Alternative Energy Generation Research Articles

From mud to microbial electrode catalysts and conductive nanomaterials

Abstract

Anode supported solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) by electrophoretic deposition

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), with its ability to use hydrocarbon fuels and capability to offer highest efficiency, have attracted great attention in India in recent years as an alternative energy generation system for future. But a great deal of problems associated with SOFC is needed to be solved before it can find commercial application. The relatively high operating temperature of 800–1000 °C of SOFC imposes a stringent requirement on materials that significantly increases the cost of SOFC technology. Reducing the operating temperature of an SOFC to below 800 °C can reduce degradation of cell components, improve flexibility in cell design, and lower the material and manufacturing cost by the use of cheap and readily available materials such as ferritic stainless steel. The operating temperature can be reduced by two possible approaches: (i) developing alternative electrolyte materials with high ionic conductivity at lower temperature, and (ii) developing much thinner and denser electrolyte layer such that the ohmic losses are minimised.In this work we report the use of inexpensive Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) technique in making about 10 micron thin and dense YSZ electrolyte on NiO–YSZ substrate. The effect of different operating parameters such as applied voltage, deposition time etc have been optimised during deposition from YSZ suspension in acetylacetone. The YSZ/NiO–YSZ bi-layers were then co-sintered at 1450 °C for 5 h. The single SOFC cells were then fabricated by brush painting LSM:YSZ (50:50) paste on the electrolyte layer followed by sintering at 1200 °C for 2 h. The single SOFC cell when tested using H2 as fuel and ambient air as oxidant exhibited an open circuit voltage (OCV) of 1.03 V and the peak power density of about 624 mW/cm2 at 800 °C.

Energy Harvesting Technology Development at DARPA

ABSTRACTPrograms in the Defense Sciences Office (DSO) at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) bridge the gap from fundamental science to applications by identifying and pursuing the most promising ideas within the science and engineering research communities and transforming these ideas into new DoD capabilities. The Department of Defense (DoD) recognizes that our dependence on fossil fuel must be reduced and is actively supporting new technical solutions to this challenge. Moreover, advancements in alternative energy generation and storage technologies will render the warfighter more efficient, capable and mobile. Energy harvesting is a central pathway to solving this critical need. This paper will highlight two DARPA DSO programs which are making significant strides in the advancement in materials to improve energy harvesting technology with a focus on rapid transition to the end user. The Nanostructured Materials for Power (NMP) program is developing high performance thermoelectric materials and devices for energy harvesting with goals of energy conversion of 30%. The Low-Cost, Lightweight Portable Photovoltaics (PoP) program is developing integrated PV technologies with high power conversion efficiency (20%) in a form factor capable of being produced at low cost on flexible substrates. The paper will review the goals of the programs, discuss their implications, and highlight some of the research strategies underway.

Quantitative proteomic analysis of the chemolithoautotrophic bacterium Nitrosomonas europaea: Comparison of growing- and energy-starved cells

Obligately aerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) like Nitrosomonas europaea play a pivotal role in the global nitrogen cycle. Although starvation tolerance is a key environmental adaptation, little is known about this response in AOB. The goal of these studies was to compare the composition of the N. europaea proteome in growing- and energy-starved cells using ¹⁵N labeling and HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. More than 6500 peptides were sequenced with high confidence, and matched to 876 proteins (34% of the protein coding genes). Of these, 126 proteins had two or more peptide forms identified by 10 or more scans, and were used in quantitative analysis and 27 were found to be significantly different in abundance between growing and starved cells. Proteins showing greater abundance in growing cells are geared toward biosynthesis, particularly DNA replication. Energy-starved cells were shifted away from biosynthesis and toward survival functions that included: cell envelope modification, protein protection/degradation, detoxification, and implementation of alternative energy generation mechanisms. Most of these activities have not previously been reported as associated with energy-starvation stress in N. europaea. This study provides insights into the potential effects of fluctuating environmental conditions on the regulation of physiological networks in N. europaea.

The mapping of maximum annual energy yield azimuth and tilt angles for photovoltaic installations at all locations in South Africa

Photovoltaic (PV) technology is fast emerging as a viable energy supply option in mitigation against environmental degradation through the burning of traditional fossil fuels. The cost of the technology, however, still poses a major challenge, as the efficiencies are generally still quite modest. Current research efforts to improve efficiency are mainly focused on component physics and manufacturing technologies. Little attention seems to be paid to improved system design at field level. Traditionally it is assumed that a panel installed at a tilt angle that is equal to the latitude at a location should achieve maximum annual energy yield for a non-tracking installation. However, in practice, due to a number of factors such as wind speed, wind direction, air temperature, global and diffuse irradiation and other climatic factors, the optimum azimuth and tilt get more convoluted. In this paper the optimum angles (azimuth and tilt) to maximise annual energy yield for fixed angle PV installations at all locations in South Africa have been tabulated. Climate data software together with solar design software were used in determining the angles. The availability of these tables will offer an additional support tool to the country in promoting the growth of PV as a viable alternative energy generation technology for both urban as well as the most secluded rural areas that are not grid connected.

A STUDY ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE REFORMING OF METHANE: A REVIEW

Natural gas is a fossil fuel which is more suitable as raw materials for alternative energy generation. To be inserted in the global energy production as feedstock for power generation, natural gas needs to undergo a chemical technique known as reforming. The reforming of natural gas or reforming of methane, as it is also known, can be performed by different chemical techniques, each one with advantages and disadvantages with respect to cost/benefit ratio. The product of the reforming of natural gas, regardless of the process used for its realization, is a mixture of gases known as syngas. The aim of this work is to show the importance of the reforming of natural gas for alternative energy generation and analyze the differences between the methods used for the conversion of natural gas in syngas. A review of the literature on this subject is presented, including a discussion on the importance of developing the catalytic systems employed in the process of reforming of methane. Also, the challenges and future perspectives for this process have been considered.

Spatial GHG inventory at the regional level: accounting for uncertainty

Methodology and geo-information technology for spatial analysis of processes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from mobile and stationary sources of the energy sector at the level of elementary plots are developed. The methodology, which takes into account the territorial specificity of point, line, and area sources of emissions, is based on official statistical data surveys. The spatial distribution of emissions and their structure for the main sectors of the energy sector in the territory of the Lviv region of Ukraine are analyzed. The relative uncertainties of emission estimates obtained are calculated using knowledge of the spatial location of emission sources and following the Tier 1 and Tier 2 approaches of IPCC methodologies. The sensitivity of total relative uncertainty to change of uncertainties in input data uncertainties is studied for the biggest emission point sources. A few scenarios of passing to the alternative energy generation are considered and respective structural changes in the structure of greenhouse gas emissions are analyzed. An influence of these structural changes on the total uncertainty of greenhouse gas inventory results is studied.

Suramérica y la seguridad energética: Una visión a la luz del sistema político internacional

Understanding energy in the planet put in the face of world governments to measure their generating capacity in the global hierarchy, especially when the privileges of energy policies are now a challenge for the South American nations-specific case of this analysis-in their processes and energy behavior as the region must tackle if its course in this area will own or multiglobal. So, the thoughts that support this content seek to do a balance in the context of the International Political System (IPS), essential realities that energy security in the world is facing and move the conceptual level and from there, to clarify what kind of relations should undertake States South Americans with the rest of the global community in order to decrease dependency and enhance its status as producing region, emphasizing to become possible leadership in alternative energy generation only if the integration of the Southern States is strengthened to take advantage in order to design a competitive politics for energy security for the world.

Structural monitoring of wind turbines using wireless sensor networks

Monitoring and economical design of alternative energy generators such as wind turbines is becoming increasingly critical; however acquisition of the dynamic output data can be a time-consuming and costly process. In recent years, low-cost wireless sensors have emerged as an enabling technology for structural monitoring applications. In this study, wireless sensor networks are installed in three operational turbines in order to demonstrate their efficacy in this unique operational environment. The objectives of the first installation are to verify that vibrational (acceleration) data can be collected and transmitted within a turbine tower and that it is comparable to data collected using a traditional tethered system. In the second instrumentation, the wireless network includes strain gauges at the base of the structure. Also, data is collected regarding the performance of the wireless communication channels within the tower. In both turbines, collected wireless sensor data is used for off-line, output-only modal analysis of the ambiently (wind) excited turbine towers. The final installation is on a turbine with embedded braking capabilities within the nacelle to generate an impulse-like load at the top of the tower. This ability to apply such a load improves the modal analysis results obtained in cases where ambient excitation fails to be sufficiently broad-band or white. The improved loading allows for computation of true mode shapes, a necessary precursor to many conditional monitoring techniques.

Degradation of Material Properties Significant for Lifetime Extension of Nuclear Power Plants

Abstract The discussion about the right energy sources or alternative energy generation goes around the world, mostly in connection with greenhouse gas reduction. Therefore, some countries have started to consider extending operation of nuclear power plants. This demands an extensive plant life management as well as the knowledge of the degradation in material properties. The Basis Safety Concept (BSC) in Germany observed this circumstance. Still, lifetime extension is not an issue in Germany due to phase out of nuclear energy. Part of the BSC is the application of non-destructive examination (NDE) methods from the beginning, i.e. from component manufacture, to the end of life. The application of a NDE method to detect and size defects in components in nuclear power plants is presented. Some material properties and their degradation during increase of operation time are also in the focus of this paper.

Application of multi-walled carbon nanotubes to enhance anodic performance of an Enterobacter cloacae -based fuel cell

The effect of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) modification of anodes and the optimisation of relevant parameters thereof for application in an Enterobacter cloacae microbial fuel cell were examined. The H – type microbial fuel cells were used for the fundamental studies, with a carbon sheet as a control anode and platinum coated carbon sheets as the cathode. Anodes were correspondingly modified with MWCNTs dispersed in either 0.1% chitosan or 1% Nafion®. Maximum power output was observed four hours after inoculation of the anode chamber with the microorganism. A 252.6% increase in power output of the fuel cell was observed at an anode modified with 10 mg MWCNTs/ml dispersed in 0.1% chitosan compared to unmodified anodes (13.8 iW). MWCNTs dispersed in chitosan yielded nearly 50% greater power outputs than when dispersed in Nafion®; attributed to increased aggregation in the latter as evidenced by scanning electron microscopy imaging. When NafionTM 117 membrane was used as a proton exchanger it generally resulted in higher power outputs than the CMI 7000S membrane. These studies also showed that the time-consuming carboxylic acid functionalisation of MWCNT for such applications is not a necessary requirement for enhancing power outputs. The studies thus illustrate the utility of a MWCNT modified anode as a support matrix for E. cloacae in a microbial fuel cell and provide clarity on parameters which can be applied to other such studies in the emerging area of nanostructured material utilisation in alternative energy generation.

Environmental Leadership and Advocacy: A Call for Whole Systems Healing

A recent report in Lancet (Costello et al., 2009) describes climate change as the biggest global health threat of the 21st century. The authors note that this threat is a result of changing patterns of infection and insect-borne diseases, increased deaths due to heat waves, reduced water and food security, large-scale migration, an increase in extreme climate events, and increased vulnerability for poor communities-all caused by an increase in the earth's average surface temperature. The conclusions of the commission that produced the Lancet report mirror findings in Healthy Hospitals, Healthy Planet, Healthy People, a report by the World Health Organization and Health Care Without Harm (2009) that calls on the health sector to provide leadership in mitigating climate change by addressing issues in health care facilities such as energy efficiency; green building design; alternative energy generation; alternative fuels for hospital vehicle fleets; use of local, nutritious, sustainable food; reduction in waste; and water conservation. Nurses have a history of environmental activism and leadership going back to early nursing leaders such as Florence Nightingale. In Notes on Nursing (1926), Nightingale wrote about the importance of the internal and external environment and emphasized the impact of environmental factors such as air, light, food, sanitation, cleanliness, and water quality on health outcomes. The International Council of Nurses (1992), in a position paper on nurses and the natural environment, noted that the healthy lives of people depend ultimately on Planet Earth-its soil, its water, its oceans, its atmosphere, its biological diversity-all of the elements which constitute people's natural environment. By extension, therefore, nurses need to be concerned with the promotion, maintenance, and restoration of health of the natural environment, particularly with the pollution, degradation, and destruction of that environment being caused by human activities. The American Nurses Association's Principles of Environmental Health for Nursing Practice With Implementation Strategies (2007 ) is a bold call to action that notes the crucial role of nurses in assessing and addressing environmental health issues. The principles address the importance of nurses having knowledge of environmental health concepts and relevant and timely information about potentially harmful products, chemicals, pollutants, and hazards to which they are exposed. It calls on nurses to use the precautionary principle to guide their practice-to use products and practices that do no harm to human health or the environment and to take preventive action in the face of uncertainty. Issues such as climate change and chemical pollution have numerous direct and indirect impacts on the health of individuals, communities and the environment, and demand leadership and advocacy that is based on a whole systems healing perspective. Whole systems healing draws on the principles of wholeness and complexity in addressing problems and issues that require more than simple cause-and-effect analysis-in reality, most problems today. It is based on the understanding that the health of individuals, communities, and the environment are inextricably linked. Application of whole systems thinking and healing requires the ability to apply knowledge and skill in many areas including: * Complexity science-chaos theory * Social network theory * Gentle action (strategic implementation of highly coordinated, low-intensity actions) * Sustainability and stewardship * Social change theory * Disruptive innovation * Reflective-contemplative practices including mindfulness * Social entrepreneurship * Intention and intuition * Interpersonal relational practices: deep listening, presence, circle-council practice, Bohmian dialogue * Restorative justice, including social justice and environmental justice * Creativity Within a whole systems healing framework, new methodologies and strategies draw on the key concepts noted above. …

The EU–Africa Energy Partnership: Towards a mutually beneficial renewable transport energy alliance?

The European Union's EU–Africa Energy Partnership, with respect to its emphasis on transport fuels, aims to ensure that Member States can fulfil agreed upon commitments to sustainable energy via the importation of biomass grown in sub-Saharan Africa. This policy aims to reduce the dependence of developing sub-Saharan nations on fossil-fuels, while ensuring the global proliferation of alternative transport energy generation as a means to combat climate change. Though the policy seems equitable in theory, and indeed mutually beneficial, several important issues arise. The paper examines the EU–Africa Energy Policy in the context of biofuels in particular, with a view to identifying potential flaws and imbalances and making policy recommendations. Aside from establishing critical uncertainties, the study adduces environmental science, historical comparanda and economic theory in order to assess the various threats associated with aspects of the policy, especially in light of previous policies that have stifled the development of sub-Saharan economies. In addition, the paper has substantial relevance to developing and newly industrialized nations in Asia and South America also seeking to invest in biomass cultivation and production.

Discovering cis-Regulatory RNAs in Shewanella Genomes by Support Vector Machines

An increasing number of cis-regulatory RNA elements have been found to regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally in various biological processes in bacterial systems. Effective computational tools for large-scale identification of novel regulatory RNAs are strongly desired to facilitate our exploration of gene regulation mechanisms and regulatory networks. We present a new computational program named RSSVM (RNA Sampler+Support Vector Machine), which employs Support Vector Machines (SVMs) for efficient identification of functional RNA motifs from random RNA secondary structures. RSSVM uses a set of distinctive features to represent the common RNA secondary structure and structural alignment predicted by RNA Sampler, a tool for accurate common RNA secondary structure prediction, and is trained with functional RNAs from a variety of bacterial RNA motif/gene families covering a wide range of sequence identities. When tested on a large number of known and random RNA motifs, RSSVM shows a significantly higher sensitivity than other leading RNA identification programs while maintaining the same false positive rate. RSSVM performs particularly well on sets with low sequence identities. The combination of RNA Sampler and RSSVM provides a new, fast, and efficient pipeline for large-scale discovery of regulatory RNA motifs. We applied RSSVM to multiple Shewanella genomes and identified putative regulatory RNA motifs in the 5′ untranslated regions (UTRs) in S. oneidensis, an important bacterial organism with extraordinary respiratory and metal reducing abilities and great potential for bioremediation and alternative energy generation. From 1002 sets of 5′-UTRs of orthologous operons, we identified 166 putative regulatory RNA motifs, including 17 of the 19 known RNA motifs from Rfam, an additional 21 RNA motifs that are supported by literature evidence, 72 RNA motifs overlapping predicted transcription terminators or attenuators, and other candidate regulatory RNA motifs. Our study provides a list of promising novel regulatory RNA motifs potentially involved in post-transcriptional gene regulation. Combined with the previous cis-regulatory DNA motif study in S. oneidensis, this genome-wide discovery of cis-regulatory RNA motifs may offer more comprehensive views of gene regulation at a different level in this organism. The RSSVM software, predictions, and analysis results on Shewanella genomes are available at http://ural.wustl.edu/resources.html#RSSVM.

Review: Alternative energy from food processing wastes

AbstractFood processes generate large amounts of various waste types. The environmental impact of these wastes is generally high if disposed untreated due to their high BOD and COD contents. By utilizing the high potential energy available in food processing wastes, sustainable energy can be obtained while reducing the waste disposal costs and impact on the environment. According to the unique compositions of various food processing wastes, proper conversion methods must be selected to optimize the economic and environmental benefits. In this review, food processing wastes are categorized in six groups, and various energy conversion technologies are addressed in association with them. Future direction for better utilizing food process wastes in alternative energy generation is also suggested. © 2008 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 2008

Titanium Oxide Based Photocatalysts: From Research to Applications

The increasing concerns for climate change and exhausting supply of traditional energy sources have triggered world-wide research efforts in developing alternative energy generation systems. Photocatalytic process for clean electricity/H2 generation and environmental pollution purification has been considered as one of the most promising solutions to address these key challenges that mankind faces. Among various semiconducting photocatalysts, TiO2 has been recognized as the best candidate to date. In this review, we first introduce the basic mechanisms of photocatalytic reactions addressing the processes of electron-hole generation, recombination, charge transfer and surface redox reactions; followed by the preparation of nanostructured TiO2 and their band-gap/surface modification towards visible light response photocatalytic activity, with a main focus on representative research works and patenting activities. The second part overviews some typical applications of TiO2 which include water splitting for H2 production, air and water pollutant purification, self-cleaning coating and dye-sensitized solar cells. Directing the future scientific and applied research efforts toward rational design of this photocatalyst will play a key role in achieving efficient utilization of solar energy for environmental and energy conversion applications.

Waiting to Exhale?: Global Warming and Tax Policy

This article explores the links between energy policy, tax policy and global warming. This article focuses on tax policy, because the emerging consensus among legal scholars favors economic incentives rather than command-and-control regulations for reaching environmental goals, and the Federal income tax has proved an effective delivery system for economic incentives. After briefly discussing of the science of global warming and the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, the article reviews the impact of both existing tax law and current proposals for energy legislation on global warming, as well as potential international law consequences of failure to act to curtail global warming. This analysis also includes a discussion of global warming as tragedy of the commons issue and reflects on how psychological factors and economic beliefs may affect the public's level of concern about global warming. Concluding that both present law and current proposals create incentives for continued and increasing use of greenhouse gas emitting fossil fuels, the article outlines a three part strategy for curtailing global warming through tax policy: (1) reducing or eliminating the present law subsidies for fossil fuel use while creating and strengthening incentives for alternative energy generation; (2) imposing a carbon tax; and (3) creating incentives for development of carbon sequestration projects in privately held forests in the United States. The article studies the effectiveness of these proposals by comparing similar proposals in effect in other countries and by considering the classic tax policy goals of equity and efficiency. The tax system is an appropriate and effective way to encourage businesses to adopt an environmental ethic and take action to reverse global warming. Strong economic, esthetic, and moral arguments support changing our tax system to protect the environment from global warming.

Realization of Alternative Energy Generation and Storage

Realization of Alternative Energy Generation and Storage