Jul 24
Charging up electric car batteries in environmentally-friendly way
Electromobility makes sense only if car batteries are charged using electricity from renewable energy sources. But the supply of green electricity is not always adequate. An intelligent charging station can help, by adapting the recharging times to suit energy supply and network capacity.
Jul 24
Genetically Modified Enzyme Leads to Better Carbon Sequestration at Coal Powered Plants
Capturing the carbon dioxide that a coal-powered plant produces and sequestering it is not an easy task, and until now it rose the costs of the electricity produced by 80 percent. Due to researchers at Codexis, a Redwood, CA, company, genetically modified enzymes can make carbon dioxide capture much cheaper, increasing the cost of electricity by less than a third.
Jul 24
A Deutschland disconnected from its Volk
As elsewhere in western Europe, the advanced liberal consumer democracies are ever more unable (politically unwilling) to implement genuine change. Deutschland’s rulers in Berlin firmly believe that techno-managerial innovation (and a hefty dose of financial risk-taking) will continue to provide cures for current ideas of what is unsustainable. As has happened time and again in Europa’s history of nations, from the mid-19th century onwards, the costs of such ‘revolutions’ will be externalised elsewhere (east and south), and the ecological sustainability that Germany’s admirable network of communes have long been admired for will remain out of reach of the country’s policy and practice.
Jul 24
Synthetic Gasoline Is Created From Biomass and Solar Power
Concentrated solar energy is most commonly used for electrical power generation. However, a Colorado company, Sundrop Fuels, has a unique approach to the production of biofuel by that marries the mirrors and tower of concentrated solar power with their process for the production of bio-based fuels.
Instead of burning biomass for the energy needed to create biofuel, Sundrop uses concentrated solar as their energy source to gasify a range of feedstocks including agricultural waste, energy crops, and wood waste. The Sundrop process can produce a range of fuels including gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel. Many other biofuel processes produce ethanol which has a lower energy density than other fuels, meaning that more of it must be used for an equal amount of work. (Flex-fuel cars get fewer miles per gallon from ethanol than from gasoline, but the ethanol fuel costs less per gallon, and the ethanol is not derived from petroleum.)
Sundrop uses the high temperatures from the concentrated solar array to vaporize the biomass feedstock and form syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. As with other biofuel processess, the syngas is the basic building block which is turned into useful fuel.
Sundrop’s process has other efficiencies that provide additional benefits. By using solar energy, the process yields 100 to 125 gallons of fuel per ton of biomass, which is more than twice what other biofuel producers obtain. The process also requires far less water, needing only a half gallon of water per gallon of fuel produced, versus 6 or 7 gallons required in other systems. The process also creates electrical power from the waste heat generated in the reaction tower.
One of the only significant drawbacks that the Sundrop process faces is the distance between areas with excellent solar access (and few cloudy days) and ready sources of biomass.
The Sundrop process is expected to be able to create gasoline, without subsidies, for less than $2 per gallon. The company is constructing a pilot plant and aims to have a full, commercial-scale plant with a capacity of 100 million gallons by 2015.
via: Portfolio.com
Related on EcoGeek: More On Coskata’s $1 per Gallon Ethanol
Jul 24
NASA Maps Growing Marine Dead Zones
NASA has created new maps showing the grim reality of marine dead zones. These areas of deep water where oxygen levels are too low for marine life to survive have grown at a staggering pace since the middle of the 20th century.
The dead zones are created when fertilizer run off from crops makes it into the ocean, creating massive algae blooms. When the algae dies, it sinks to the bottom where microbes decompose the matter, which consumes oxygen and creates a suffocating environment for marine life.
NASA was able to located the areas where this was occurring by using satellites that detect high concentrations of particulate organic matter. Those high concentrations are a signal of extra fertile areas that lead to dead zones.
The dead zones are mainly located along the coasts of large population centers, with the east coast of the U.S. and the coasts of Northern Europe having the largest numbers of these zones.
Since the 1960′s, the creation of dead zones has snowballed, with the total amount of area occupied by dead zones now equaling 152,000 square miles and 400 different ecosystems being affected.
via Yale e360
Jul 24
NASA Maps Growing Marine Dead Zones
NASA has created new maps showing the grim reality of marine dead zones. These areas of deep water where oxygen levels are too low for marine life to survive have grown at a staggering pace since the middle of the 20th century.
The dead zones are created when fertilizer run off from crops makes it into the ocean, creating massive algae blooms. When the algae dies, it sinks to the bottom where microbes decompose the matter, which consumes oxygen and creates a suffocating environment for marine life.
NASA was able to located the areas where this was occurring by using satellites that detect high concentrations of particulate organic matter. Those high concentrations are a signal of extra fertile areas that lead to dead zones.
The dead zones are mainly located along the coasts of large population centers, with the east coast of the U.S. and the coasts of Northern Europe having the largest numbers of these zones.
Since the 1960′s, the creation of dead zones has snowballed, with the total amount of area occupied by dead zones now equaling 152,000 square miles and 400 different ecosystems being affected.
via Yale e360
Jul 24
Panduit, Cisco and Intel Discuss Ethernet Bandwidth, Requirements
Panduit and Cisco recently offered a Webcast discussing how the need for 10 Gigabit Ethernet is driven by higher bandwidth required for server virtualization.
Visit the original post at: TMCnet-News
Jul 24
In case you’ve been wondering why I’ve been so silent about the TTXGP recently, it’s only because I haven’t been able to make it to any more of the races. I prefer writing about events and rides I actually participate in. But since I’m at Laguna Seca, looking forward to watching Brammo unveil their new Empulse later today, and the FIM’s ePower race on Sunday, I thought this would be a good time to recap what’s been going on in the world of TTXGP, the original electric motorcycle racing series.
After Infineon, the teams made their way to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for Round 2. This round was won by Michael Barnes on the EV1-powered bike that had taken 2nd place at Round 1. Full race report here. Round 3 took them north of the border to Mosport, in Canada. Barnes again took the lead, and Jennifer Bromme on the Mavizen took her first podium, finishing 3rd after two consecutive 4th place finishes. Full race report for Round 3 here. The final US round will be at Virginia International Raceway on August 15th in conjunction with the AMA races. The winner of the US series will be crowned and the teams will then relax until the international championship in October.
In the UK TTXGP, Rounds 1 and 2 have shown tight racing between the Agni-powered leaders, sure to continue through the season. Round 3 will be held at Donington Park Raceway on August 22nd, with the final round at Brands Hatch. In Italy, we reported when writing about the eCRP, the championship will begin August 29th at Mugello. Full Italian schedule here, so you can plan your vacation wisely.
The TTXGP’s eGrandPrix TV website does include some full race videos, but races will also be aired in the US on Speed2 (an online channel under development) and in the UK on ESPN. Check TTXGP’s news site for all the latest news.
Photos Courtesy eGrandPrix with Permission
Jul 24
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| West-side approach to Sea-Tac, showing typical flight path (blue) and RNP flight path (green). Source: Alaska Airlines. Click to enlarge. |
Alaska Airlines demonstrated next-generation flight procedures this week during a test flight over Puget Sound that burned less fuel and reduced emissions by 35% compared to a conventional landing. The flight was part of Alaska Air Group’s “Greener Skies” project at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) focused on using satellite-based guidance technology pioneered by Alaska Airlines to fly more efficient landing procedures that will reduce environmental impacts in the Puget Sound region.
The test flight used satellite guidance technology called Required Navigation Performance (RNP) to fly more direct, continuous descent approaches. Alaska Airlines estimates the new procedures at Sea-Tac will cut fuel consumption by 2.1 million gallons annually and reduce carbon emissions by 22,000 metric tons. They will also reduce overflight noise for an estimated 750,000 people living below the affected flight corridor.
| Performance-Based Navigation |
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| Performance-based Navigation (PBN) is the specification by aviation authorities of the capabilities and requirements necessary to operate in a given airspace, or the use of a given procedure, instead of specifying required technologies or specific avionics. |
| RNAV (Area Navigation) is achieved through a combined use of aircraft navigation accuracy, route separation and/or air traffic control intervention. |
| RNP is RNAV operations with on-board navigation containment, monitoring and alerting. |
| —FAA RNAV and RNP Group |
The airline, in cooperation with the Port of Seattle, Boeing and other airlines serving Sea-Tac, is seeking Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval for the procedures, which could ultimately be used by all properly equipped carriers at Sea-Tac.
Testing for the project began last summer and, since then, Alaska Airlines has flown two other demonstration flights and submitted more than half of the proposed procedures for FAA review. Representatives from Alaska, Boeing, the FAA and the Port of Seattle participated in the most recent demonstration to observe the level of flight path precision and fuel consumption on eight landing approaches in a Boeing 737-700.
With a landing weight similar to a typical passenger flight, the shorter and more efficient approaches reduced carbon emissions and saved 400 pounds of fuel per approach.
Sea-Tac is the ideal location to pursue this cutting-edge project. Seattle has the highest percentage of advanced RNP-equipped planes in the nation, and—working with the FAA—Alaska Airlines, Boeing and the Port of Seattle are committed to making ‘Greener Skies’ a reality as soon as possible. Ultimately this project could serve as a blueprint for next-generation aviation technology throughout the country.
—Ben Minicucci, Alaska’s chief operating officer
Typically, commercial aircraft follow a lengthy approach pattern and series of stair-step descents before landing. Using RNP technology and a continuous descent, also called an optimized profile descent (OPD), aircraft can descend from cruise altitude to an airport runway along a shorter, more direct flight path at low power.
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| Conventional approach. | Optimized Profile Descent. Click to enlarge. |
Planning and testing of the procedures will continue through the remainder of the year and will be integrated into Alaska Airlines and sister carrier Horizon Air’s commercial operations at Sea-Tac pending FAA approval.
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| Alaska Airlines RNP display. Source: Alaska Airlines. Click to enlarge. |
Alaska Airlines pioneered RNP precision flight-guidance technology during the mid-1990s to help its planes land at remote and geographically challenging airports in the state of Alaska. RNP provides computer-plotted landing paths by using a combination of onboard navigation technology and the global positioning system (GPS) satellite network. It improves safety and reliability in all weather, and reduces reliance on ground-based navigation aids. Alaska Airlines currently uses FAA-approved RNP procedures at 23 US airports.
Alaska Airlines is the only major US air carrier with a completely RNP-equipped fleet and fully trained crews. Alaska is also the first airline approved by the FAA to conduct its own RNP flight validation. Horizon Air’s fleet will be fully RNP-equipped by the end of 2011.
RNP and OPD are part of the Next Generation Air Transportation System, the FAA’s plan to modernize the National Airspace System through 2025. This initiative will increase airspace capacity and efficiency while improving safety and reducing environmental impacts through the replacement of legacy ground-based equipment with new satellite-based technology and aircraft navigation capabilities.
As part of the initial Alaska Airlines RNP operational approval team, Boeing began installing RNP guidance technology on its aircraft in 1994. Currently, all Boeing production airplanes are RNP-capable, and solutions are available to upgrade the in-service fleet.
Boeing RNP functionality includes flight crew interface through a flight management control display unit (CDU) and the airplane crew alerting system. Navigation, flight planning, and alerting algorithms are contained in the airplane flight management function.
Resources
Jul 24
Boeing Forecasts Renewable Jet Fuel May Supply 1% of Global Commercial Aviation Fuel Need by 2015
Renewable jet fuel from a variety of feedstocks may supply 1% of commercial aviation fuel need by 2015, according to Billy Glover, managing director of environmental strategy at Boeing’s commercial airplanes unit, in an interview with Bloomberg.
“We need to get to 1 percent to get that foundation and then the trajectory will be significantly steeper,” Glover said in a telephone interview in London. “We’re aiming for a 1 percent penetration around the middle of this decade, and we think that’s quite achievable.”
…Boeing’s forecast of 1 percent of fuels coming from biofuels by the middle of the decade is for the global air industry, and the company is working with the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group, an alliance of 19 airlines that aim to be first-movers, Glover said. [James Rekoske, vice president and general manager of renewable energy and chemicals at Honeywell International Inc.’s UOP unit] said 1 percent is more likely to be reached at regional levels, with Europe and the US Northwest as potential candidates.
Jul 24
Report: China May Require Belt-Starter-Generator Microhybrid Systems in Passenger Cars by 2012
China’s Global Times newspaper reports that the China government is considering requiring new passenger car vehicles (PCVs) to be equipped with belt-starter-generator (BSG) systems for fuel efficiency, according to General Manager of Chery New Energy Company, Yuan Tao. Such microhybrid systems could save about 5% on fuel.
An industry insider from Dongfeng motor confirmed the statement, and said implementation should happen by 2012…Unlike the electric vehicle technology, the BSG is just an innovation of traditional gas-diesel engine and can boost fuel efficiency. Its cost is also relatively low. According to Dongfeng Motor, under mass production, it only costs 1,000 yuan ($147.5) per car to be equipped with the BSG system.
…Domestic fuel consumption in 2008 was 540 million tons of gasoline and 520 million tons of diesel. If all the vehicles had been equipped with the BSG system, the annual fuel consumption would have decreased by five million tons…Statistic shows that the sales volume of domestic new energy cars in 2009 are 9,800 units, only accounting for one thousandth of the sales of domestic PCVs.
Jul 24
Johnson Controls to Acquire 90% of Lead-Acid JV Delkor Corporation
Johnson Controls, Inc. signed an agreement to acquire 90% of its existing joint venture with Delkor Corporation, a leading automotive battery manufacturer based in Seoul, South Korea. The remaining 10% will be acquired by the local management team, with all transactions completed no later than 15 Aug. 2010.
The Delkor joint venture was part of Johnson Controls’ acquisition of Delphi’s global automotive battery business in 2005.
Johnson Controls will invest approximately $90 million in the acquisition. The company is also investing an additional $40 million to add 2.7 million units in capacity, increasing Delkor’s total capacity to approximately 10 million batteries per year.
Jul 24
US Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) this week introduced legislation that would establish a national freight transportation policy. The legislation would direct the federal government to develop and implement a strategic plan to improve the nation’s freight transportation system and provide investment in freight transportation projects.
The goals include reducing congestion and delays; increasing the timely delivery of goods and services; reducing freight-related transportation fatalities; and making freight transportation more efficient and better for the environment.
The “Focusing Resources, Economic Investment, and Guidance to Help Transportation (FREIGHT) Act of 2010” (S.3629) would establish the US’ first comprehensive national freight transportation policy and create a new Office of Freight Planning and Development within the Department of Transportation (DOT) that would coordinate efforts to improve the efficiency and operation of all modes of the national freight transportation system.
The Secretary of the DOT would be directed to develop and implement a long-term national freight transportation strategic plan that meets the goals of the FREIGHT Act, and issue biennial progress reports, which would include any challenges to implementation and any requested policy and legislative changes.
The major goals established by the FREIGHT Act are:
The FREIGHT Act also would create a new competitive grant program for freight-specific infrastructure projects, such as port infrastructure improvements, freight rail capacity expansion projects, and highway projects that improve access to freight facilities.
Resources
Focusing Resources, Economic Investment, and Guidance to Help Transportation (FREIGHT) Act of 2010 (S.3629)
Jul 24
The US Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has launched a new section of its public website called Gasifipedia, an online collection of resources to promote better understanding of gasification technology.
The Gasifipedia website contains both introductory and in-depth information about gasification fundamentals, supporting technologies, gasification applications, environmental benefits, and the status of the latest research and development. Accessible from the NETL website, Gasifipedia features the following sections:
Introduction to Gasification provides an overview of the gasification process, how the technology has been used in the past, and what forces have caused recent interest in the technology.
Gasification in Detail delves into the chemical reactions taking place during the gasification process, and provides an introduction to the various types of gasifiers.
Supporting Technologies details the other supporting technologies used in a typical gasification plant that are integrated with the gasification island. These technologies include coal storage and feed preparation, air separation, syngas cooling and heat recovery, syngas cleanup and conditioning, power train, and syngas conversion processes.
Applications of Gasification Technology describes the numerous types of gasification facilities: integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) for electrical power, coal to liquid fuels, coal to synthetic natural gas, coal to hydrogen, coal to chemicals, and co-generation plants.
Main Advantages of Gasification discusses the main reasons why gasification is considered the best clean-coal technology option for future near-zero-emissions power, fuel, and chemical plants.
Gasification Research and Development details the range of research, development, and demonstration activities being conducted to improve the efficiency, feedstock and product versatility, and economics of gasification processes.
