The search for a cheaper fuel has left most of the automobile industry in a tizzy; well it's not just the automobiles that are looking for the holy grail of alternate fuel. Airline fares may be low but unless they find an alternative jet fuel it will be hard not to raise the airfares if they want to stay in the aviation game. The Farnborough International Air Show exhibit was part of a collaboration and ongoing relationship between the researchers and aviation giant Boeing. The show featured the latest in turbine technology for Jet fighters and commercial aircrafts.]]>
The advantages of using Algal oil are
• Algal oil is very similar to other vegetable oils, but its yield is projected at 100 times that of soybean per acre of land on an annual basis.
• Unlike other plants, algae reproduce quickly without roots and stems, and they never go dormant.
• Algae can remove carbon dioxide from power plant emissions and recover nutrients from waste water.
According to Hu, the technology to help algae reproduce effectively is still five years away.
Boeing also confirmed a $225,000 grant to support ongoing algae research at ASU, and to provide three scholarships for graduate students. Hu and Sommerfeld who have 40-plus years of research experience in algae and are co-directors of the Laboratory for Algae Research & Biotechnology (LARB) at the Polytechnic. They apply their knowledge to use in air and water remediation, alternative fuels and animal feed and are hopeful that algae will lose its ugly image for good and be a sound substitute for crude oil.
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Air Compression Energy is a unique form of energy generation which so far has found little takers, but the recent inflation in fuel rates has made even this as a better alternative. Air Compression Energy is produced by first compressing air inside underground caves with the help of electricity (not produced by the caves but from an outside source) then when the cave is pressurized the air is released then spinning turbines to generate electricity. Although this technology has been around for some time, it hasn't found many investors until now. PSEG Energy Holdings have announced to invest $20 million in the development of this power generation system along with storage expert Michael Nakhamkin. They will jointly lead the way to promoting this wind generation technology by using the caves once occupied by vast reserves of oil and gas. They hope to make ACE as popular as conventional wind turbine energy. BCC Research says that the US market for wind systems will be worth $60.9 billion in 2013, up from $11.2 billion this year.]]>
So far Air Compression Energy doesn't have such a good image since the caves that store fossil fuels for millions of years can still spring leaks are of unreliable sizes and the biggest disadvantage being that caves can't provide an immediate substitute source of power if the wind dies down, mainly during longer windless periods.
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Dubai the city of extremes, after building a ski resort in the desert which could be the worst contributor of green house gases, Dubai is all set to build a new shopping mall. Shopping malls in the city spring up everyday, but what's unique in this one is that it will be built keeping LEED certification criteria as its guideline. Thereby making it the most Eco-friendly mall in the region, specifications suggest that the roof will be made of reflective materials to reduce the energy required to keep the building cool, and landscaping will include plants that need less water, along with on-site recycling for glass, paper, metal and plastic. The new Eco friendly mall will hopefully start a new green conservative trend in new shopping mall construction and maintenance.
California's largest utility company- Pacific Gas and Electric has signed deals to build the world's two biggest solar plants that would supply electricity to 250,000 homes and reestablish the United States as the global leader in solar power, officials said Friday. Pacific Gas and Electric will use the two massive solar facilities to help it meet state requirements to generate 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010. PG&E has signed contracts with two Silicon Valley firms, Optisolar and SunPower, to build the plants in the sunny central California coast city of San Luis Obispo, which is almost equidistant from the state's two population centers San Francisco and Los Angeles. Optisolar will build a 550-megawatt solar farm using thin-film photovoltaic panels, while SunPower will build another 250-megawatt plant on former farm land, PG&E said, adding that the OptiSolar plant alone could reduce as much carbon emissions as by 90,000 cars.
We already saw the cool jacket and the Dell XPS 710 H2C PC using thermal power to cool itself or power your mobile phone, well how about powering your car’s DVD player and GPS simply by using your car exhausts as the power source while you cruise the mean roads. An average SUV produces 15 kilowatts of energy in normal city driving, when cruising between 50 and 60 mph, the generator can produce about 800 watts of power, more than enough to provide power to most on board electronics and in some cases even the water pumps. Major auto companies are working on integrating the thermo electric system into new vehicles. ]]>
BSST is working both with BMW to prototype one such vehicle and Ford motor Co. is working on air-conditioning, where in it wants a passenger to instantly feel cool and comfortable by focusing air on say the neck in summer as this may save on additional power used to cool the entire vehicle. Honda motors are also funding research in thermal power but without setting up its own research into it not much can be said about where its focus lies.
The rage in biofuels is set to get heated up even more, a University of Northern Colorado researcher has received the go ahead to study the tropical copaiba tree’s (which is also known as the diesel tree) oil producing seeds in order to understand if theses genes can be put into other plants or trees. The idea isn’t a new one since we all know that ethanol is grown and now used on a small scale as an alternative fuel. The difference with this idea is to get more trees or even grass to produce oleoresin, the use of oleoresin as a substitute for diesel isn’t new. I wonder if diesel is such an environmentally friendly solution. After all it is the reason cities smog levels are on the rise. ]]>
The copaiba tree produces a large amount of these oleoresins with each tree producing 40 liters per year. For me the idea that someday I maybe able to mow the lawn and then use the cut grass as fuel for my car is simply mind blowing.
News is that the EU has proposed a 120-grams-per-km emissions standard by 2012. This new regulation could adversely affect the European carmakers, edging them towards closure. Big Daddies of the business like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Aston Martin and Porsche, would find it very difficult to comply with this ruling. LeftLane cites this example: the feather-light and relatively fuel efficient Lotus Elise S emits 196 g/km, whereas the segment average is in the 200 to 500 g/km range. According to Reuters, since exotic sports car are driven very rarely, and their limited production numbers means they only account for 0.3 percent of EU total car emissions. Whatever the case looks like the sports car industry just got a heavy-duty jolt!
If you live nearby a tire dumping ground this could be a great idea to work on, the Recycoool is a new inflatable concept furniture which is made from used up tire tubes. The design is proposed by an Israeli designer Nir Ohayon who had set out to create furniture that was unique and yet costs not more than $100. The design looks straight out of the movie Antz which was based on the ant kingdom, there needs to be more such recycling initiatives if we are to have a more sustainable environment.]]>
Considering the ant like appearance the designer has now gone one step further by naming them with fictional characters like, The Big Yogi, Nirvana, Master, Plata, and Golam.
Do you think Archie would trade his trusty old jalopy for new shiny wheels even if the government gave him £1,000 ($2,000)? Incentives and cash is what the British Government plans on offering its citizens to dump old fuel inefficient cars. Apparently a similar scheme is up in France and the Brits want experiment it on their public. Due to the increase vehicle excise duty for people owning cars bought between 2001 and 2006, the citizens have been criticizing the government. More than one million people will see their road tax double and offering people money to switch vehicles may be the right option.]]>
Just to let you know, Texas motorists can receive vouchers worth more than $3,500 towards a hybrid car if a polluting vehicle is ditched. From next year, Canadians will get $300 or subsidized bicycles or public transport.
Exxon announced profits reaching up to $11.68 billion which makes it the highest profit ever made by a US company. The company maybe earning the most with its investments into oil related deals, but how much does this company invest into alternative energy research? The company officially comments that it regularly invests into alternatives but a recent ABC news cast says that the company just pushes 1% of its profits on alternative energy investments sources. ]]>
BP invested the most out of the big five oil companies, at 2.9 percent. According to The Center for American Progress Action Fund the profit of Exxon is equivalent to giving away $236 to every single license holder in the US.
Thought of renting a car on your trip to Beijing for the Olympics? Think again! Beijing is one of the world's most polluted cities and road traffic grows by 1,200 vehicles a day. August, when the wind drops and the normally dry climate turns humid, is typically one of the worst months for smog. With the Olympics deadline approaching the city of Beijing has gone into a massive green drive to clean up the cities smoggy skies. To do this, half the city's 3.3m cars are banned from the roads each day, depending on whether their number plates end in an odd or even digit. All construction sites and more factories in and around Beijing may be temporarily closed if the air quality deteriorates during the games. To add fuel to the fire there are chances that it may rain on the ceremonial day.]]>
If you think you can get by well the Chinese big brother is obviously watching thousands of number plate recognition cameras are put in place to track the wrong number plate for a given day. Officials are also hoping that the threat of a 100 Yuan ($14.48) fine will reduce vehicle emissions by more than 60%.
After frying cutlets and fries oil from McDonald's in Philippines is used by the Makati Police Department in Manila to run their cars. Currently under evaluation but if the six month study is a a success, then 60 percent diesel and 40 percent McDonald’s cooking oil could become the standard fuel used by the Makati Police force. According to the Manila Times, the PNP-Bio Diesel Program will save the police department $22 each time the fill-up as compared to current gas-prices. That equivalent to more than $11,000 a year when spread across 10 police cars.]]>
Getting cooking oil would not be a problem as the city has thousands of restaurants but McDonald’s was the first and largest doner and even sent a representative to the press conference to kick off the project.