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Cost-Efficient Process Expected To Turn Algae Into Fuel
BORCULO, Netherlands - Set amid cornfields and cow pastures in eastern Holland is a shallow pool that is rapidly turning green with algae, harvested for animal feed, skin treatments, biodegradable plastics -- and with increasing interest, biofuel.
In a warehouse 120 miles southwest, a bioreactor of clear plastic tubes is producing algae in pressure-cooker fashion that its manufacturer hopes will one day power jet aircraft.
Experts say it will be years, maybe a decade, before this simplest of all plants can be efficiently processed for fuel. But when that day comes, it could go a long way toward easing the world's energy needs and responding to global warming.
Algae is the slimy stuff that clouds your home aquarium and gets tangled in your feet in a lake or ocean. It can grow almost everywhere there is water and sunlight, and under the right conditions it can double its volume within hours. Scientists and industrialists agree that the potential is huge. BORCULO, Netherlands - Set amid cornfields and cow pastures in eastern Holland is a shallow pool that is rapidly turning green with al... more -
Blackle.com - Energy Saving Searching
How is Blackle saving energy?
Blackle was created by Heap Media to remind us all of the need to take small steps in our everyday lives to save energy. Blackle searches are powered by Google Custom Search.
Blackle saves energy because the screen is predominantly black. "Image displayed is primarily a function of the user's color settings and desktop graphics, as well as the color and size of open application windows; a given monitor requires more power to display a white (or light) screen than a black (or dark) screen."
In January 2007 a blog post titled "Black Google Would Save 750 Megawatt-hours a Year" proposed the theory that a black version of the Google search engine would save a fair bit of energy due to the popularity of the search engine. Since then there has been skepticism about the significance of the energy savings that can be achieved and the cost in terms of readability of black web pages.
We believe that there is value in the concept because even if the energy savings are small, they all add up. Secondly we feel that seeing Blackle every time we load our web browser reminds us that we need to keep taking small steps to save energy. How is Blackle saving energy? ... more -
A national speed limit of 55 MPH?
An influential Republican senator suggested Thursday that Congress might want to consider reimposing a national speed limit to save gasoline and possibly ease fuel prices.
Sen. John Warner, R-Va., asked Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to look into what speed limit would provide optimum gasoline efficiency given current technology. He said he wants to know if the administration might support efforts in Congress to require a lower speed limit.
Congress in 1974 set a national 55 mph speed limit because of energy shortages caused by the Arab oil embargo. The speed limit was repealed in 1995 when crude oil dipped to $17 a barrel and gasoline cost $1.10 a gallon.
As motorists headed on trips for this Fourth of July weekend, gasoline averaged $4.10 a gallon nationwide with oil hovering around $145 a barrel.
Warner cited studies that showed the 55 mph speed limit saved 167,000 barrels of oil a day, or 2 percent of the country's highway fuel consumption, while avoiding up to 4,000 traffic deaths a year. An influential Republican senator suggested Thursday that Congress might want to consider reimposing a national speed limit to save ga... more -
Electricity from the exhaust pipe
Researchers are working on a thermoelectric generator that converts the heat from car exhaust fumes into electricity. The module feeds the energy into the car’s electronic systems. This cuts fuel consumption and helps reduce the CO2 emissions from motor vehicles.
In an age of dwindling natural resources, energy-saving is the order of the day. However, many technical processes use less than one-third of the energy they employ. This is particularly true of automobiles, where two-thirds of the fuel is emitted unused in the form of heat. About 30 percent is lost through the engine block, and a further 30 to 35 percent as exhaust fumes. Scientists all over the world are developing ways of harnessing the unused waste heat from cars, machines and power stations, in order to lower their fuel consumption.
There is clearly a great need for thermoelectric generators, or TEGs for short. These devices convert heat into electrical energy by making use of a temperature gradient. The greater the temperature difference, the more current TEGs can produce. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM are developing thermoelectric materials, modules and systems to harness the residual heat in automobiles. “The temperatures in the exhaust pipe can reach 700 degrees Celsius or more,” says Dr. Harald Böttner, head of the Thermoelectric Systems department. “The temperature difference between the exhaust pipe and a pipe carrying engine cooling fluid can thus be several hundred degrees Celsius.”
The thermoelectric converter makes use of this huge differential: Driven by the flow of heat between the hot exhaust fumes and the cold side of a coolant pipe, the charge carriers pass through special semiconductors, thus producing an electric current similar to a batterie. The long-term objective is to make the alternator superfluous and to supply energy to the constantly rising number of power consumers in the car. TEGs could cover a significant proportion of a car’s power requirements: “This would make it possible to cut gas consumption by between five and seven percent,” says Böttner.
A simple calculation will illustrate how important it is to increase the energy efficiency of cars: There are about 50 million licensed motor vehicles in Germany, each of which is — as a basis for an estimation — on the road for an average of 200 hours a year. If their waste heat was utilized by TEGs during that time, with an output of one kilowatt sufficient to power parts of vehicle electronics, this would add up to ten terawatt hours of energy per annum — a significant contribution. The researchers are still in the experimentation phase at present, but they plan to build the first prototypes very soon.
End Quote Researchers are working on a thermoelectric generator that converts the heat from car exhaust fumes into electricity. The module feeds... more -
The next step in green technology: "smart" power grids
IBM and Australia's biggest power system operator announced they will develop "smart" grids, which would implement energy-saving technology to work when rebuilding the world's electrical networks. IBM and Australia's biggest power system operator announced they will develop "smart" grids, which would implement ener... more
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How a Google engineer hacks his energy usage
Darrell Anderson always knew that running a bath required more electricity and water than taking a shower, but he's an engineer at Google, so he decided to quantify that difference. His tool of choice? A new resource monitoring system designed by some ex-NASA engineers called Agilewaves with a price tag north of $10,000.
The company's high-end systems provide granular data on a home's electricity, water, and gas consumption, and can compute carbon dioxide emissions from that information. Their system, part of which you can see above, can hook up to 100 types of sensors, and even allows Anderson to measure the pull from individual circuits.
While the company's standard package provides visualization options, Anderson decided to take the analysis into this own hands, logging the raw data and running it through GoogleCharts. That let him see that 25 percent of his home's energy bill was going to watering the lawn. And he got to answer the bath question.
Now, Anderson can say with confidence, "Taking a bath is roughly three times as expensive as taking a shower."
Energy usage monitoring systems are growing in popularity, or least the number of businesses trying to sell them is. (Examples: Onzo, GE) The idea is that if a product makes invisible power usage visible, consumers will respond by reducing the amount of energy they consume. The energy savings immediately translate into money savings, and you help save the world while saving yourself cash.
Companies like FatSpaniel already have dozens of systems installed, but most of them are high-end set-ups geared towards dedicated environmental thinkers who have installed solar power systems. On a broader scale, the California utility PG&E has promised to install lower-resolution energy monitors called smart meters in all its customers homes, but that's not happening in all of its homes until 2011.
The latter initiative is important because energy solutions need to be within reach of mainstream consumers, "cost-competitive," as the industry lingo goes. After all, that's why Google's green initiative, RE < C, is dedicated to making renewable energy cost less than coal.
As the prices of energy monitors fall, more and more consumers will be able to know their own energy profiles as well as Anderson does, allowing them to reduce their energy consumption as painlessly as possible. Darrell Anderson always knew that running a bath required more electricity and water than taking a shower, but he's an engineer a... more -
The Seegers Family Edifice Venture. (The History and Beginning)
The Seegers Family Edifice Venture is a documentary of a family that is turning an old church camp activities center into their future home. One of their goals is to show practical construction methods that will turn this building into an efficient green dwelling.
The History & Beginning is the first webisode of The Seegers Family Edifice Venture. In this episode you will meet the Seegers family, see us close on the building, learn its history and see the new roof go on. You’ll also get a tour of the building with an explanation of how they plan to renovate it. The Seegers Family Edifice Venture is a documentary of a family that is turning an old church camp activities center into their future... more -
VIDEO: Miami architect Chad Oppenheim Sustainable Architecture
You can see the newest sustainable architecture buildings. See : Miami architect Chad Oppenheim, designer of the stunning green COR Tower for Miami. You can see the newest sustainable architecture buildings. See : Miami architect Chad Oppenheim, designer of the stunning green COR To... more
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Put mirrors to the Solar tower's wall ! More potential? More capacity?
It will collect more sun energy? Put mirrors to the Solar tower's wall ! More potential? More capacity? This is the PS10 solar power tower. Seville, Spain.
It will collect more sun energy, because the solar tower/sun tower's wall mirror (1) reflect sun energy to the other sun panels, which are in the ground (2) / floor, than they collect from the sun direct too? And efficient / stronger sun energy goes to the top? (3)
I reflect to Al Gore's BBC radio "Gore helping 'planet savers'" speech. 13.11.2007
(Former US Vice President Al Gore wants to help entrepreneurs who have ideas to help save the planet. )
http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?tab=a...
This is an idea from Hungary to Alliens for Climate Protection to Mr. Al Gore and Parkins. (Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, John Doerr) It will collect more sun energy? Put mirrors to the Solar tower's wall ! More potential? More capacity? This is the PS10 solar p... more -
Respond to Al Gore's BBC radio "Gore helping 'planet savers'&#...
I reflect to Al Gore's BBC radio "Gore helping 'planet savers'" speech. 13.11.2007
(Former US Vice President Al Gore wants to help entrepreneurs who have ideas to help save the planet. )
It will collect more sun energy? Put mirrors to the Solar tower's wall ! More potential? More capacity? This is the PS10 solar power tower. Seville, Spain.
It will collect more sun energy, because the solar tower/sun tower's wall mirror (1) reflect sun energy to the other sun panels, which are in the ground (2) / floor, than they collect from the sun direct too? And efficient / stronger sun energy goes to the top? (3)
http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?tab=a...
This is an idea from Hungary to Alliens for Climate Protection to Mr. Al Gore and Parkins. (Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, John Doerr) I reflect to Al Gore's BBC radio "Gore helping 'planet savers'" speech. 13.11.2007 ... more -
The Tree Goes...Umm Green?
30,000 multicolored lights and they are worried about them being energy saving? HA!
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"Green revolution" in France
The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, has made a deal to confirm his promises toward making France one of the leader countries on the war against global warming. The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, has made a deal to confirm his promises toward making France one of the leader countries on the... more
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Visit Mono Lake!
Contribute in the effort of maintaining Mono Lake as one of the most biologically productive lakes in North America.
More videos at: http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=solaragua&am... Contribute in the effort of maintaining Mono Lake as one of the most biologically productive lakes in North America. ... more -
Low-Impact Living
This green home in southwest Wales not only looks cool (like something from the pages of the Hobbit) it's design and construction materials like solar panels, reclaimed wood, and a self-cooling refrigerator system gives a whole new meaning to "Green Home". This green home in southwest Wales not only looks cool (like something from the pages of the Hobbit) it's design and construction... more
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Incandescent Light Bulbs: So Over
Australia recently passed a law that will ban the sale of incandescent lightbulbs in three years, and other countries are looking to follow suit. Here is an idea to help boost the sales of compact fluorescent lightsthe leading alternative technologyand to make sure consumers take the imperative step of recycling their burned-out CFLs. Australia recently passed a law that will ban the sale of incandescent lightbulbs in three years, and other countries are looking to f... more
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