A recent report from Russian Scientists studying the Permafrost surrounding the Arctic Ice Shelf has pointed out that massive amounts of methane are being rapidly released into the Atmosphere due to the increased warming of the Arctic. While the issue of permafrost warming releasing massive amounts of Methane directly into the atmosphere has been flagged as an issue for many years now most reports focused on the permafrost above the ocean as the assumption was made that methane would be converted to carbon dioxide as it escaped from the regions located under the sea.

The Scientists have noticed massive kilometer wide methane plumes that are escaping from the ocean floor as the rapidly warming ocean is also warming the submarine permafrost. Due to the speed with which the plumes are rising and the proximity to the surface the Methane is not converting to Carbon Dioxide and is instead just filling up the atmosphere. Given that Methane is significantly more powerful as a greenhouse gas at trapping heat in the atmosphere this is a serious increase in the speed of the changes that the planet is undergoing as the earth returns to the Eocene age of humidity and warmth.

From a visual perspective the sea floor around the arctic ice shelf is effectively boiling. From a Human perspective we can expect this rapid release of Methane to cause serious changes to the weather. We are already experiencing unseasonable cool in the South Pacific. How this will play out in the Northern climes is yet to be found out.

Tags: disaster, Energy Storage, environment, Fuel, meteorology, Ocean, weather by Sparky
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The team at the Automotive Research Experiment Station from Michigan State University have been developing a new prototype engine system that they claim can get 60% efficiency from conventional fossil fuels. They also claim the weight of the engine is significantly less than a standard ICE which greatly increases fuel economy due to weight savings. They are currently in the process of building and installing a functional system in a vehicle.

The engine has a rotor that’s equipped with wave-like channels that trap and mix oxygen and fuel as the rotor spins. These central inlets are blocked off, building pressure within the chamber, causing a shock wave that ignites the compressed air and fuel to transmit energy.

The Wave Disk Generator uses 60 percent of its fuel for propulsion; standard car engines use just 15 percent. As a result, the generator is 3.5 times more fuel efficient than typical combustion engines.

Researchers estimate the new model could shave almost 1,000 pounds off a car’s weight currently taken up by conventional engine systems.

Tags: Components, e=mc2, Energy Storage, Engine, oil by Sparky
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A Singaporean Research team has come up with a novel and highly efficient energy storage system which looks certain to replace all known forms of energy storage once manufacturing is underway. Based on deposited polystyrene-based polymer technology, the soft, foldable fabric can, when charged by two metal plates, store charge at 0.2 farads per square centimeter.

Not only is the membrane made from organic waste materials but it is also bendable and foldable which means that it can be used in almost unlimited shapes and sizes unlike Lithium Ion batteries. However the project is partly funded by MIT so we have to be cynical that the technology will actually be brought to market or achieve anything like it is claimed to in real world tests. One thing going for it is that it is also being funded by the Singaporean Government. Surely a nation where energy consumption and efficiency is a very hot topic. After all necessity is the mother of invention and in Singapore they certainly need a way out of the quagmire that is the inevitable global energy crunch as the fossil fuels are completely consumed.

As usual there is no mention of how much energy it takes to create the membrane. However we can assume that it will scale fairly significantly based ont eh description of the base ingredients.

Tags: Circuits, Components, electricity, Energy Storage, recycle, renewable, Sustainable by Sparky
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MIT scientist Daniel Nocera has released new publicity around his solar leaf concept. The basic idea is that instead of converting sunlight to electricity and storing it in a battery, use the electricity to split hydrogen from water allowing the hydrogen to be used in a hydrogen fuel cell. An inherently lossy process which will require a system to keep hydrogen and oxygen separated until it can be directed into the fuel cell for conversion back to electricity. Theoretically it could provide an almost permanent supply of electricity and stored energy if combined with a rain water capture system. However due to the lossiness of the conversion process it does seem to be running at a significant disadvantage to normal electricity storage in the form of a Lithium Ion battery. However as it is using a fuel cell that probably requires at least some rare earth elements during the manufacturing process which will of course contribute greatly to the amount of energy consumed to completely make the system.

In the meantime a Japanese company has already taken the process to it’s inevitable conclusion and produced a full scale home sized hydrogen conversion system. They claim that with a solar panel, 1500 cc of water and their hydrogen conversion and storage system they can provide 5000 KwH of electricity which is around that amount that an average home would use during a night. 5000 KwH is approx enough stored energy to provide 16 hours of electricity to an average home PC with a 300 watt power supply. However if you add a refrigerator or washing machine into the mix you start to see some significant decreases in energy supply time. The main benefit of this system is that it can be run simply on water and solar. Once the investment is made it will provide around 50 years of constant supply of energy as long as you don’t need to use more than 5000 KwH of energy between charges. If connected to a rain water capture system it is theoretically a 50 year life cycle version of a perpetual mobile. It will no doubt be very useful as a replacement for fossil fuels in low energy consuming households. Combined with a larger solar hot water and electricity storage system and you would be able to live with a degree of energy security.

If Nocera has a better and cheaper more energy efficient system up his sleeve he is keeping the details to himself at the moment. No doubt he is still waiting for approval from MIT to do something actually useful for a change. The general rule of thumb with anything from MIT is that it never actually gets anywhere other than securing more funding for the scientists involved in the projects.

Tags: Circuits, Components, electricity, Energy Storage, Fuel, hydrogen, renewable, solar, Sustainable, water by Sparky
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The Turanor Planet Solar demonstration vessel is now halfway around the world on a promotional and research journey to prove the case for a solar powered cargo ship. Built in Germany the vessel is capable of transporting upto 40 people and has a permanent crew of 6 onboard.

One thing seems to be missing though. With a top speed of 15 mph it is not much faster than a sail vessel. So the question begs to be asked. Why didn’t they include a collapsable lightweight sail? That would increase the efficiency of the vessel and also allow for greater speeds to be achieved. Surely it is possible to include a very light weight sail and pole combination. If they have enough funds to sail around the world then surely they can also afford to add a sail to the design…

Tags: Energy Storage, Ocean, renewable, solar, transport, water by Sparky
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An update on the Aeroscraft compressed helium cargo airship. A demonstration unit is now in production using military funding. At least they are doing something useful for a change.

Thanks to advances in composite materials it is now possible to build lightweight containment chambers which are strong enough to hold the compressed helium and light enough to allow the vessell to become lighter than air when the helium is uncompressed providing lift and descent capabilities. Combined with fuel for thrust and steering the vessel is able to transport 50 Tonnes of cargo to hard to reach places with limited infrastructure for landing and takeoff.

This is the inevitable progression of the Helium aircraft. It is a refreshing change to see actual progress in this technology. One thing not mentioned in the article is the potential for the aircraft to run with no fuel simply by using lift and descent to create thrust. Combined with energy regeneration from the descent stage that would provide enough stored energy to enable the vessel to run 24 hours a day without having to rely on external fuel sources. Add in lightweight thin film solar technology on the exterior skin and the vessel becomes a truly revolutionary machine. A true product of the 21′st century.

Tags: aircraft, construction, Energy Storage, Fuel, military, renewable, transport by Sparky
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In the past week there have been two major announcements of solar powered cars and the mainstream press is attempting to peddle the idea that they will be a hassle free and energy efficient way to charge a car. Perhaps if our cars are all made from air the solar panels on the roof will be able to run them efficiently. However as all modern cars are not made from air the idea that a solar rooftop will be able to provide enough energy to power a car through a minutes worth of travel let alone a whole day of driving is a completely ignorant and uneducated assumption to make.

Unfortunately for solar powered cars the math just doesn’t add up. Even the most efficient solar powered cars in the annual race across the Australian desert are light weight three wheel racing carts with single seat and no windscreens or doors. The entire vehicle is a solar panel on wheels and the chasis/frame is constructed of the lightest aluminium or carbon fibre framing available on the market. Sure they can get up to 80km/hour in the heat of the day in the middle of the desert but try driving one around in the city and you will soon realise that there is a massive jump from the current state of the art in solar cars to a normal city vehicle. Even the smallest cars on the market are at least a hundred times heavier than the most advanced and powerful solar cars. The wheels alone on a standard family vehicle are heavier than the entire solar vehicle.

One thing that will be useful from having a solar powered rooftop is that the battery will never be completely flat. Another thing is that you can leave the radio on for much longer as long as there is sunlight or depending on the type of solar panel at least ambient light to absorb.

Car manufacturers could increase vehicle battery charging efficiency more effectively by figuring out how to wirelessly absorb the radiant energy emitted by the all pervasive cellular network in major cities. Of course that won’t solve the actual energy crisis as it just takes power from the grid but at least car batteries would always be charging even if there was no sunlight to absorb. Of course the telecoms companies wouldn’t be so happy about having to shoulder the cost of charging everyones cars so they might put up their prices to offset that outlay.

Tags: Circuits, Components, e=mc2, electricity, Energy Storage, mobile, renewable, solar, supply, Sustainable, transport by Sparky
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So after permanently screwing their homeland with Toxic Nuclear Radioactive Fallout from their Fukushima Facility and effectively going bankrupt by loosing all their stock value, TEPCO have now decided that Solar power is actually a viable option for producing energy in Tokyo City. They have begun installing massive solar stations around the Capital City to make up for the shortfall in supply since the Nuclear power stations have been turned off.

Within weeks there will be a complete turnaround in Japanese society. After years of resistance and insider corruption due to the “lobbying” efforts of the entrenched Nuclear industry the Japanese people are finally seeing a solar powered future being implemented.

Let’s not forget that Kyocera (a Japanese Company) who have supplied the panels for the solar stations is the biggest manufacture of Solar panels worldwide and have up until this point been effectively shut out of the market in Japan due to the efforts of the Nuclear industry to halt any alternative that threatened their grip on power. All it took was for the people of Japan to be subjected to 6 months of continuous radiation exposure to the most toxic radionuclides known to humankind for the tide to turn and the wave of public opinion to be strong enough to force a major change of direction from the Japanese leadership.

That’s a phenomenal price to pay to escape from the stranglehold of the nuclear power industry.

Tags: construction, disaster, e=mc2, electricity, Energy Storage, environment, government, nuclear, renewable, solar by Sparky
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An interesting twist on the Hydrogen production system using sunlight and water to react with copper and aluminium oxide that when heated to 200 Degrees Celsius and combined with “catalytic nano particles” initiate a chemical reaction to quickly release the stored hydrogen. The Hydrogen is then fed into a Fuel cell battery to provide a constant source of power to a household.

The idea basically being that all the hydrogen for one day can be created quickly from the chemical reaction and then temporarily stored in holding containers reliving the necessity to permanently store hydrogen which is a major obstacle for a Hydrogen based economy.

If the demonstration system can confirm the suggested results from the preliminary modelling this would be a handy way to provide a constant source of energy to a household without having to worry about battery replacements every few years and could be built into every house

The hybrid device contains series of copper tubes coated with a thin layer of aluminum and aluminum oxide and partly filled with catalytic nanoparticles. A combination of water and methanol flows through the vacuum-sealed tubes.
“This set-up allows up to 95% of the sunlight to be absorbed with very little being lost as heat to the surroundings,” Hotz said. “This is crucial because it permits us to achieve temperatures of well over 200 ºC within the tubes. By comparison, a standard solar collector can only heat water between 60 and 7 ºC.”

Once the evaporated liquid achieves a high enough temperature, tiny amounts of a catalyst are added. The combination of high temperature and catalysts produces hydrogen very efficiently, Hotz said. The hydrogen can be immediately directed to a fuel cell to provide electricity to a building during the day, or compressed and stored in a tank to provide power later.

Tags: construction, e=mc2, electricity, Energy Storage, Fuel, hydrogen, renewable, solar, water by Sparky
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These Swiss scientists have come up with a novel way to harness the energy from the sun. They have created an inflatable heat pipe which reflects the suns energy onto a water pipe to create steam and drive a turbine. They are in testing and development phase at the moment.

The tube is a long cylinder. Running through the cylinder is a reflective film which divides the space into two air-tight chambers. A small difference in pressure between the upper and lower chamber causes the reflective film to curve downwards, thus producing a trough which focuses the light.

The light first travels through a transparent, upper film, before reflecting off the curved mirror film to the focus area within the upper chamber. Thermal absorbers then use the focused light to produce steam, which can be used for industrial processes or to generate electricity.

“In this black pipe the light is absorbed and turned into heat,” Tiefenbacher explains. “Fluid is pumped through the pipe, for example water. The fluid is warmed, turned into steam which then drives a turbine which makes energy.”

Tags: electricity, Energy Storage, renewable, solar, water by Sparky
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