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Aluminum In Batteries | Earth Wise

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Batteries are playing a bigger and bigger role in our lives.  Apart from their use in ubiquitous smartphones, laptops, and other devices, millions of electric vehicles are hitting the roads, and utilities are installing giant banks of batteries to store energy generated by wind and solar farms.

The necessary characteristics of batteries are high energy density and stability.  The latter is needed so that batteries can be safely and reliably recharged thousands of times.  For decades, lithium-ion batteries have been the go-to for all these modern battery applications.  And they have gradually gotten better and cheaper all the time.  But the improvements are getting smaller, and the price reductions have limits.

For these reasons, researchers are always looking for batteries with higher energy density – so that, for example, electric cars can drive farther on a charge – and that can be made more cheaply, are not flammable, and are very stable.

Since the 1970s, researchers have investigated the use of aluminum for the anode of batteries because its properties would allow more energy to be stored.  However, when used in lithium-ion batteries, aluminum developed fractures and failed after a few cycles.

Researchers at Georgia Tech University have developed a type of aluminum foil with small amounts of other materials that create specific microstructures.  Used in battery anodes, this material does not degrade and appears to be a path to a better battery.  When incorporated into a solid-state battery that does not contain the flammable liquid found in standard lithium-ion batteries, the result is a battery that checks most of the boxes in the search for a better battery.

Much more work is needed to assess the potential for the aluminum-based battery, but it looks very promising.

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Aluminum Materials Show Promising Performance for Safer, Cheaper, More Powerful Batteries

Photo, posted August 27, 2019, courtesy of Marco Verch via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Energy From Fruit Waste | Earth Wise

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In the Back to the Future films, Doc Brown ran his DeLorean time machine on food scraps.  It was a fun bit of science fiction.  But researchers at the University of British Columbia Okanagan in Canada are investigating the potential for using food waste to generate power.

Food waste is not a candidate to replace solar or wind power, but it could be a source of energy for powering fuel cells.  As it is, food waste represents a sustainability challenge because of its detrimental impacts on the economy and the environment.  Organic waste represents a significant fraction of the material in landfills and contributes to methane production, air pollution, and other harmful pollutants.

The UBC researchers focused on fruit waste, which is abundantly available in agricultural regions.  They have devised microbial fuel cells that convert fruit waste into electrical energy using an anaerobic anode compartment.  That is a chamber in which anaerobic microbes – ones that don’t need oxygen – utilize the organic matter to convert it into energy.  The microbes consume the fruit waste and produce water while generating bioelectricity.

It is not like the Back to the Future time machine where you can just toss in scraps of whatever is on hand.  Different types of fruits provide different results when used in the microbial fuel cell. The process works best when the food waste is separated and ground into small particles.  There is a long way to go before the technology could produce bioenergy on a commercial scale, but there is considerable potential for doing something useful with something that is currently worthless.

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UBCO researchers aim to energize fruit waste

Photo, posted July 24, 2011, courtesy of Andrew Girdwood via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Distributed Wind Energy | Earth Wise

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When we think about wind power, we are usually talking about increasingly giant windfarms – either on land or offshore – that produce power on a utility scale.  But there is also distributed wind energy, which refers to wind technologies in locations that directly support individuals, communities, and businesses.  

Distributed wind can be so-called behind-the-meter applications that directly offset retail electricity usage much as rooftop solar installations do.  It can also be front-of-the-meter applications where the wind turbines are connected to the electricity distribution system and supplies energy on a community scale.  Distributed wind installations can range from a several-hundred-watt little turbine that powers telecommunications equipment to a 10-megawatt community-scale energy facility. As of 2020, there were nearly 90,000 distributed wind turbines in the U.S. with a total capacity of about 1 GW.

A study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated the potential for distributed wind energy in the U.S.   According to the new analysis, the country has the ability to profitably provide nearly 1,400 GW of distributed wind energy capacity. 

Entire regions of the country have abundant potential. The regions with the best economic prospects have a combination of high-quality wind, relatively high electricity rates, and good siting availability.  Overall, the Midwest and Heartland regions had the highest potential especially within agricultural land.

Realizing this outcome for distributed wind will require improved financing and performance to lower costs, relaxation of siting requirement to open up more land for wind development, and continued investment tax credits and the use of net metering.

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U.S. has potential for 1,400 GW distributed wind energy, NREL finds

Photo, posted January 3, 2009, courtesy of skyseeker via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A New Method of Refrigeration | Earth Wise

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Salting roads before winter storms is a familiar sight in the Northeast.  The purpose is to change the temperature at which ice can form on the road.  The underlying concept has formed the basis of a new method of refrigeration that has been dubbed “ionocaloric cooling.”

It is described in a paper published in the journal Science by researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.  The method takes advantage of how energy in the form of heat is either stored or released when a material changes phase – such as water changing from ice to liquid and vice versa.  Melting absorbs heat from the surroundings while freezing releases heat.  An ionocaloric refrigerator makes use of this phase and temperature change using an electrical current to add or remove ions provided from a chemical salt.

The potential is to make use of this refrigeration cycle instead of the vapor compression systems in present-day refrigerators, which make use of refrigerant gases that are greenhouse gases, many of which very powerful ones.  The goal is to come up with a system that makes things cold, works efficiently, is safe, and doesn’t harm the environment. 

There are a number of alternative refrigeration systems under development that make use of a variety of mechanisms including magnetism, pressure, physical stretching, and electric fields.  Ionocaloric cooling uses ions to drive solid-to-liquid phase changes.

Apart from some very promising theoretical calculations of the system’s potential, the researchers have also demonstrated the technique experimentally.  They have received a provisional patent for the technology and are continuing to work on prototypes to demonstrate its capabilities and amenability to scaling up.

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Berkeley Lab Scientists Develop a Cool New Method of Refrigeration

Photo, posted October 29, 2021, courtesy of Branden Frederick via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Progress On Artificial Photosynthesis | Earth Wise

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Photosynthesis is the process by which plants use the energy from sunlight to turn water and carbon dioxide into biomass and ultimately the foods we and other organisms eat.  Scientists at the University of California Riverside and the University of Delaware have found a way to create food from water and carbon dioxide without using biological photosynthesis and without needing sunlight.

The research, recently published in the journal Nature Food, uses a two-step electrocatalytic process to convert carbon dioxide, electricity, and water into acetate, which is the primary component of vinegar.   Food-producing microorganisms then consume the acetate in order to grow.   Solar panels are used to generate the electricity to power the electrocatalysis.  The result is a hybrid organic-inorganic system that is far more efficient in converting sunlight into food than biological photosynthesis.

The research showed that a wide range of food-producing organisms can be grown in the dark directly on the acetate output of the electrolyzer.  These include green algae, yeast, and the fungal mycelium that produce mushrooms.   Producing algae with this technology is about 4 times more energy efficient than growing it with photosynthesis.  Yeast production is about 18 times more energy efficient than the typical method of cultivating it using sugar extracted from corn.

Artificial photosynthesis has the potential to liberate agriculture from its complete dependence on the sun, opening the door to a wide range of possibilities for growing food under the increasingly difficult conditions imposed by the changing climate.

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Artificial photosynthesis can produce food without sunshine

Photo, posted September 7, 2016, courtesy of Kevin Doncaster via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Progress On Perovskite Solar Cells | Earth Wise

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Perovskites are semiconductors with a specific crystal structure.  Their properties make them well suited for making solar cells.  They can be manufactured at room temperature, using much less energy than it takes to make the silicon-based solar cells widely used today.  As a result, perovskite solar panels would be cheaper and more sustainable to produce.  Manufacturing silicon solar cells takes a lot of energy because silicon is forged at around 3000 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition, perovskites can be made flexible and transparent, making it possible to use them in ways unavailable with silicon solar technology.

But unlike silicon, perovskites are very fragile.  The early solar cells made from perovskites in 2009 and 2012 lasted for only minutes.  Lots of potential, but little practicality.

Recently, Princeton Engineering researchers have developed the first perovskite solar cell with a commercially viable lifetime, which is a major breakthrough.  The team projects that the device can perform above industry standards for about 30 years, which is much more than the 20 years designated as a viability threshold for commercial cells.

The research team has developed an ultra-thin capping layer between two of the layers of a perovskite solar cell.  The layer is just few atoms thick but has been demonstrated to dramatically increase the durability of the device. 

There is great potential for the new solar cell technology.  It has efficiency to compete with silicon cells but can be tuned for specific applications and can be manufactured locally with low energy inputs.  If successfully commercialized, the result will be solar panels that are cheaper, more efficient, and more flexible than what are available today.

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Once seen as fleeting, a new solar tech shines on and on

Photo, posted January 8, 2020, courtesy of David Baillot/UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Step one. Find a hobby, which involves group activities. This may be a dance or yoga classes, literary evenings or theater studio hookups uk, volunteer work or a discussion club. Choose what’s closer to you, as long as you get to interact a lot with people of both genders. Step Two. Practice virtual communication. Learn to communicate with the opposite sex on social networks.

Floating Offshore Wind | Earth Wise

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According to a new report by the Global Wind Energy Council, floating offshore wind technology is on track to grow from a miniscule market to a substantial contribution to the world’s energy supply over the next decade.  Furthermore, the United States represents one of the countries with the greatest potential.

Wind power is stronger and steadier in the ocean than on land, so the use of offshore wind is rapidly expanding.  However, because most installations are based on fixed structures attached to the sea bottom, they cannot be installed in very deep or complex seabed locations.

Floating offshore wind is based on structures that are anchored to the seabed only by means of flexible anchors, chains, or steel cables.  Apart from making it feasible to place wind turbines in deeper and more distant locations, floating turbines and platforms can also be built and assembled on land and then towed to the offshore installation site.

The floating offshore wind industry is currently in a pre-commercial phase but has great potential.  Many offshore locations with great potential in terms of their wind resources are unsuitable for conventional installations either because of the depth of the seabed or its complex structure.  This is particularly true of the waters off the coasts of California, Oregon, and the Gulf Coast, which otherwise offer excellent wind resources.

There are many issues to deal with in expanding the use of floating offshore wind, including transporting the power to shore and the ability of the local power grids to handle the incoming power.  On the other hand, distantly placed floating offshore wind reduces environmental concerns and eliminates issues associated with the visual impact of wind farms for coastal residents.

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What’s the potential of floating offshore wind?

Photo, posted May 10, 2015, courtesy of Olin Gilbert via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Russian Forests And Climate Mitigation | Earth Wise

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Russia is the largest country in area in the world, almost equal in size to the sum of the next two largest – Canada and the U.S.   Russia is also the world’s largest forest country, containing more than one-fifth of the world’s forests.  As a result, the country’s forests and forestry activities have enormous potential for impacting climate mitigation.

Since the dissolution of the USSR, there has been a decline in the availability of information on the state of Russia’s forests.  The Soviet Forest Inventory and Planning System compiled information until 1988.  Since then, the Russian National Forest Inventory has been the source of forest information on the national scale, and it hadn’t produced a comprehensive inventory until 2020.

The new data indicates that Russian forests have in fact accumulated a large amount of additional biomass over the intervening years.  Using the last Soviet Union report as a reference point, the new results show that the ongoing stock accumulation rate in Russian forests over the 26-year period is of the same magnitude as the net forest stock losses in tropical countries.

Thus, it is clear that Russian forests have great potential in terms of global climate mitigation as well as potential co-benefits relating to the green economy and sustainable development.   It is important to note that as the impact of climate change increases, disturbances to the Russian forests could have severe adverse effects on global climate mitigation efforts.

While much of the world’s attention is rightfully upon tropical rainforests in the Amazon and elsewhere, it is important to not ignore the largest country in the world hosting the largest land biome on the planet where even small percentage changes in the amount of forest biomass could have a major global impact.

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Russian forests are crucial to global climate mitigation

Photo, posted June 6, 2015, courtesy of Raita Futo via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Potential Of Artificial Photosynthesis | Earth Wise

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The sun is the primary source of energy on the earth.  Enough solar energy hits the earth in one hour to meet all of human civilization’s energy needs for an entire year.  The two leading forms of renewable energy – photovoltaic solar power and wind power – are ways of making use of the sun’s energy.  Wind power is indirectly provided by the sun; photovoltaic power uses sunlight to generate electricity.

The most efficient use of solar energy on the planet is one perfected by plants millions of years ago:  photosynthesis.  Photosynthesis is a complex sequence of processes by which plants convert sunlight and water into usable energy in the form of glucose.  Plants utilize a combination of pigments, proteins, enzymes, and metals to perform their magic.  If we can develop artificial photosynthesis, it would be a dramatic improvement of humans’ ability to power society cleanly and efficiently.  Whereas photovoltaics capture about 20% of the sun’s energy, photosynthesis stores 60% of the sun’s energy as chemical energy.

Researchers across the globe are working to develop artificial photosynthesis.  A group at Purdue university has been making progress in trying to mimic the ability of leaves to collect light and split water molecules to generate hydrogen. This is a critical step in photosynthesis that is accomplished by protein and pigment complexes known as “photosystems II”.  The Purdue group is experimenting with these proteins and various synthetic catalysts in order to try to develop artificial leaves based on abundant, nontoxic materials. 

It is likely to take a decade or more for artificial photosynthesis technology to become part of our energy system, but its ultimate potential is enormous.

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Soaking up the sun: Artificial photosynthesis promises a clean, sustainable source of energy

Photo, posted June 14, 2007, courtesy of Alex Holyoake via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Superstrong Nanofibers | Earth Wise

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Self-assembly is a ubiquitous process in the natural world that leads to the formation of the DNA double helix, the creation of cell membranes, and to many other structures.   Scientists and engineers have been working to design new molecules that assemble themselves in water for the purpose of making nanostructures for biomedical applications such as drug delivery or tissue engineering.  For the most part, the materials created in this way have been chemically unstable and tended to degrade rapidly, especially when the water is removed.

A team at MIT recently published a paper describing a new class of small molecules they have designed that spontaneously assemble into nanoribbons with unprecedented strength and that retain their structure outside of water.

The material is modeled after a cell membrane.  Its outer part is hydrophilic (it likes to be in water) and its inner part is hydrophobic (it tries to avoid water.)  This configuration drives the self-assembly to create a specific nanostructure and by choosing the appropriate chemicals to form the structures, the result was nanoribbons in the form of long threads that could be dried and handled.  The resultant material in many ways resembles Kevlar.   In particular, the threads could hold 200 times their own weight and have extraordinarily high surface areas.  The fibers are stronger than steel and the high surface-to-mass ratio offers promise for miniaturizing technologies for such applications as pulling heavy-metal contaminants out of water and for use in electronic devices and batteries.

The goal of the research is to tune the internal state of matter to create exceptionally strong molecular nanostructures.  The potential for important new applications is considerable and exciting.

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Researchers construct molecular nanofibers that are stronger than steel

Photo, posted June 19, 2007, courtesy of Andrew Hitchcock via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Geothermal Power In The Energy Transition | Earth Wise

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The heat beneath the earth represents a vast repository of energy that in principle could provide for a significant part of our needs.  In some places, geothermal energy is easy to get to and is already being exploited.  California and Nevada operate dozens of geothermal electric generating plants.  Boise Idaho heats 92 of its biggest buildings with the river of hot water that flows 3,000 feet below the city.  In total, the U.S. produces enough geothermal electricity to power more than a million homes.

But all these examples make use of relatively rare local features that are not available to the great majority of locations.  As a result, geothermal energy has generally not been viewed as being able to play a major role in the alternative energy transition.

A number of experts around the world disagree with this assessment.  To a fair extent due to the deep-drilling techniques and knowledge about underground formations developed by the oil and gas industry during the fracking boom, there is growing interest in a type of geothermal energy called deep geothermal that accesses hot temperatures in the earth’s mantle as far down as two or three miles.

Deep geothermal can either access extremely hot water that exists down at those depths or water can be injected into hot rock down there, which is a technology known as enhanced geothermal systems.

There is enormous untapped potential for geothermal energy.  A 2019 report by the U.S. Department of Energy says that by 2050, geothermal could provide 8.5% of the United States’ electricity as well as direct heat.  Geothermal could be an important part of the so-called all-of-the-above future energy strategy.

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Can Geothermal Power Play a Key Role in the Energy Transition?

Photo, posted August 2, 2008, courtesy of ThinkGeoEnergy via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Hydropower And Floating Solar | Earth Wise

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According to a new analysis by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, hybrid systems of floating solar panels and hydroelectric plants have the potential to produce a significant portion of the world’s electricity.

According to their estimates, adding floating solar panels to bodies of water that host hydropower stations could produce up to 7.6 terawatts of power a year from the solar systems, resulting in about 10,600 terawatt-hours of energy.  The total global electricity consumption in 2018 was 22,300 terawatt-hours.  So, the potential in terms of the global appetite for electricity is very large.

This estimate is certainly optimistic.  It does not take into account economic feasibility or specific market demand.  What it does represent is an estimate of the technical and performance potential of floating photovoltaics at hydroelectric facilities.

Floating solar is just starting to be used in the U.S., but it has already caught on overseas where space for ground-mounted systems is at a greater premium. 

According to the NREL study, nearly 400,000 freshwater hydropower reservoirs across the globe could host floating PV sites that could be used in conjunction with the existing hydroelectric plants.  One important advantage of this approach is that the hybrid system would reduce transmission costs by linking to a common substation.  In addition, the two technologies could balance each other, with solar power taking up the slack in dry seasons and hydropower working well in rainy seasons.  In some places, pumped storage hydropower could be used to store excess solar generation.

There is great potential in hybrid floating solar/hydroelectric power.

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Untapped potential exists for blending hydropower, floating solar panels

Photo, posted April 12, 2009, courtesy of Alexis Nyal via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Floating Turbines For Offshore Wind | Earth Wise

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Offshore wind is big in Europe.  There are more than 5,000 offshore wind turbines across 12 European countries with a total capacity of more than 22 gigawatts.  Almost every one of those turbines sits on a long tower sunk into the seabed and bolted into place in places where the water is 60 to 160 feet deep.

But off the coast of northern Scotland, there is the Hywind Wind Park which has five 574-foot-tall turbines located 15 miles offshore where the water is 300 feet deep.  The giant masts and turbines sit on buoyant concrete-and-steel keels that allow them to stand upright and float on the water like a giant buoy.  The giant cylindrical bases are held in place with mooring cables attached to anchors that sit on the seafloor.

A key advantage of floating turbines is that they can access outlying ocean waters up to half a mile deep, which is where the world’s strongest and most consistent winds blow.  Another advantage is that such turbines can be installed over the horizon, out of sight of coastal residents who might not like to have wind turbines visible in their scenic ocean views.

Floating wind power has enormous potential for contributing to the expansion of renewable energy.  Offshore wind is still quite a bit more expensive than land-based turbines, and the cost of electricity from distant floating turbines is more than that from near-shore wind turbines.   But all of these costs are likely to come down with improving technology and increased production volume.

There are real challenges to the expanded used of floating wind farms, but the promise of harnessing so much of the open seas for electricity generation is an attractive proposition.

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Will Floating Turbines Usher in a New Wave of Offshore Wind?

Photo, posted July 17, 2017, courtesy of Crown Estate Scotland via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Plastic From Algae | Earth Wise

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Many researchers consider algae to be one of the best renewable resources for replacing fossil fuels and even as a food source.  The green microalgae Nannochloropsis salina is already a common source of omega-3 fatty acids that are sold as dietary supplements.  As a result, that algae strain is already grown on a large scale for the production of omega-3 products.

A group of researchers at UC San Diego has developed a way to make use of the waste stream from that production to create plastics and other useful products.  Currently, when the algae is processed to extract the omega-3 oil, leftover oils comprising more than 70% of the starting material are either thrown away or burned. 

The UCSD team has developed a process to purify and convert this waste stream into azelaic acid, which is a building block for flexible polyurethanes.   These materials have all kinds of commercial applications from flip-flops and running shoe soles to mattresses and yoga mats.

By analogy to the use of animals by native American tribes, the researchers wanted to “use the whole buffalo” in their solution for algae processing waste and therefore figured out how to convert heptanoic acid – another substance in the algae waste stream – into a food flavoring and fragrance.  The flavoring molecule is valued at over $500 per kilogram.

The work, published in the journal Green Chemistry, demonstrates that an algae-source waste stream has both the practical and economic potential to support production of polyurethanes.  The team is already working with shoe companies to commercialize the technology.  With mounting concern over petroleum-based plastic waste, renewable plastic made from algae is an attractive alternative.

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Researchers Turn Algae Leftovers into Renewable Products with Flare

Photo, posted November 8, 2006, courtesy of Adam Moore via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Potential For Offshore Wind

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According to a new report from the International Energy Agency, offshore wind technology has vast potential for meeting our energy needs.  In total, offshore wind has the potential to generate more than 420,000 terawatt-hours of electricity each year, which is more than 18 times the global electricity demand that exists today.

Based on current policy targets and plummeting technology costs, offshore wind could increase 15-fold by 2040, becoming a $1 trillion industry and eliminating 5 to 7 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

Offshore wind today generates just 0.3% of the world’s electricity, but its’ use is growing rapidly.  The industry has grown nearly 30% a year since 2010, and 150 new offshore projects are currently in development around the world.  The leading countries are in Europe – especially in the UK, Germany, and Denmark – but China is greatly expanding its offshore capacity and the US, India, Korea, Japan, and Canada are also expected to make large investments in offshore wind going forward.

Offshore wind is in a category of its own because it is considered a variable baseload power generation technology.  This is because the hourly variability of offshore wind is much lower than solar power or onshore wind.  Offshore wind typically fluctuates far less from hour-to-hour than the other variable energy sources.

Technology improvements and industry growth are driving steep cost reductions for offshore wind.  The cost of offshore wind is expected to be cut in half in the next five years, dropping to $60 per megawatt-hour, which is on par with solar and onshore wind and cheaper than new natural gas-fired capacity in Europe.

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Offshore Wind Has the Potential to Fulfill Global Electricity Demand 18 Times Over

Photo, posted August 9, 2016, courtesy of Lars Plougmann via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Scottish Wind Power

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Scotland is a windy country.  Most wind turbines in the European Union produce electricity at an average of 25% of their maximum rated power as a result of the variability of wind resources.  The west and northern coasts of Scotland have an average capacity of 31% or more.  Some wind farms in Scotland have achieved more than 50% capacity over the course of a year.

As of the end of last year, Scotland had more than 8 GW of installed wind power capacity.  This included 7.8 GW of onshore wind and 623 MW of offshore wind generators.  Estimates are that more than 11 GW of onshore wind could be installed in Scotland.  The total offshore potential is far greater than that but would be much more expensive.  There are multiple large-scale wind farms proposed or under construction in Scotland.

All of this growth in wind power has led to some remarkable results.  During the first half of 2019, wind turbines in Scotland produced enough electricity to power every home in the country twice over.  Scottish wind farms generated nearly 10 million megawatt-hours between January and June, which is equal to the consumption of 4.5 million homes during that period.   That is enough to take care of all of Scotland’s homes plus a large portion of northern England’s. 

Scotland has set a target of generating half of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and decarbonizing its energy system almost entirely by 2050.  The recent performance of its wind power installations shows that the country might be able to reach its goal much sooner than anticipated.

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Scotland’s Wind Farms Generate Enough Electricity to Power Nearly 4.5 Million Homes

Photo, posted March 27, 2017, courtesy of Ian Dick via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

New Ocean Energy Technologies

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The ocean energy sector is still at an early stage of development.  Despite the fact that the ocean is permanently in motion, extracting energy from that motion on a major scale continues to be a challenge.  But the potential benefits of ocean technologies are compelling enough that many approaches continue to be pursued.

[Read more…] about New Ocean Energy Technologies

Climate-Friendly Refrigerants

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In 1988, President Reagan signed the Montreal Protocol, which banned CFC refrigerants like Freon in air conditioners and refrigerators. The chlorofluorocarbons were the cause of a giant hole in the ozone layer, which has been shrinking ever since the ban. Unfortunately, the chemicals that replaced CFCs – hydrofluorocarbons or HFCs – have their own major problem: they are a seriously bad greenhouse gas, far worse than carbon dioxide.   Last fall, an international agreement was reached by over 170 countries to reduce and eventually replace HFCs, which included 100 developing countries like China and India where air conditioning use is growing fastest.

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A Better Way To Farm Algae

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Microalgae biofuels may provide a viable alternative to fossil fuels.  Algae efficiently use CO2 and can produce biomass very quickly.  Some species can double their mass in as little as 6 hours.   Such single-celled organisms are amenable to high-throughput techniques to evolve new strains, unlike terrestrial biomass sources like corn which can take years to modify.

[Read more…] about A Better Way To Farm Algae

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