The solar updraft tower is a proposed type
of renewable-energy power plant. Air is heated in a very large circular greenhouse-like
structure, and the resulting convection causes the air to rise and escape through a tall
tower. The moving air drives turbines, which produce electricity. A research prototype
operated in Spain in the 1980s.
Study reveals new, cost-efficient method
for creating portable hydrogen fuel cells
A new paper published in Journal of the American Ceramic Society proposes a new method
of producing hydrogen for portable fuel cells. This new method negates the need for the
complicated and expensive equipment currently used. With their ability to work steadily
for 10-20 times the length of equivalently sized Lithium-ion batteries, portable fuel
cells are ideal energy suppliers for devices such as computers, cell phones and hybrid
vehicles. http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/press/pressitem.asp?ref=1308
UCLA chemists design world's
lowest-density crystals for use in clean energy
Chemists at UCLA have designed new organic structures for the storage of voluminous
amounts of gases for use in alternative energy technologies. The research, to be published
on April 13 in the journal Science, demonstrates how the design principles of reticular
chemistry have been used to create three-dimensional covalent organic frameworks, which
are entirely constructed from strong covalent bonds and have high thermal stability, high
surface areas and extremely low densities.
In his Jan. 23 State of the Union address, President George Bush outlined his plan to
reduce the nation's dependency on foreign oil by requiring the production of 35 billion
gallons a year of renewable and alternative fuels by 2017, roughly five times the current
target set by Congress of 7.5 billion gallons by 2012. Among the most promising
alternatives are fuels derived from biological material. Currently, the main biofuel used
in the United States is ethanol distilled from kernels of corn. There are about 140 corn
ethanol refineries nationwide, which produce more than 5 billion gallons a year. But
critics say that corn ethanol alone won't meet the president's goal of 35 billion gallons
of alternative fuels in 10 years, because cultivating corn to use only its grain would
take up too much land. According to the National Environmental Trust, producing 35 billion
gallons of ethanol annually would require putting an additional 129,000 square miles of
farmland—an area roughly the combined size of Kansas and Iowa—into corn
production.
University of Nevada professor
demonstrates new hydrogen fuel system
Northern Nevada energy consumers can be excused if they have a sense of "sticker
shock" when their power bills come due following the holiday season. Or, that they
have a feeling of powerlessness as the price of gasoline climbs to $3 per gallon.
Children and young people show
elevated leukaemia rates near nuclear facilities, says multi-study review
Leukaemia rates in children and young people are elevated near nuclear facilities, but no
clear explanation exists to explain the rise, according to a research review published in
the July issue of European Journal of Cancer Care. Researchers at the Medical University
of South Carolina carried out a sophisticated meta-analysis of 17 research papers covering
136 nuclear sites in the UK, Canada, France, the USA, Germany, Japan and Spain.
Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory are trying to design catalysts inspired by
photosynthesis, the process by which green plants convert sunlight, water, and carbon
dioxide into oxygen and carbohydrates. The goal is to design a system that can produce
methanol, methane, and hydrogen directly from water and carbon dioxide using renewable
solar energy. Four Brookhaven chemists will discuss their research on this
"artificial photosynthesis" at the 233rd National Meeting of the American
Chemical Society.
New 'biofuel cell' produces
electricity from hydrogen in plain air
A pioneering "biofuel cell" that produces electricity from small amounts of
hydrogen mixed in ordinary offers significant potential as an inexpensive and renewable
alternative to the costly platinum-based fuel cells that have dominated discussion about
the "hydrogen economy" of the future. The work will be described at the March
national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Chicago.
Alternative energy comes closer with
advances in hydrogen fuel cell sealing technology
Solid oxide fuel cells have attracted major interest from research and development
communities as an alternative source of power, with commercial trials already under way.
International Solar House
Competition Helps Students See the Light
College students in 20 sites around the world are in a heated competition to develop new
technology or to apply existing technology in new ways as part of an ongoing global
competition to build the planet’s best solar house.
