Going Bananas for Greener Cars

In their attempt to develop a more eco-friendly way to reinforce automotive plastics, the efforts of a team of Brazilian scientists have finally bore fruit. By using fibers from such fruits as bananas and pineapples, the scientists claim they can reinforce new plastics, making them not only stronger and lighter, but more sustainable as well.
Study leader Alcides Leao recently addressed the National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society expounding on the durability of the new plastic's nano-cellulose fibers, some of which are almost as stiff as Kevlar.

“The properties of these plastics are incredible,” Leao said at the exposition. “They are light, but very strong -- 30 per cent lighter and three-to-four times stronger. We believe that a lot of car parts, including dashboards, bumpers, side panels, will be made of nano-sized fruit fibers in the future. For one thing, they will help reduce the weight of cars and that will improve fuel economy.”
To create these nano-fibers, scientists put the leaves and stems of pineapples and other plants into a device similar to a pressure cooker. Certain chemicals were added and heated over several cycles, producing a fine powder that was then added to the plastics. Scientists say the process is costly, but it takes only one pound of nano-cellulose to produce 100 pounds of super-strong, lightweight plastic.
“So far, we’re focusing on replacing automotive plastics,” said Leao. “But in the future, we may be able to replace steel and aluminum automotive parts using these plant-based nanocellulose materials.”
Source: Discovery

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Chicago's Willis Tower to Harness Sunlight

Chicago may be known as the Windy City, but don't sell short its sunlight. According to veteran Chicago weather observer and recipient of the National Weather Service's Thomas Jefferson Award, Frank Wachowski, the city sees at least some sun on about 320 days a year. A new solar power project involving one of the city's most iconic buildings is about to take advantage of that.

The Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) is on deck to become an enormous vertical solar farm with the installation of photovoltaic glass panels on the south side of the skyscraper's 56th floor.
Two esisting windows on North America's tallest building were replaced last November with new high power density photovoltaic glass units (PVGU) developed by Pythagoras Solar. These innovative windows sandwich a common solar cell between two panes of glass. A reflective prism inside the PVGU directs angled sunlight onto the solar cells, but still allows daylight to shine through.
Each window is about one square meter and capable of generating 120W of power.
Energy harnessed by the transparent solar windows are expected to reduce heat gain, and therefore cooling costs as well.
"We are excited to launch this pilot with Pythagoras Solar's leading-edge solar window solutions as a test for not only the energy savings that can be achieved, but the potential they represent to actually generate power through the sun," said John Huston, in a PRNewswire press release. He's Executive Vice President of American Landmark Properties, one of the ownership partners of Willis Tower.
Currently, the photovoltaic cell in each PVGU is capable of generating the same amount of energy as a standard roof-top mounted solar cell. However, if successful, the high-profile pilot project could expand to the building's east and west facades and potentially generate 2 Megawatts of solar power.
Source: Discovery News

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London's Black Cabs Go Green

Road Legal Fuel Cell Black Cabs Make First Appearance on London’s Roads
LOUGHBOROUGH, UK, 28th March 2011, Intelligent Energy, the global clean power systems company, has announced that the Fuel Cell Black Cabs have taken to the roads of London for the first time since being awarded Road Legal status by the UK Vehicle Certification Authority (VCA). At an event on 22nd March 2011, one of the Intelligent Energy powered taxis travelled from Forbes House, headquarters of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and the taxi’s base for the day, to some of London’s most iconic landmarks.

The project to deliver a fleet of the zero emission taxis to the streets of London in time for 2012 is on track, with the first Fuel Cell Black Cabs covering a combined total of over 8,000 miles in road and test track testing conditions. During its first tour of London’s roads, one of the Fuel Cell Black Cabs excelled in rush-hour traffic, with smooth and responsive acceleration provided by the fuel cell and electric motors.
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, wants to make Britain a leader in fuel cell technology and has already announced plans to increase hydrogen refuelling stations around the capital. He said, “These prototype zero-emission taxis are a shining example of British ingenuity, combining revolutionary fuel cell technology with an iconic design classic. This marks an important milestone in my goal to create a cleaner cab fleet, firstly through introduction of the first ever age limits moving towards zero-emission vehicles as they come to market. Affordable and low polluting cabs are within our grasp and I urge manufacturers to accelerate efforts to produce them.”
The zero emission taxis have been developed by a consortium, led by Intelligent Energy, which includes Lotus Engineering, London Taxis International and TRW Conekt with part-funding from the UK Government’s Technology Strategy Board. The fuel cell and battery powered hybrid taxi provides a 250 mile driving range with rapid refuelling, all within the confines of the body of a conventional London taxi. Now that fully functional, validated, proven vehicles have been produced, the consortium plans to push ahead with the delivery of a fleet to London in time for 2012.
“The Fuel Cell Black Cabs are now road proven with thousands of miles of operation. Indeed, many people may have seen them as they have been driven around various parts of the UK, but we are now happy to formally announce their road legal status and that you will be seeing more of them in the coming months,” noted Dr. Henri Winand, Chief Executive of Intelligent Energy. “At a time when London will soon be demonstrating its commitment to excellence in the sporting arena, we are proud to show that the UK can also deliver world-leading zero emissions, fuel cell electric vehicle technology that will make a real difference both to lowering carbon emissions and improving air quality.”
source: intelligent-energy

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Using Heat to Cool Buildings

Novel materials could make practical air conditioners and refrigerators that use little or no electricity.
It could soon be more practical to cool buildings using solar water heaters and waste heat from generators. That's because of new porous materials developed by researchers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. These materials can improve a process called adsorption chilling, which can be used for refrigeration and air conditioning.

Adsorption chillers are too big and expensive for many applications, such as use in homes. Peter McGrail, who heads the research effort, predicts that the materials could allow adsorption chillers to be 75 percent smaller and half as expensive. This would make them competitive with conventional, compressor-driven chillers.
All refrigerators and air conditioners cool by evaporating a refrigerant, a process that absorbs heat. They differ in how that refrigerant is condensed so that it can be reused for cooling. Unlike the technology inside most air conditioners, which employs electrically driven compressors to mechanically compress the vaporized refrigerant, adsorption chillers use heat to condense the refrigerant. Adsorption chillers are typically far less efficient than chillers that use electrical compressors, and are bulky and expensive. But they have the advantage of being cheap to operate, since they require very little electricity. "If you have waste heat, you can run it for free," McGrail says.
So far these chillers have been limited to applications where there is a lot of waste heat—such as industrial facilities and power plants—or where electricity isn't always available. Cutting their size and cost could make them attractive in more applications, including in homes, where they could be run using hot water from solar heaters, McGrail says.
Since current adsorption chillers can be two or three times larger than chillers that use electric compressors, "cutting the size of adsorption chillers by 75 percent could make them competitive," says Yunho Hwang, a professor at the Center for Environmental Energy Engineering at the University of Maryland. The chillers could be particularly useful for cooling with hot water from solar water heaters, since adsorption chillers can use the relatively low-temperature such heaters produce, he says.
Source: TechnologyReview

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America's Next Top Energy Innovator

America's Next Top Energy Innovator: An Opportunity for Startups to Snag Government-Developed Technology for $1,000
The 17 national laboratories in the U.S.--including notables like the Argonne National Lab, Lawrence Livermore National Lab, and Los Alamos National Lab--are innovation machines, holding a total of 15,000 patents. Problem is, it costs tens of thousands of dollars for private companies to license the technologies, not to mention countless hours spent on paperwork. As a result, only 10% of all federal patents have been licensed for commercialization. The Department of Energy's solution: America's Next Top Energy Innovator, an initiative launched today as part of the recently announced Startup America campaign.

To be fair, America's Next Top Energy Innovator isn't exactly a competition; it's just a catchy title for a program that will allow startups to save on cash and paperwork when applying for government patents. The process is simple: Beginning on May 2, startups can use a DOE-provided template for their business plan, and if approved, they need only pay $1,000 to score licensing for a patent (normal costs range between $10,000 to $50,000) and negotiate other details (i.e. equity and royalties) on a case-by-case basis with the DOE.
Any licensing terms outside of the $1,000 up-front fee can be paid once the startup achieves commercial success. The DOE also plans on revamping its licensing process for startups to include a standard set of terms--meaning the agency can process patents more quickly.
Interested startups can check out the available patents now at the DOE's Energy Innovation Portal. Highlights include Sandia's water contaminant removal system, Pacific Northwest Lab's power grid-friendly appliance controller, and Sandia's method for detecting the impacts of glint and glare on solar installations. What are you waiting for?
source: FastCompany

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low-cost artificial leaf, a solar cell

MIT scientists have created what they say is the world's first practical 'artificial leaf', a solar cell the size of a playing card that mimics photosynthesis.

"A practical artificial leaf has been one of the Holy Grails of science for decades. We believe we have done it," says team leader Daniel Nocera.
"The artificial leaf shows particular promise as an inexpensive source of electricity for homes of the poor in developing countries. Our goal is to make each home its own power station."
Placed in a single gallon of water in bright sunlight, the device could produce enough electricity to supply a house in a developing country with electricity for a day, Nocera said.
It wrks by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, which are stored in a fuel celland used to produce electricity.
Artificial leaves have been around for a while - indeed, the first was created more than ten years ago. But existing versions tend to be expensive and have a short lifespan.
Nocera's new leaf is made of inexpensive materials that are widely available, works under simple conditions and is highly stable, he says. In laboratory studies, a prototype operated continuously for more than 45 hours without a drop in performance.
It's based on several newly-discovered catalysts, made of nickel and cobalt, that can efficiently split water into hydrogen and oxygen, under normal conditions. Right now, Nocera says his leaf is about 10 times more efficient at carrying out photosynthesis than a natural leaf - but says he's optimistic that he can boost efficiency much further.
"Nature is powered by photosynthesis, and I think that the future world will be powered by photosynthesis as well, in the form of this artificial leaf," he says.

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