NewNergy

NewNergy discusses the latest inventions, innovations and breakthroughs in the energy & environmental sciences.

Biofuel to be Made from Bacteria

Posted on Tuesday, September 29, 2009 posted by posted by Mak @ 12:33 AM

US - A team of researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology are attempting to engineer biofuel-producing microbes from Rhodococcus bacteria — soil-dwelling microbes that eat a variety of toxic compounds.The aim of Professor Anthony Sinskey's team is to make an organism that produces biofuel, which can use a variety of fuel sources.

According to a Cleantech report, the bacteria strain is related to the type that causes tuberculosis and the researchers say it works well because the bacteria are hungry for a number of sugars and toxic compounds and produce lipids that can be converted to biodiesel.They have created a strain of the bacteria that can eat a mix of two types of glucose and xylose, and have also engineered strains that can feed on glycerol, a waste product of biodiesel production.

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Labels: biodiesel, biofuels, research

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Silicon Nanotubes for High Efficient Lithium-ion Batteries

Posted on Thursday, September 24, 2009 posted by posted by Mak @ 12:33 AM

Researchers from Stanford University and Hanyang University in Ansan, Korea, in collaboration with LG Chem (makers of the Chevy Volt battery), have made a breakthrough that could change the future of electric cars. They have shown that by replacing the conventional graphite electrodes in lithium-ion batteries with silicon nanotube electrodes (silicon nanotubes, not the more common carbon nanotubes), 10 times more charge could be stored. This could not only greatly extend the range of electric cars, but it would also make gasoline-electric hybrids more efficient by allowing them to run in electric mode for longer periods.

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Labels: batteries, efficiency, electric-cars

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New Economical Way of Corn-based Ethanol Production

Posted on Wednesday, September 23, 2009 posted by posted by Mak @ 11:02 PM

TMO Renewables, based in the south of England, has developed a new fermentation process using certain micro-organisms that enables part of the waste deriving from corn-based ethanol production to be used to make more biofuel. According to the company, 25 ethanol plants in the US are interested in TMO Renewables’ proposal. In a recent case study in Iowa, TMO proved that it could deliver lower energy consumption, lower costs and higher output, thus producing a 70% improvement in margin – and this after the payment of a royalty to TMO.

The TMO process exploits two innate properties of the unique organism. Firstly, by exploiting the high temperature that the organism favours, fermentation can be performed at temperatures in excess of sixty degrees Celsius.Since very little cooling or heating is required, there is a significant saving in energy.

Secondly, the organism has a preference for consuming the longer chain sugars that derive from the breakup of biomass. This brings a very significant benefit in that a very large portion of the work and cost required to break down biomass to simple sugars, such as glucose, is removed.

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Labels: biofuels, economics, ethanol

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Revolving Doors Harvest Human Energy

Posted on posted by posted by Mak @ 4:28 AM

Energy harvesting revolving doors capture otherwise wasted human energy and convert it to electricity to power the installation site, for example lighting and signage.

Designers Jennifer Broutin and Carmen Trudell at design studio Fluxxlab have created Revolution Door, which is a modified revolving door made up of three parts - a redesigned central core replacing that of any existing or new revolving door, a mechanical/electrical system that harnesses human energy and redistributes electricity to an output, and an output device that maps the harnessed energy. The energy harvesting revolving door was exhibited in Manhattan's Eyebeam art and technology centre. When visitors walked through the door, the energy harnessed was used to power a sign that lights up as people pass through.

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Labels: electricity, energy, human-powered

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Harnessing the Power of Water Currents

Posted on posted by posted by Mak @ 4:20 AM

Gold Coast company Tidal Energy has developed a turbine that can produce potentially limitless clean electricity from water currents.The design includes a submerged water-current turbine similar to a jet engine. It draws water through a hydrofoil system to turn an impellor that converts the kinetic energy of the water into mechanical energy that can power an electrical generator. It resembles a wind generator under water.The technology could add to existing power sources, not replace them at this stage.

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Labels: electricity, energy, tidal, water

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New Technology Turns Plastic Waste into Oil

Posted on posted by posted by Mak @ 3:15 AM

The Envion Oil Generator,United States, has recently assembled the first of its fuel-producing generators at the Derwood waste facility, which can consume any type of plastic and convert it into a light-brown synthetic oil that can be converted into fuel for a truck or a jet airplane.

The District company's technology works by melting plastic in an oxygen-free environment to separate the hydrocarbons destined for the oil barrel from the additives used to make that Big Gulp cup. The additives are rendered into a nonhazardous ash byproduct, the company says. While other firms have developed ways to convert waste plastic into oil, Envion uses a "far-infrared ray" technology that yields more fuel than competitors' processes.

The generator, with a capacity for handling more than 6,000 tons of plastic per year, is a slightly smaller version of what Envion will soon be pitching as its flagship product. The 10,000-ton version, which could produce up to 60,000 barrels, costs $6 million to $7 million to build. Depending on the type of plastic, one ton can be converted into three to six barrels of fuel. Envion said it costs about $10 to convert the plastic waste into a barrel's worth of synthetic oil; currently, crude oil sells for close to $70 a barrel.

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Labels: energy, fuel, oil, waste

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'Silicon ink' for More Efficient Solar Cells

Posted on posted by posted by Mak @ 2:52 AM

JA Solar, one of the big players in the solar industry, is working with Innovalight to commercialize the latter's method for making silicon-ink-based, high-efficiency solar cells. Innovalight first got noticed in 2007 for perfecting a process in which it could essentially ink-jet-manufacture solar cells using a proprietary silicon ink it had developed. The solar cells are created by pouring an ink solution incorporated with silicon nanoparticles and then decanting the excess liquid to leave behind a crystalline silicon structure.

Innovalight announced that an independent study of its method by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Germany confirmed that its silicon ink-based cells "demonstrated a record 18 percent conversion of efficiency."Shanghai, China-based JA Solar said the process will lower its production cost for this type of solar cell.

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Labels: efficiency, energy, solar

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WindAir -A New Renewable Energy Invention

Posted on Friday, September 18, 2009 posted by posted by Mak @ 10:39 PM

EarthSure, a renewable energy company and innovator in alternative energy sources has developed a renewable energy technology called WindAir,a system for transforming the exhausted air flow from central air conditioning units into a source of renewable, clean energy (electric).

The WindAir system uses the warm air flow from the exhaust of a traditional air conditioning unit and drives it into a secondary fan turbine system. This secondary system has an electric-generating mechanism that transforms the wind flow into free, clean, renewable energy which is then inverted into the electric meter of the home or office building. This renewable energy has the capability to reduce the increase in electric used by the air conditioning system by generating enough electricity to send it back to the meter, thereby turning the air conditioning unit into an actual "sub-power station".The unique WindAir converter system can be incorporated into any existing air conditioning condenser unit or manufactured as a complete new unit.

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Labels: energy, inventions, renewable, waste

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Nanotechnology for High Efficient Solar Cells

Posted on posted by posted by Mak @ 5:51 AM

Chemical engineers at Oregon State University have invented a new technology to deposit “nanostructure films” on various surfaces, which may first find use as coatings for eyeglasses that cost less and work better. Ultimately, the technique may provide a way to make solar cells more efficiently produce energy.

The key to the process is use of a chemical bath, controlled by a microreactor, to place thin-film deposits on various substrates such as glass, plastic, silicon or aluminum. In this case, the technology will create a type of nanostructure that resembles millions of tiny pyramids in a small space, which function to reduce the reflectance of any light that strikes the material.

The films reduce the reflectance of light, and in the case of eyeglasses would capture more light, reduce glare and also reduce exposure to ultraviolet light. Some coatings with these features are already available, but the new technology should perform better at a lower cost, and be able to be applied on-site in a dispenser’s office.

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Labels: efficiency, energy, inventions, solar

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Bio-syntrolysis : A High Efficiency Cellulosic Ethanol Technology

Posted on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 posted by posted by Mak @ 5:43 AM

Scientists at Idaho National Laboratory have been working for the past year and a half on a process to convert biomass, such straw or crop residue, into liquid fuels at a far higher efficiency than existing cellulosic ethanol technologies.

Rather than one single development, the technology--named bio-syntrolysis--ties together multiple processes, but it has electrolysis, or splitting water to make hydrogen, at is starting point. When combined with a carbon-free electricity source, the approach could deliver a carbon-neutral biofuel, according to models done at INL which has done research for decades in nuclear energy.

Bio-syntrolysis is one of a dizzying number of technologies being developed with the hopes of replacing gasoline, although none have successfully been done at scale. The key advantage is that bio-syntrolysis would extract far more energy from available biomass than existing methods, said research engineer Grant Hawkes. Using traditional ethanol-making techniques, about 35 percent of the carbon from wood chips or agricultural residue ends up in the liquid fuel. By contrast, the bio-syntrolysis method would convert more than 90 percent of that carbon into a fuel.

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Labels: biofuels, ethanol, technology

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New Invention Transforms Organic Waste to 'Green' Power

Posted on posted by posted by Mak @ 5:33 AM

A new treatment system for organic residues has been launched by CST Wastewater Solutions, promising to convert almost any organic residue or energy crop into biogas, valuable electricity or heat. CST Wastewater Solutions has partnered with Global Water Engineering (GWE) to supply the RAPTOR system, which stands for Rapid Treatment of Organic Residues.

A RAPTOR plant is a total solution, starting with logistics for handling the energy crop and ending with the production of biogas, green electricity or steam. In the RAPTOR process, the pre-treated and blended substrate slurry is transferred into a mixed digester that uses energy efficient and low maintenance mechanical mixing. The digester tank comes in sizes up to 12,000 m3. Optional extras include a foam breaker fan, a scum buster system and a bottom grit trap.

The digester tank is fully insulated, heated by recycling the digester content through a special heat exchanger.

The plant can handle:
• Food waste, such as market surplus, kitchen waste, off specification fruit and vegetables, and excess crops
• Agro-industry residues, like starch and sugar pulps, vegetable or potato waste.
• Industrial residues, such as brewery waste (spent grain), fruit processing waste, and paper mill sludge.
• Energy crops, for example corn (silage), various grasses, algae.

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Labels: biogas, energy, technology, water

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CMU Startup Harnessing Human Body 'Biopower'

Posted on posted by posted by Mak @ 3:35 AM

Bio-Nano Power, at tenant at Central Michigan University Research Corp.'s business accelerator has developed a prodess to harness the power that’s available right in a human body.Nathan Long at Bio-Nano Power filed a comprehensive patent, “Bio-Nano Power Cells and Their Uses,” which ties together more than two years of intense biotechnology and nanotechnology research to develop power cells that generate efficient, high density power and emit lower CO2 pollutants.

According to Long, the body is full of bio-fuels that can be converted to electrical energy to run devices inside the body, or to be recreated outside for virtually any power-related need. The patented process he has developed and tested combines the strength of advanced biotechnology with honed nanotechnology techniques in a new and different way.

Long’s patented process creates that “team” of enzyme catalyst polymers that efficiently produce power when activated by common bio-fuels.Long’s vision for Bio-Nano Power is to focus on much needed medical device applications like smaller, faster biosensors for diabetes patients to monitor glucose levels or for clinicians to track and monitor heart conditions through self-powered devices.

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Labels: co2, energy, human-powered

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U.S. Navy to Test Camelina-Based Biofuel

Posted on posted by posted by Mak @ 3:01 AM

The modern U.S. Navy may be about to put a 3,000-year-old weedlike biofuel crop in its tank. Camelina, the “new darling” of next-generation biofuels, is among a small group of biofuels under consideration for testing this year by the U.S. Navy. One of the aircraft to be tested is the F/A-18 Super Hornet strike fighter, the latest incarnation of the battle-proven Hornet. Sustainable Oils of Montana has just won a contract to provide 40,000 gallons of camelina-based jet fuel to the Navy, so the chances look good for putting the ancient crop to a new use.

Labels: airlines, biofuels

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Electricity from the Artificial Fluorescent Lighting

Posted on posted by posted by Mak @ 2:41 AM

New Energy Technologies is trying to develop a solar cell that makes electricity just from that nasty fluorescent tube lighting buzzing over your head.

New Energy’s solar cells in their transparent SolarWindow™ generate electricity by using the visible light in artificial fluorescent lighting typically installed in offices and commercial buildings. In tests published in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy they outperformed regular solar cells by orders of magnitude; producing two to ten-fold more power.

Researchers tested the ultra-small solar cells on a 1”x1” substrate against today’s popular solar materials for their capacity to produce electricity under varying artificial light conditions, mimicking the levels of light exposure in homes and commercial offices.

Under normal office lighting conditions, without any natural light from windows, New Energy’s ultra-small solar cells produced not just twice the power of monocrystalline silicon, but achieved:

1. 8-fold greater output power density than copper-indium-selenide, known for its high optical absorption coefficients and versatile optical and electrical characteristics.
2. 10-fold greater output power density than flexible thin-film amorphous-silicon.

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Labels: electricity, energy, inventions, solar

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New Solar Battery Technology Offers Cheap Household Power

Posted on Monday, September 14, 2009 posted by posted by Mak @ 8:58 PM

Salt Lake City-based company Ceramatec, the R&D arm of CoorsTek, has made what it believes to be a massive breakthrough in batteries for storing energy harnessed from the sun. The company is making impressive inroads on the prototype of a deep storage battery, the size of a small refrigerator, that safely operates at room temperature, consists of everyday materials, and can output household power at 2.5c per kWh. What’s more, Ceramatec says it will be cheap to purchase.

Currently, great performing energy-dense batteries are huge containers of super-hot molten sodium that hover around 600°C. At that temperature the material is highly conductive of electricity, however, it is also toxic and corrosive. Instead, Ceramatec's battery comprises a large piece of solid sodium metal mated to a sulfur compound by a paper-thin ceramic membrane, called NaSICON. The membrane conducts ions - electrically-charged particles - back and forth to generate a current.

The company calculates that the battery will be able to sustain 20-40kWh of energy into a refrigerator-size housing that operates at around or below 90°C. This is possibly the only way that this type of dense battery technology will ever be approved for household use – safe, small (relatively) and cheap to purchase.

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Labels: batteries, economics, energy, solar

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