renewable sources

Transparent Wood | Earth Wise

June 14, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

In recent years, there have been efforts to change the nature of wood to give it new properties. People have demonstrated so-called augmented wood with integrated electronics, energy storage capabilities, and other properties. Several different groups of researchers have developed wood that is actually transparent.

In 2016, researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm demonstrated transparent wood made by selectively extracting lignin – the substance that makes up the cell walls of wood -and replacing it with a polymer. The result is a new material that is weatherproof, fairly fire resistant, stronger than wood, lighter than wood, and transparent.

When the lignin is removed from wood, the empty pores left behind need to be filled with something that restores the wood’s strength. The early versions of transparent wood used polymethyl methacrylate – essentially acrylic plastic – for this purpose. But that material is made from petroleum, so it is not an environmentally desirable approach.

Recently, the KTH researchers have successfully tested an eco-friendly alternative: limonene acrylate, which is a monomer made from renewable citrus, such as peel waste that can be recycled from the orange juice industry.

There are many potential applications for transparent wood as a structural material. These include load-bearing windows, skylights, and semi-transparent facades that are strong and thermally insulating and yet permit light to enter.

Transparent wood would be a very attractive material for many applications in that it comes from renewable sources and offers excellent mechanical properties including strength, toughness, low density, and low thermal conductivity.

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Citrus derivative makes transparent wood 100 percent renewable

Photo, posted October 12, 2018, courtesy of Mussi Katz via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

New Jersey And Offshore Wind | Earth Wise

July 28, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

New Jersey intends to become a major hub for offshore wind in the United States. The state recently announced a plan to build a 30-acre port along the Delaware River for assembling and deploying wind turbines, as well as an additional 25 acres for manufacturing facilities. The new port is expected to cost as much as $400 million and create 1,500 jobs in southern New Jersey.

The port will be located on an artificial island that was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers early in the 20th century. The island is already home to three nuclear reactors. No bridges exist between the island and the Atlantic Ocean, so turbines that are built at the staging facility could be hoisted upright and towed out to sea without obstruction. Some components are as tall as 500 feet and when fully constructed on the ocean, the turbines selected for New Jersey’s first offshore wind project will be more than 850 feet tall.

A second phase of the program would add over 150 acres to accommodate extensive manufacturing facilities for turbine components like blades and nacelles.

Construction on the port is expected to start next year. New Jersey has pledged to produce 7,500 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035 and to generate 100% of its electricity from renewables by 2050. Apart from deploying offshore wind, New Jersey wants to have a significant piece of the supply chain for what is likely to be a growing industry along the northeast coast. The state views offshore wind as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to not only protect the environment but also greatly expand its economy in a way that has immediate impacts and long-term growth.

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New Jersey Announces $400 Million Offshore Wind Port

Photo, posted September 18, 2010, courtesy of Vattenfall Nederland via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Renewables Surpass Coal | Earth Wise

July 3, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

In 2019, energy consumption in the U.S. from renewable sources exceeded consumption from coal for the first time since before 1885. This has come about from a combination of the continued decline in the amount of coal used for electricity generation as well as the continued growth in renewable energy, mostly from wind and solar.

Until the mid-1800s, burning wood was the main source of energy in the U.S. and, in fact, it was the only commercial-scale renewable energy source until the first hydroelectric plants came online in the 1880s. Coal was used as fuel for steamboats and trains and making steel but only started to be used to generate electricity in the 1880s.

In 2019, U.S. coal consumption decreased for the sixth consecutive year and fell to its lowest level in 42 years. Natural gas has displaced much of the energy generation from retired coal plants.

At the same time, renewable energy consumption in the U.S. grew for the fourth year in a row to a record high level, almost entirely as a result of the growing use of wind and solar power. In 2019, wind power surpassed hydroelectric power for the first time and is now the most-used source of renewable energy for electricity generation in the U.S.

Coal was once commonly used in the industrial, transportation, residential, and commercial sectors. Today, in the U.S., it is mostly used to generate electricity, and that use is rapidly declining.

Electricity consumption for 2020 is likely to be anomalous in many ways as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic shutdowns. From all indications, however, the role of renewable energy will only have been increased during the shutdown period.

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U.S. renewable energy consumption surpasses coal for the first time in over 130 years

Photo, posted July 26, 2013, courtesy of Don Graham via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Plastic From Algae | Earth Wise

June 9, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

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.

Lots Of Wind Power In Denmark | Earth Wise

February 11, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Many states and countries have established goals to generate at least half of their electricity from renewable sources by some future date, typically 2030. A number of countries have already been able to achieve 50% or greater renewable generation for brief periods measured in days. Australia did it this past November. Germany has seen it on occasion as well.

Denmark has managed to complete an entire year with half of its energy coming from renewable generation. Almost all of it – 47% of the country’s power – came from wind turbines.

Denmark has been generating much of its energy from wind power for quite a while and actually produced about 46% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2017. Denmark was a pioneer in developing commercial wind power during the 1970s, is a major manufacturer of wind turbines, and the small country has installed over 6,000 of them. The gains this past year mostly came from the Horns Rev 3 offshore wind farm that went online in the fall. The 407 MW wind farm has the capacity to cover the annual electricity consumption of about 425,000 households, which is about 20% of the country.

The growth of wind power in Denmark is still ramping up. A 600 MW wind farm in the Baltic Sea will be connected to the Danish and German electricity grid by 2021, and a wind farm of at least 800 MW capacity in the North Sea is scheduled to come online in 2025.

The Danish Parliament has passed an ambitious climate law with the goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 70% in 2030 compared with 1990. The country’s overall goal of being carbon-neutral by 2050 does not seem like a pipe dream.

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Denmark Passes Magic 50% In Renewable Electricity Generation Milestone

Photo, posted July 12, 2009, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.