New Hidrogen Storage Method

Hydrogen is an extremely environment friendly fuel as when it burns it releases only water vapor into the atmosphere, but the problem is that it is not easy to store it because it needs to be stored like other compressed gases. A new solid may solve the problem. A nonreactive noble gas called xenon combined with hydrogen and other massive pressure gives rise to a solid that can be later used to store hydrogen fuel. The research paper is published in the November 22, 2009, advanced online publication of Nature Chemistry. The discovery initiates a new line of materials that which could render impetus to new hydrogen technologies.

Xenon is used as an anesthesia, to preserve biological tissues, and it is also used in lighting. Being a noble gas xenon does not typically react with other elements. Researchers used a diamond anvil device to squeeze together xenon and hydrogen.

The lead author Maddury Somayazulu, research scientist at Carnegie’s Geophysical Laboratory, explained: “Elements change their configuration when placed under pressure, sort of like passengers readjusting themselves as the elevator becomes full. We subjected a series of gas mixtures of xenon in combination with hydrogen to high pressures in a diamond anvil cell. At about 41,000 times the pressure at sea level (1 atmosphere), the atoms became arranged in a lattice structure dominated by hydrogen, but interspersed with layers of loosely bonded xenon pairs. When we increased pressure, like tuning a radio, the distances between the xenon pairs changed-the distances contracted to those observed in dense metallic xenon.”

The researchers imaged the compound at different pressures using X-ray diffraction, infrared and Raman spectroscopy. They were really surprised to realize that the response of xenon with the surrounding hydrogen was responsible for the unusual stability and the continuous change in xenon-xenon distances as pressure was adjusted from 41,000 to 255,000 atmospheres.

The researchers were taken off guard by both the structure and stability of this material xenon, according to the lead crystallographer who looked at the changes in electron density at varying pressures using single-crystal diffraction. As electron density from the xenon atoms spreads towards the surrounding hydrogen molecules, it stabilizes the compound and the xenon pairs.

Xenon as a hydrogen carrier is too heavy and expensive but further research in this direction can definitely lead to lighter alternatives. According to Russell Hemley, director of the Geophysical Laboratory and a co-author, “This hydrogen-rich solid represents a new pathway to forming novel hydrogen storage compounds and the new pressure-induced chemistry opens the possibility of synthesizing new energetic materials.”

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Consept Bridge could Generate Electricity from Moving Cars

When people thought about telephones in underdeveloped countries it was like they would have to invest a huge sum in infrastructure in the form of poles, wires and equipments. No one imagined about cell phones at that time. They transcend most of the infrastructures. In this hour of impending depletion of fossil fuels we have to think differently. The steps may seem small today but they might leave a huge impact in future. Today we can’t be a bystander and watch the energy scene passively.

We know that solar and wind energy is the richest sources of energy. Tiago Barros and Jorge Pereira have created a design that increases the ‘green’ quotient of a bridge. We might have experienced the fact that when cars pass below a bridge, they increase the velocity of the neighboring wind. Tiago Barros and Jorge Pereira are harnessing that quality of the wind. Their designed bridge will light up itself in the night with the power generated by the cars that pass below the bridge by the day. It works on the principle of energy conversion, i.e. from wind to electric energy. The designers believe that cars passing under the bridge will add to wind velocity by up to 20%, optimizing the rotation of the panels. The cross-wind bridge will act like a multipurpose envelope. A unique kind of envelop that will capture the wind power from a network of 2,188 light-weight rotating panels. This bridge is called as Cross-Wind Bridge.

In this design an induction power system plays an important role. It exchanges wind energy through an electromagnetic band located on each panel. This culminates into a power source which is used to light the bridge by night. This clean and green source of energy will increase the green quotient by 35% because of the punctured membrane utilized in the bridge cladding. Why? Because it is made of recycled steel from the auto industry.

Tiago Barros and Jorge Pereira team consists of Ines Valente, Rob Foote III, Yoon-Young Hur, Natalie Bazile and Joao Paulo Fernandes. The cross-wind bridge is 40m in length running southwest / northwest direction over the Segunda circular highway in Lisbon. Its path’s oblique angles are positioned in such a way that they can optimize predominant wind directions. This bridge has another unique feature; it provides a tunnel for pedestrians and bikers too. Cross-Wind Bridge also reconnects and makes accessible the remaining paths of Maria Droste Vila split by the highway and surrounded by Telheiral’s residential park. Again , the bridge gives out an all inclusive message in magnetizing sustainable development and turning rural fragments into areas of public green space.
(source : alternative-energy)

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Power Electronics could make Hybrid Cars Cheaper

Hybrid cars are often known as "cars of the era". The main feature of the hybrid car is that when we start the car engine, electrical energy is used. This way it helps in keeping a tab on the tail pipe emissions. The use of automobiles is increasing in every part of the globe and so is the threat of toxic pollutants and global warming, thanks to their exhaust ingredients. But if we are using a hybrid car the decrease in the tail pipe emission will do a great service to the environment and society. After starting the engine of the hybrid car fasiline engine will take up the charge.
If we want to increase the speed, gasoline is essential to attribute the pace for the drive. While waiting at the traffic signals, maneuvering your car in a heavy traffic and climbing on steep slopes, the electrical energy will be again activated. This way hybrid vehicle minimizes the use of gasoline. We should not forget breaking the notorious fuel consumer. In hybrid cars while we apply breaks it is re-channeled for the electrical battery charging, known as regenerative braking, and a separate energy for battery charging is not required.


Earlier hybrid cars were considered as rare breeds but presently we can spot more and more such vehicles on the road. But still they are not produced on commercial scale. Therefore they are costly. Not all that long ago, hybrid vehicles were still really exotic. Now, you see them more and more frequently on our roads. However, hybrid cars are not mass-produced as their production costs are still relatively high. Hanna Plesko - a researchers from ETH Zurich has given this problem a serious thought. Currently she is doing her doctorate at Power Electronic Systems Laboratory. She is developing a new concept as part of her doctoral thesis that integrates power electronic functions and an electric motor. This combination has the 'power' to reduce the costs of hybrid cars.

Hollywood stars scuh as Leonardo DiCarprio and Cameron Diaz are doing their bit by raising awareness about clean and green vehicles. They had proudly strutted their hybrid cars and driven up to the red carpet. Researchers are doing their work on making hybrid cars available to the commoner n the street. Hanna Plesko, utilizes public transport everyday to do her research on hybrid cars and the sweet irony is that she doesn't have her own car.

Plesko is familiar with the ground realities as she says, "It's rumored that hybrid vehicles can improve your image, but in some cases the automobile companies have difficulties to cover their costs". The production of hybrid drives is stil very expensive and the main culprits are the electric motor and the power electronic energy management system, in which inverters and DC/DC converters play a crucial role.
They eat up the major chunk of money. Plesko is dealing with these two mechanisms. She is approaching the problem applying a new concept. She is focusing on the components, in example the power electronics and the electric motor. They might perform several functions simultaneously. The multiple uses of the electronic parts and teh motor also save volume. This will help in reducing the costs.

In traditional hybrid vehicles, batteries are utilized to provide energy to electric motor, radio, ventilation and the lights. Unlike the electrical drive system, for which a high DC voltage of 200-600 V has to be converted into a three-phase AC voltage, a low DC voltage of 12V is sufficient to power a car radio.
Inverters are devices which convert the direct current into an alternating current. DC/DC converters transform the power between the two batteries for the two voltage levels. Threfore we can easily conclude that converters are significant power electronic mechanisms in hybrid or electric vehicles. These days converters are situated outside the electric motors.

A research group "Future Automotive Power Electronic's headed by senior scientist Jurgen Biela, is working towards the converters. Plesko is focusing on a mechanism that integrated the inverter, the DC/DC converter and the electric motor functionally. By combining the function of the drive and the DC/DC converter, certain electronic constituents and the motor lamination stack can be shared. If we angle it from a manufacturers point of view we will see that large quantities of such functionally integrated systems will be cheaper as smaller number raw materials are required. Moreover, Plesko's design is less complex, making it easier to produce.

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150mpg Algae-Powered Toyota Prius

First algae fuel-powered vehicle in the world was officially launched in San Francisco. The car, called Algaeus is a modified Toyota Prius, which derives power from green crude, from Sapphire Energy. The car runs on an astonishing 150 miles per gallon of green fuel. But they are aspiring to cross the US on approximately25 gallons of fuel.

According to Fuel producer Rebecca Harrell, "Powering our cars with algae-based fuel could be the next Apollo mission". Rebecca Harrel is the co-founder of the Veggie Van Organization and producer of the upcoming film FUEL. In the coming 10 days she'll be accompanying the Fuel director and Veggie van Organization cofunder Josh Tickell. Together they will take the Algaeus on a countrywide road trip. The duo's other travel companions will be other green energy vehicles (including the Veggie Van and the biodiesel-powered big green energy bus), "It hit us that we needed to drive the car across the country", Harfel said "People think of algae fuel as this long-therm, far off thing. But seeing is believing".

This countrywide tour will serve a dual purpose. People will be aware of the new clean and green fuel and they will give publicity to their forthcoming film FUEL. This film depicts America's dependency on foreign oil. They claim that their film is different from other environmentally-themed movies. Till now these movies raise a question mark and present us with bleak future. Those movies were ususally silent about the answers to environmental hazards. FUEL tries to fill the gap here. They talk about the various methods to make the transition from oil to alternative sources of energy. What's important for everyday people is information. People don't say 'Can you give me something else to be scared about? They say, How can I get my car to run on algae fuel? Tickell explained. Fuel will be released in New York City, San Francisco, Berkeley, and Washington DC on September 18th.

But you can not fill your tank with algae fuel at your local gas station in the foreseeable future. But the company aims to increase production of algae-based jet fuel this year and plans production of over 2 million liters of algae based diesel fuel per year over the next two years. The car is powered by a mixture of algae fuel and the environmentally friendly-fuel-driven automobile.

Though, it is early to conclude that we can use algae as transport fuel. We all know that five percent blend of algae doesn't precisely indicate the initation of an algae revolution. But as the saying goes, glass if half full too. It states that advancement is being mad on the fuel with great potential. This road trip will allow people to witness the progress in action. The main point of the Algaeus is to show the capability of algae to be used in an ordinary engine.
(www.alternative-energy-news.info)
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