Tags
Alternative Energy, alternative energy symposium expo and convention, Alternative Fuels, biofuels
Microbes gobble corn and spit out electricity
(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
A Penn State scientist has developed technology that uses corn stover — cornstalks, leaves and other leftovers after the corn is picked — to produce electricity. All it requires is engineering expertise and some hungry bacteria.
(August 2, 2006)
http://www.mrs.org/s_mrs/sec.asp?CID=1986&DID=84155&SID=1
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http://www.fuelethanolworkshop.com/ema/DisplayPage.aspx?pageId=About_Us
June 15–18, 2009 | Colorado Convention Center | Denver, Colorado, USA
International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo
BBI International
http://www.bbiinternational.com/DisplayPage.aspx?pageId=1
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For more information click a topic below: 
Ethanol Producer Magazine
Biodiesel Magazine
Biomass Magazine
Distillers Grains Quarterly
Bioenergy Canada
Bioenergy Australasia
Fuel Ethanol: A Technological Evolution
Additional Services and Publications
http://www.bbiinternational.com/DisplayPage.aspx?pageId=1
BBI International Media
BBI International Media is the world leader in biofuels/biomass industry publishing. We have set the standard with publications like Ethanol Producer Magazine and Biodiesel Magazine , and we continue to raise the bar with new publications like Biomass Magazine and our ever expanding line of online services.
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A Honeywell Company
UOP –
UOP is an international supplier and licensor of process technology, catalysts, adsorbents, process plants, and consulting services to the petroleum …
www.uop.com/
UOP Works With Vaperma to Offer Enhanced Energy Efficiency in Ethanol Production
UOP has entered into an agreement with Vaperma, Inc. to jointly offer technology to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in biofuel ethanol dehydration. Read more…
UOP and Newpoint Gas Sign Agreement for UOP Separex™ Membrane Natural Gas Processing Technology
UOP has signed an agreement with Newpoint Gas, LP to exclusively use Separex membrane technology in the design of specific gas treating plants in Canada and the United States. Read More…
UOP GB-564 Absorbent Selected by Thailand’s PTT Chemical for Trace Contaminant Removal
PTT Chemical selected UOP GB-564 absorbent to remove mercury and hydrogen sulfide from ethane gas used in the production of petrochemicals at its facility in Thailand. Read more…
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http://www.fuelethanolworkshop.com/ema/DisplayPage.aspx?pageId=About_Us
June 15–18, 2009 | Colorado Convention Center | Denver, Colorado, USA
International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo
BBI International
http://www.bbiinternational.com/DisplayPage.aspx?pageId=1
Engineering & Consulting
From “concept to construction,” BBI’s Engineering & Consulting team uses their knowledge and expertise to site, develop and help finance biofuel projects around the world.
Media & Events
BBI Media is the industry’s choice news and information source. From the Ethanol Producer Magazine and Biodiesel Magazine to our wide array of reference materials, no one covers the biofuels industry like we do.
BBI International
Corporate Office
300 Union Blvd., Suite 325
Lakewood,CO 80228
P:(303) 526-5655
F:(303) 526-7776
BBI International
Engineering & Consulting
300 Union Blvd., Suite 325
Lakewood,CO 80228
P:(303) 526-5655
F:(303) 526-7776
BBI International
Media & Events
308 Second Ave.N., Suite 304
Grand Forks,ND 58203
P:(701) 746-8385
F:(701) 746-5367
BBI Biofuels
Canada
30 Duke St.W., Suite 701
Kitchener,ON N2H 3W5
CANADA
P:(519) 576-4500
F:(519) 576-7620
BBI Biofuels
Australia
BBI Biofuels Pty,Ltd.
Level 1, Oxley House
25 Donkin Street
West End, Queensland, 4101
AUSTRALIA
Phone: +61-7-3360-7000
Fax: +61-7-3360-7070
http://www.bbiinternational.com/DisplayPage.aspx?pageId=1
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http://www.globalbiomassnetwork.org/DisplayPage.aspx?pageId=3
Discover the Promise of Biomass
The Global Biomass Network Project, Inc. supports this website and promote sustainable energy development — world wide — with education, community partnerships and philanthropy.
Site Features
- Interactive BioEnergy Network of sustainable industry professionals
- World Biomass Directory to promote contact and collaboration
- Links to international conferences and events
- Links to publications, videos and biomass information resources
- Feedstock information, biobased product data and process information
http://www.globalbiomassnetwork.org/DisplayPage.aspx?pageId=3
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http://sunlighter.com/Products.aspx
The amazing solar powered lighter!
It never needs fuel and lasts for years.
Windproof
Waterproof
Powered by the Sun
**
**
solar powered lighter by Sunlighter.com
**
Watch the Sunlighter
in action.
For more information, please contact us at:
Mailing Address
Sunlighter, Inc.
210 Pear Valley Court
Johns Creek, GA 30022
Phone
678-640-4668
8:00 am – 8:00 pm Eastern Time
http://sunlighter.com/Contact.aspx
http://sunlighter.com/Products.aspx
*******
My Note –
Now, if somebody will just take the little focused sunlight gizmo above and add it to the UOP stuff right here –
Process Technology: Petrochemicals
<!– Innovation Group –> <!–
–>UOP and Ensyn Launch Envergent Technologies to Offer Second-Generation Biomass Technology
UOP has launched Envergent Technologies with Ensyn Corp. to offer technology and equipment to convert second-generation biomass like forest and agricultural residuals to pyrolysis oil for power generation, heating fuel and for conversion into transportation fuels. Read more…
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My Note – then, we could have clean energy –
– cricketdiane, 05-22-09
[And from last year’s post – ]
***
Another idea for an energy solution – solar as fuel – Cricket Diane C Phillips – 2008
Focal Point Sun Collector –
Energy Source Possibility –
Created by Cricket Diane C Phillips 072208
focal point
Sun collector
fine point upon confined space
typical use of magnifying glass for concentration of light source
air in – heats by sun
Increased pressure by expansion
Increased heat from sun’s energy
air intake = one-way valve
heated air expands when collected sunlight envelopes cavity below collector and bounces around mirrored surfaces (shiny metal interior surface where focus has brought in collected sunlight and heat).
Expanding heated air forces out along narrowed corridor through expansion valve which only opens at a specific pressure point –> creating nozzle bursts of heated air
vacuum thus created sucks in more air to be heated = will result in pulses of air bursts for useful powering / energy to use as propulsion, mechanical motion and to turn generator mechanism for electric power generation.
** another possibility could use the physical expansion of the heated air to convert into motion using a bladder type apparatus that would inflate and act as a bellows or physically move a unit of mechanical system
Written by and created by Cricket Diane C “sparky” Phillips, on July 22, 2008, USA
Cricket House Studios, 2008
August 5, 2008 Posted by cricketdiane
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Brainstorming for energy solutions – list of what is abundant and ideas – Cricket Diane C Phillips – 2008
Energy / fuel solutions – brainstorming possibilities –
08-05-08 Cricket Diane C Phillips
We need a fuel that works which is from common, non-toxic, abundant resources that will work in existing vehicles, if retrofitted some way (for less than $1500 each.)
The fuel resource must have specific characteristics that could be harnessed for electric, mechanical or direct power / propulsion or possibly for combustion.
What is plentiful and abundant –
sunlight
light waves
sound waves
red mud – (iron oxides)
sand
dirt
certain salts
sea water
mulch
landfill / garbage
concrete
atomic energy
algae, pond scum
moss
dandelions – will grow anywhere
seaweed (China’s coastal cleanup and others)
kudzu
cogon grass
chaparral
wind
ocean movements
temperature changes
pressure changes
gravity
electromagnetism
earth spin
vacuum pressure
certain mechanical forces
air
polluted air
CO2 and Carbon monoxide
other exotic airbourne chemicals
paper and wood pulp
clay bodies / ceramics
ash
ash by-products
manufacturing pollutants / by-products
mold and mildew
heat
steam
naturally occurring forces
naturally occurring motion – like falling water
heated air rises and falls when it cools
nanocarbon tubes
nanoparticles and their unique behaviors
friction
kinetic and potential motion
elasticity
potential energy inherent in materials and certain mechanisms
manure
bat guano
cow manure
O3 manufacture
ionization
lightning
plus to minus energy change
plasma (physics)
alcohol
vegetable oil
light spectrum elements
lasers
fiber optics
plastics
plastic milk jugs
glass
methane
acetone
acetate
plastic chips from recycled products and packaging
aluminum from recycled products
some chemical cocktails & combinations
urea and ammonia
coal
charcoal
gyroscopic energy
electricity
unique properties of things
phosphates
phosphorous
soap and soap by-products
If I had to power a vehicle right now because all gasoline stopped and was unavailable – what would I use? Not including alcohol, what else is there?
I would harvest kudzu and make it into wine for its alcohol content to fuel an existing vehicle system. But, if I were to create the vehicle from scratch – I would create propulsion from another use of energy as its system.
Airbourne dust particles –> through plasma field, pull in air – push out air, blasting dust particles with electric arc to heat degrading food stuffs creating methane – to ignite methane stream? To push pistons or to force channel of thrust?
** A cup of water (basic clean water, not heavy water) could power all the vehicles in the world. There is more than enough energy in one cup of water to power all the vehicles in the world today (and maybe for the next ten years.)
Written and created by Cricket Diane C Phillips, August 5, 2008, USA
August 5, 2008 – Posted by cricketdiane | Air Quality, Alternative Energy, Alternative Fuels, America – USA, Apples and Oranges, Creating, Creating Solutions That Work, Creating Solutions for America, Creating Solutions for Real-life, Creativity, Cricket D, Cricket Diane C Phillips, Cricket Diane C Sparky Phillips, Cricket Diane Designs, Cricket House Studios, CricketHouseStudios, Designs, Efficiency Systems 2008, Energy Solutions, Engineering, Extreme Engineering, Genius At Work, Global Warming, How-to, Hybrid Vehicles, Integrated Thinking Processes, Intelligence, Inventing Solutions For America, Make It Work, Money,
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Brainstorming battery and energy ideas – Cricket Diane C Phillips – 2008
Shopping List –
2008 Needs (for energy, fuel, transportation and others)
Cricket Diane C Phillips, 2008
Dynamic propulsion
Battery System – An efficient way to store electrical energy
solar-direct power harvesting
Heat-direct conversion & storage
Photon gathering equipment & useful energy from photons directly or by conversion
DC / AC – electromagnetics / alternators and generators / turbines
Mechanical force and friction force efficiencies
Quantum mechanisms used for power, energy, fuels, propulsion, etc.
Known hydro-electric systems / steam run turbines
–> Solar generator prototype (mine) reworked
–> Ribbon elevator power mechanism @ 1 meter / second (solar, air, wind, atom, chemical, hypermagnetics)
–> That same carbon “nano” tube ribbon used as tracks for transportation system (on ground)
Converting chemical energy into electrical energy and harnessing the conversion
Symbiosis / symbiotic electrical mechanisms
–> A super density solid spinning at 10,000+rpm has a gravitational yield? Of how much lift?
–> Sulfur dioxide compounds (airborne) as fuel? How to convert at room temp? At high tem? In existing car engine systems – what catalyst would be required using normal pressures?
Applied mechanics to amplify power inputs
see image – triangle with C (carbon) on top point, O (oxygen) at right point, and H (hydrogen) at left base point. Stage one reaction with carbon, stage two using oxygen and third stage with hydrogen. Three-reaction system for propulsion
Strange chemistry / store electricity another way (as light / photons), (as 3-dimensional harnessing “grid”), (as sound waves?), nanoparticles storage system in molecular sieve
–> why couldn’t existing battery technology be used but exchange nanoparticles held in place by semi-permeable skin? It would increase storage capacity exponentially, (regular lead / acid batteries et al.) – it would have to be easier than what is already being done.
d/c power systems could be created more directly from sunlight and from nuclear power technologies while still using a/c – producing systems as they are simultaneously – see notes
airplanes are heating the cold surfaces (external) and cooling hot surfaces by mechanic / thermo electric systems – why not take the temperature differential from one to fix the other and vice versa – couldn’t that save significant power (also harness exhaust for re-use as fuel in flight)
–> using a laser to heat water – what happens to photons in that process? Could this process turn a turbine for power generating? Do photons have enough power to be stored and used – doesn’t bio-luminescent systems use such a system?
–> what has been done on this already? Does it heat or alter a shaft of air =/- in the surrounding column of laser emission?
–> there has to be a lot of charged material for column effects of electricity (such as in lightning) – are there any materials that could be used to intentionally harness this affect? Would they be stable? – could they be made stable enough to handle?
–> is there a way to harness electric effects from plasma globes? Lightning machines? What has been done along these lines?
–> 2 – 3 volt miniature motor made by Japanese shown in 1992 (less than three inches length)? In tandem to move or enhance motion?
Written by Cricket Diane C “sparky” Phillips, 08-07-08, USA
August 7, 2008 – Posted by cricketdiane
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Fun & Newsworthy
Interesting and fun news reports and features related to materials.
Links
Solar Tech: Not just on the roof anymore
(The New York Times)
Photovoltaic cells are already a familiar sight on rooftops. But one day, miniature cells may also be found in more unconventional places: power-generating windows, car sunroofs or even awnings. The new technology is the work of a researcher and his colleagues who developed a way to print ultrathin, semitransparent and flexible cells on plastic, cloth and other materials. If the technology succeeds, it may provide the solar industry with alternatives to the fixed installations that are common today: cells may be printed on plastic rolls that could be unfurled for dozens of uses, or stamped onto fabric for T-shirts or other clothes that collect energy while worn. They use a standard printing technique to create solar cells that are a tenth the thickness of conventional semiconductor cells, or even thinner. The cells are so flexible that dense arrays of them can be rolled tightly around a pencil.
(April 30, 2009)
http://www.mrs.org/s_mrs/sec.asp?CID=1986&DID=84155&SID=1
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- Polymer coating heals itself
(The New York Times)
Credit: ScienceResearchers have tried for years to develop self-healing polymer coatings for various uses. Recent efforts have incorporated microspheres containing bonding chemicals. In another approach described in a new study, what breaks is not a sphere, but a ring-shaped chemical, oxetane, that is incorporated in the polyurethane polymer. Another compound in the polymer, chitosan, forms cross-links at the places where the oxetane breaks, healing the scratch. What makes the method potentially very useful is what causes the cross-links to form: exposure to ultraviolet light. That means that a damaged coating could heal itself in a matter of minutes or hours by being exposed to sunlight, which contains plenty of UV rays.
[Self-Repairing Oxetane-Substituted Chitosan Polyurethane Networks, Science 13 March 2009: Vol. 323. no. 5920, pp. 1458 – 1460 DOI: 10.1126/science.1167391 ]
(March 16, 2009) - Theory and experiment meet, and a new form of boron is found
(The New York Times)
Credit: Artem R. Oganov, Stony Brook UniversityBoron is a simple atom: five protons, five or six neutrons, five electrons. It is not as ubiquitous as hydrogen. Yet it remains an element of mystery. Now researchers have found a form of boron that is nearly as hard as diamond. This discovery even illustrates the power of the idea of evolution, using a so-called genetic algorithm to decipher the structure of the new boron crystal. The new form of boron is stable at super-high pressures — more than 100,000 times the normal atmospheric pressure of 14.7 pounds per square inch — and consists of two substructures. One is a spherical shape of 12 boron atoms. The other is a dumbbell shape of a pair of boron atoms. These two sub-substructures stack together in the same way that table salt (sodium chloride) does. When the high pressures were eased, the boron remained in the new configuration. Subsequent experiments confirmed that the material had the properties predicted by the algorithm.
[Ionic high-pressure form of elemental boron, Nature 457, 863-867 (12 February 2009) | doi:10.1038/nature07736]
(February 19, 2009)
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- A new flexibility with thin solar cells
(New York Times/Nature Materials)Manipulating photovoltaic cells, typically made of semiconductor materials, and incorporating them into different panel designs is not easy. A research group has now come up with a novel method for creating extremely thin solar cells that can be combined in flexible, even partially transparent, arrays. It could be called the rubber-stamp approach. The technique involves creating a series of precisely spaced “microbars” on a block of single-crystal silicon. These bars, which have a thickness of a few micrometers, have doped regions that create p-n junctions, the main feature of most photovoltaic cells.
[Ultrathin silicon solar microcells for semitransparent, mechanically flexible and microconcentrator module designs, Nature Materials, Published online: 5 October 2008 | doi:10.1038/nmat2287]
(October 7, 2008) - Air-purifying stained glass windows early use of nanotechnology
(e! Science News)Stained glass windows that are painted with gold purify the air when they are lit up by sunlight, according to a new study. Numerous church windows across Europe were decorated with glass coloured in gold nanoparticles. Glaziers in medieval forges were thus early nanotechnologists who produced colors with gold nanoparticles of different sizes, suggest the researchers involved in the study. The tiny particles of gold, energized by the sun, are able to destroy air-borne pollutants like volatile organic chemicals which often come from new furniture, carpets and paint.
(August 25, 2008)
http://www.mrs.org/s_mrs/sec.asp?CID=1986&DID=84155&SID=1
Impressive new tricks of light, all within the laws of physics
(New York Times)
In the latest example of logic-defying tricks that physicists can now perform with light, researchers have demonstrated an optical fiber — a glass strand that transmits pulses of light — with a couple of odd characteristics: A pulse of light shot into the fiber departs before it enters. Within the fiber, the pulse travels backward — and faster than the speed of light.
(May 17, 2006)
http://www.mrs.org/s_mrs/sec.asp?CID=1986&DID=84155&SID=1
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http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/topic/materials-science.html
MIT Materials Science Hub
MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Materials science-related labs and programs at MIT
MITEI awards third round of seed grants
The MIT Energy Initiative’s third round of seed grants for energy research will support innovative work on solar power, nuclear power, fuel cells, biofuels, and more. Several projects are inspired by natural systems such as gecko feet and bacterial antennas. May 5, 2009
Spinning at the nanoscale
MIT Professor of Chemical Engineering Gregory Rutledge is exploring new ways to create electrospun nanofibers, which hold promise for applications including protective clothing and wearable power. May 5, 2009
A material for all seasons
Graphene is a recently-discovered material with unique characteristics, and several teams of MIT researchers are hard at work trying to understand its behavior and find new applications for it. May 4, 2009
| MIT home | news office room 11-400 |
77 massachusetts avenue cambridge, ma 02139-4307 |
617-253-2700 newsoffice@mit.edu |
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/topic/materials-science.html
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MIT spinoff gets Detroit contract – Auto manufacturer Chrysler said this week it has chosen A123Systems, a Watertown company based on technology developed at MIT, to make batteries for its new Envi line of electric and hybrid cars. April 8, 2009
New virus-built battery could power cars – For the first time, MIT researchers have shown they can genetically engineer viruses to build both the positively and negatively charged ends of a lithium-ion battery through a cheap and environmentally benign process. April 2, 2009
New material could lead to faster chips – New research findings at MIT could lead to microchips that operate at much higher speeds than is possible with today’s standard silicon chips, leading to cell phones and other communications systems that can transmit data much faster. March 19, 2009
Manufacturing inefficiency – Modern manufacturing methods are spectacularly inefficient in their use of energy and materials, according to a detailed MIT analysis of the energy use of 20 major manufacturing processes. March 17, 2009
Battery material for rapid recharging of devices – MIT engineers have created a kind of beltway that allows for the rapid transit of electrical energy through a well-known battery material, an advance that could usher in smaller, lighter batteries that could recharge in seconds rather than hours. March 11, 2009
Physicists discover variation in superconductors – MIT physicists have discovered that several high-temperature superconductors display patchwork quilt-like variations at the atomic scale, a surprising finding that could help scientists understand a new class of unconventional materials. January 27, 2009
Solving the mysteries of metallic glass – Researchers at MIT have made significant progress in understanding a class of materials that has resisted analysis for decades. Their findings could lead to the rapid discovery of a variety of useful new kinds of glass made of metallic alloys. December 18, 2008
Finding better materials for solar cells – Research by MIT scientists and students could lead to cheaper and more efficient solar cells, either by incorporating materials that are so abundant that they could support a major boom in the industry or by cutting production costs for conventional solar cells. December 10, 2008
Boosting the power of solar cells – New ways of squeezing out greater efficiency from solar photovoltaic cells are emerging from computer simulations and lab tests conducted by a team of physicists and engineers at MIT. November 26, 2008
Baby steps – For the first time, an MIT team has shown at a molecular level how a cell motor protein generates the force needed to move through cells. November 24, 2008
A new class of catalysts – A new class of chemical catalysts has been discovered by a team of Boston College and MIT scientists, opening up a vast new scientific platform to researchers in medicine, biology and materials. November 16, 2008
[And-]
Viruses make high-tech materials – A researcher reports in the May 3 issue of Science that she used genetically engineered viruses to mass produce tiny materials for next-generation optical, electronic and magnetic devices. May 2, 2002
Mirror fibers could create novel fabrics – MIT researchers have created high-performance mirrors in the shape of hair-like flexible fibers that could be woven into cloth or incorporated in paper. April 24, 2002
Photonic fabrics – MIT researchers have created high-performance mirrors in the shape of hair-like flexible fibers that could be woven into cloth or incorporated in paper. April 23, 2002
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/topic/materials-science-archive.html
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– AND –
$22.2M grant for outreach – A $22.2 million grant to MIT’s Center for Materials Science and Engineering is good news not only for the center but also for other researchers and outreach programs. November 20, 2002
Rechargeable batteries – MIT researchers have transformed a relatively common material, lithium iron phosphate, into one with handsome potential for the next generation of rechargeable batteries in electric cars and other devices. October 30, 2002
Material could impact batteries – MIT researchers have transformed a relatively common material, lithium iron phosphate, into one with handsome potential for the next generation of rechargeable batteries in electric cars and other devices. October 23, 2002
**
NTO –
my note – what is that date? October 23, 2002 and the techno research had already been paid for and done – so why aren’t we all driving electric cars with these batteries at an affordable price right now – It is 2009 !
– cricketdiane, 05-22-09
