year out of 150 applicants. Girguis said the money is welcome because the project falls between areas that traditionally attract research funding.
Scientists have been studying microbial fuel cells in the lab for decades, Girguis said. His aim has been to take existing knowledge and apply it in a workable, inexpensive device that can be distributed to places lacking electricity.
The crucial point in the development process came when Girguis realized that the fuel cells didn’t require research-grade materials to operate properly and that they’d work adequately with less expensive materials that would significantly lower the cost.
The fuel cells operate because of a particular trait of anaerobic bacteria. As these bacteria live and metabolize food in their oxygen-free environments, they produce extra electrons, which are normally released into the material around them. By introducing an electrode, those electrons can be harvested to create a small electrical current.
Girguis’ fuel cell uses an electrode, wires, and a small circuit board about the size of a pack of cards. The electricity flows from the electrode into the circuit board and out of one of two outlets on the other side. One provides juice for electrical devices such as LED lightbulbs while the other has a cell phone recharger.
Iqbal Quadir, executive director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship, is intrigued by Girguis’ fuel cells. Quadir, who started a company that has brought cell phone service to millions of people in Bangladesh, has offered to let Girguis distribute the microbial fuel cells as part of a new power-generation venture Quadir is heading. The venture, Emergence Bioenergy, uses microbe-filled biodigesters to generate methane from cow manure. The methane is then burned to generate electricity.
“I like his technology, it’s a paradigm shift,” Quadir said. “He could put his technology inside our biodigesters and produce extra watts.”
A number of steps remain before that can happen, however. Though Girguis has developed several different fuel cells, he has not yet begun producing them. The Lindbergh grant will finance continued research on the cells, to see the difference in output from different soils and sediments, and on what happens when the soil is enriched with organic matter.
Girguis is considering a public demonstration of the technology, perhaps by putting a fuel cell into a trash can with a public cell phone and charger attached. People could make calls from the phone, and, each time someone threw garbage into the receptacle, they’d be feeding the microbes that were powering the charger.
An additional benefit to the fuel cell technology is that, since it doesn’t burn fossil fuels, it generates power without having an impact on the climate. Despite that feature, Girguis said the fuel cells are not a replacement for fossil fuels. The cells can be enlarged — with larger electrodes — to generate more power and supply power through wires that run into a house, but the cells are most appropriate to bring power to remote areas, not as a substitute for existing municipal power grids. A plant to power a town the size of Cambridge would cover several blocks, Girguis said.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071220152427.htm
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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher, 1788-1860
"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future."
John F. Kennedy |
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