Archive for the 'Energy' Category
Microbes Plus Sugars Equals Hydrogen Fuel?
ScienceDaily (Nov. 3, 2007) — Wanted: Bacterium that can eat sugar or sludge; must be team player or electrochemically active; ability to survive without oxygen, a plus. Thus might read the bacterial “job description” posted by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Washington University (WU) scientists, who are collaborating on ways to make microbial fuel cells more efficient and practical.
No commentsFortifying Feed With Biodiesel Co-products
Science Daily — Biofuel research isn’t just a matter of finding the right type of biomass—corn grain, soybean oil, animal fat, wood or other material—and converting it into fuel. Scientists must also find environmentally and economically sound uses for the by-products of biofuel production. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists Brian Kerr and William Dozier have done just that.
Current biodiesel supplies are often made from the triglycerides, or fat, found in soybean oil. But processing biodiesel from soybean oil also yields crude glycerin, also known as glycerol, which has a purity level of about 85 percent. It also contains small amounts of salt, methanol and free fatty acids. If glycerol is refined to 99 percent purity, it can be used in many products, including pharmaceuticals, foods, drinks, cosmetics and toiletries.
No commentsJapan’s Daihatsu Motor touts new fuel cell technology
© 2007 AFP
Daihatsu Motor Co., a unit of the Japanese auto giant Toyota Motor, said Friday it has developed a new fuel cell technology that eliminates the need for platinum.
Until now, the precious metal has been an essential material in the electrode catalyst in conventional fuel cells for automobiles, said the company, which specialises in manufacturing small vehicles.
“This proprietary fuel cell technology provides numerous benefits, including resource conservation, low cost, high output, and safe and easy fuel handling,” the company said in a statement.
“With the goal of helping to preserve the global environment, Daihatsu will accelerate further research and development of this technology,” it said.
Japanese electronics and automakers have been active in development of fuel cell technology, which uses chemical agents, such as hydrogen and oxygen, to generate electricity with little impact on the environment.
© 2007 AFP
No commentsNuclear physicists examine oxygen’s limits
Physicists at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) at Michigan State University have made a unique measurement of an exotic oxygen nucleus, leading scientists one step closer to deciphering the behavior of the element at its limits of existence.
The finding, published in Physical Review Letters, confirms a relatively new theoretical model that predicts dramatic changes in structure as one looks at heavier and heavier oxygen nuclei.
In the experiment, researchers measured a never-before-seen energy state of oxygen 23—one of the heaviest oxygen isotopes that exist.
“It was very exciting to see an experiment that was able to observe this [energy] state very close to where we predicted,” said Alex Brown, a professor a NSCL who was involved in the shaping of the theory.
No commentsPower Paper: Energy Storage by the Sheet
By surrounding carbon nanotubes with cellulose, researchers have devised a flexible, paper-thin power source
By David Biello
Could paper be the future of power in electronic gadgetry? Just as plastics unleashed a revolution in the manufacture of everyday materials, a new power source composed of cellulose, carbon nanotubes and a dash of liquid salts could revolutionize the energy behind gadgets from iPhones to pacemakers.”We have a paper battery, supercapacitor and battery-supercapacitor hybrid device that could be used in a variety of energy storage applications,” says biological and chemical engineer Robert Linhardt of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (R.P.I.) in Troy, N.Y., who helped lead the team that made the discovery. “These devices are lightweight and flexible and are primarily composed of cellulose paper—an environmentally friendly and biocompatible material.”
No commentsDarfur refugees tap the sun’s power to cook
By Scott Baldauf Thu Jul 26, 4:00 AM ET
IRIDIMI CAMP, CHAD - Imagine a town where everyone used solar power to cook their food, and reduced their reliance on finite sources of fuel, like firewood. At lunchtime, in front of every mud-walled hut, tens of thousands of pots are bubbling away inside silvery enclosures that tap sunlight.
No commentsAmericans Warm to Nuclear Power and Sour on Oil
By Andrea Thompson, LiveScience Staff Writer
posted: 23 July 2007 02:10 pm ET
Nuclear power is becoming a more attractive alternative energy source to Americans, according to a new survey.
The survey results also indicated that the U.S. public is increasingly unhappy with oil and more willing to develop alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power. Also, while American concern over global warming is on the rise, people are apparently reluctant to pay to fight it.
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The Rise and Fall of the Steorn Orbo Free Energy Machine
They said it couldn’t be done. And it probably can’t. A year after an Irish company called Steorn promised a perpetual energy source that required only magnetism, not fuel, the device called Orbo was set up for a 10-day public demonstration. Yesterday, at the Kinetica Museum in London, was to be the scheduled unveiling and although the lead scientist was not named Dr. Octavius or Dr. von Doom, something about the “time variant magneto-mechanical interaction” at the center of this process seemed ominous. Nevertheless, the public was invited to watch. Using Internet Explorer, you could even check out four different cameras in the Orbo’s chamber. As you may have guessed, the demonstration did not go according to plan.
No commentsUS Congress bids to punish foreign oil firms linked to Iran
by Jitendra Joshi Tue Jun 26, 6:41 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US legislation aiming to punish foreign energy companies that do business with Iran took a step forward Tuesday as lawmakers attacked the Islamic republic’s nuclear drive and “terrorism.”
The foreign affairs panel of the House of Representatives passed the proposed law by 37 votes to one, with Democrats and Republicans alike accusing Iran of using energy investment for nefarious ends.
No commentsElectric utilities to study new solar technology
Wed Jun 27, 1:38 PM ET HOUSTON (Reuters) - The Electric Power Research Institute said on Wednesday it will launch a project to study the feasibility of “concentrating” solar power to increase its efficiency at the request of a number of western U.S. electric utilities.
Unlike conventional flat-plate solar or photovoltaic panels, concentrating solar power uses reflectors to generate electricity more efficiently and in larger amounts, EPRI said in a release. The institute said the project will study the feasibility of building a solar power plant in the 50- to 500-megawatt range, much larger than traditional solar installations.
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