Sub's Alternative Energy Thread

[1972Shocker]

Not sure if SubGod22 or anyone else has posted anything on the subject of propellant-less propulsion base on electrostatics technology.

Initially, they are looking at this for possible use in space travel but IF it works it theoretically could lead to be adapted to transportation generally and perhaps to energy generation. On the other hand it may eventually prove to be a pipe dream.

[ShockerPrez]

The young generation is constantly being mind-f***ed by those who claim to be on their side. It's no wonder their mental health is in the toilet. What do you expect when every event is a crisis and the world is ending.

[Atxshoxfan]

In general, boomer kids were better educated than the young sheep of today who have been indoctrinated into believing the climate hoax

I saw an article where, the guy whose supposed to fight Tyson (I think he's 27), said that his generation is the smartest ever because of the internet. Had to laugh a bit as they can't even figure out the difference between males and females.

[asiseeit]

In general, boomer kids were better educated than the young sheep of today who have been indoctrinated into believing the climate hoax

[WstateU]

[SubGod22]

Inauguration of World's Largest 2nd Gen. Ethanol Plant Will Cut Emissions by 30% with Sugar Cane

In late May, Brazilian President Luis Ignacio da Silva visited São Paulo to inaugurate the world’s largest manufacturing plant for second-generation ethanol.

The new Bonfim Bioenergy Park will produce 82 million liters of ethanol per year utilizing a new method that produces 30% fewer emissions.

Located in the Brazilian state of Guariba, the nation’s largest center for the cultivation of sugarcane, the second-generation ethanol, also known as ‘bioethanol’ is made from the waste products of sugar production, known in the industry as bagasse.

Raízen, the company behind the Bonfirm plant, says that making ethanol from this waste creates 30% fewer emissions than if previous manufacturing methods were used.

New technologies allow for the extraction of residual sucrose from these already-crushed canes. A hydrolysis process uses enzymes to separate the individual cellulose fibers so they can be fermented more easily.

Raízen has another 9 second-gen plants under construction, and the company is aiming to produce 1.6 billion liters of biofuel per year in the future.

The largest single use of ethanol is as an engine fuel and fuel additive. Brazil in particular relies heavily upon the use of ethanol as an engine fuel being the world’s leading producer of ethanol. 90% of all new gasoline-powered cars sold in Brazil can also run on hydrous ethanol.

[SubGod22]

A new and cheaper way for energy storage.

Sand Batteries Could Be The Next Frontier In Renewable Energy - And it's Already Heating Homes in Finland

Could plain old beach sand be the next frontier in renewable energy?

In the ongoing quest for sustainable energy solutions, innovative technologies are necessary to implement renewable sources like solar and wind power.

One such potential breakthrough revolves around an unexpected but abundant resource: beach sand.

Sand batteries represent an emerging approach to energy storage, particularly effective in harnessing and retaining energy from intermittent sources like solar and wind.

The physical properties of sand, such as its ability to store heat at high temperatures, make it an excellent medium for energy retention. This capacity is being leveraged by innovative technologies to create a more stable and reliable energy supply, as sand can efficiently accumulate and release heat as required.

The science behind sand batteries involves heating sand to high temperatures using surplus energy generated from renewable sources. This stored heat can then be converted back into energy when needed.

This system capitalizes on the thermal properties of sand to create a natural battery that can offer both heating solutions and electricity generation.

As National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) Patrick Davenport notes, “Sand and concrete silos with refractory insulation are very inexpensive materials that can lead to low-cost energy storage.”

A few key players currently pioneering this technology include Polar Night Energy in Finland, which has implemented a sand battery for residential and commercial heating, and EnergyNest in Norway, which specializes in thermal energy storage using similar principles.

[SubGod22]

Another cool development for individual boats and such.

Alaskan Inventor is 3D Printing Tidal Power Generators for Houseboats: Just Drop Anchor and Power On

An awesome inventor in Juneau has created a simple way to decarbonize small vessels and houseboats using tidal power, a relatively under-exploited form of renewable energy.

The device can deliver 1.6 kilowatts of power from the movement of the tides and is as easy to use as dropping an anchor.

Lance McMullan, pictured here with a 3D-printed prototype of his invention from last August, launched a startup called Sitkana which last year managed to cobble together $90,000 in seed money.

Now, their first full-scale prototype, the Chinook 3.0 portable tidal power device, has been tested and found to deliver fluctuating power levels as high as 1.6 kilowatts. The design is intended for liveaboard vessels, houseboats, and small fishing vessels to power everything on board apart from the motor when it’s time to drop anchor.

An Alaska native, MacMullan has been focused on developing the state’s tidal power capacity for years. Ranged by countless steep fjords and inlets, the geographical chokepoint at the entrance to these tiny bays amplifies the natural power of the tides in the same way that the narrowing of a river increases the speed of the water flow.

McMullan’s Chinook works in essentially the same way as a wind turbine. The kinetic energy of the wind turns a rotor which generates electricity from this motion, but because water is much denser than air, this effect is actually amplified, and because tides are perfectly consistent and can be harvested for energy from the force of their retreat and their advance, tidal energy as a whole is more effective than wind.

Two minute video in the link if interested.

[SubGod22]

This is pretty cool. We know oil spills will happen from time to time, and if this is legit it can help prevent a lot of damage to sea and coastal life.

Researchers Unveil Reusable 'Sponge' for Soaking Up Marine Oil Spills - Even in Frigid Waters

Using nothing other than light, Canadian scientists have developed an organic smart material that can either soak spilled oil out of water, or repel it.

The material can be used in this way like a sponge to quickly clean up marine oil spills before the oil reaches the shoreline and mixes with or poisons sand, vegetation, and animal life.

The special material—called CNF-SP aerogel—combines a biodegradable cellulose-based material with a substance called spiropyran.

A light-sensitive material, spiropyran has a unique ‘switchable’ property that allows the aerogel to go from being oil-sorbent and oil-repellent, just like a kitchen sponge that can be used to soak up and squeeze out water.

“Once spiropyran has been added to the aerogel, after each usage we just switch the light condition,” explains Dr. Baiyu Helen Zhang, professor and Canada Research Chair at Memorial University, Newfoundland.

“We used the aerogel as an oil sorbent under visible light. After oil adsorption, we switched the light condition to UV light. This switch helped the sponge to release the oil.”

And the material continues soaking up and releasing oil, even when the water temperature drops, according to Dr. Xiujuan Chen, an assistant professor at the University of Texas, Arlington.

[SubGod22]

Another move to help with areas that deal with water scarcity.

Indian Engineers Tackle Water Shortages with Star Wars Tech in Kerala

When a severe water shortage hit the Indian city of Kozhikode in the state of Kerala, a group of engineers turned to science fiction to keep the taps running.

Like everyone else in the city, engineering student Swapnil Shrivastav received a ration of two buckets of water a day collected from India’s arsenal of small water towers.

It was a ‘watershed’ moment for Shrivastav, who according to the BBC had won a student competition four years earlier on the subject of tackling water scarcity, and armed with a hypothetical template from the original Star Wars films, Shrivastav and two partners set to work harvesting water from the humid air.

“One element of inspiration was from Star Wars where there’s an air-to-water device. I thought why don’t we give it a try? It was more of a curiosity project,” he told the BBC.

According to ‘Wookiepedia’ a ‘moisture vaporator’ is a device used on moisture farms to capture water from a dry planet’s atmosphere, like Tatooine, where protagonist Luke Skywalker grew up.

This fictional device functions according to Star Wars lore by coaxing moisture from the air by means of refrigerated condensers, which generate low-energy ionization fields. Captured water is then pumped or gravity-directed into a storage cistern that adjusts its pH levels. Vaporators are capable of collecting 1.5 liters of water per day.

If science fiction authors could come up with the particulars of such a device, Shrivastav must have felt his had a good chance of succeeding. He and colleagues Govinda Balaji and Venkatesh Raja founded Uravu Labs, a Bangalore-based startup in 2019.

Their initial offering is a machine that converts air to water using a liquid desiccant. Absorbing moisture from the air, sunlight or renewable energy heats the desiccant to around 100°F which releases the captured moisture into a chamber where it’s condensed into drinking water.

Their original design could produce roughly 500 gallons of drinkable water per day, but it was too expensive so they've scaled down but have found some success as they continue to look for ways to lower costs and be more efficient.

We've seen some other similar concepts in regards to pulling water out of the air with varying degrees of success, but it does seem like a system that makes sense in a number of areas if they can get to where the costs make sense for the production.

[SubGod22]

Green Batteries for EVs and Phones May Use Iron as The Key to Better, Cheaper Lithium-ion Options

Cheaper and greener batteries for electric cars and mobile phones could use our common element iron, rather than scarce, expensive ones, shows new research.

A collaboration co-led by an Oregon State University chemistry researcher is hoping to spark a green battery revolution by showing that iron instead of cobalt and nickel can be used as a cathode material in lithium-ion batteries.

The findings, published in Science Advances, are important for multiple reasons, Oregon State’s David Ji notes.

“We’ve transformed the reactivity of iron metal, the cheapest metal commodity,” he said. “Our electrode can offer a higher energy density than the state-of-the-art cathode materials in electric vehicles.

“And since we use iron, whose cost can be less than a dollar per kilogram – a small fraction of nickel and cobalt, which are indispensable in current high-energy lithium-ion batteries – the cost of our batteries is potentially much lower.”

At present, the cathode represents 50% of the cost in making a lithium-ion battery cell, Ji said. Beyond economics, iron-based cathodes would allow for greater safety and sustainability, he added.

As more and more lithium-ion batteries are manufactured to electrify the transportation sector, global demand for nickel and cobalt has soared. Ji points out that in a matter of a couple of decades, predicted shortages in nickel and cobalt will put the brakes on battery production as it’s currently done.

In addition, those elements’ energy density is already being extended to its ceiling level – if it were pushed further, oxygen released during charging could cause batteries to ignite – plus cobalt is toxic, meaning it can contaminate ecosystems and water sources if it leaches out of landfills.

Put it all together, Professor Ji said, and it’s easy to understand the global quest for new, more sustainable battery chemistries.

[1972Shocker]

https://x.com/RNCResearch/status/1794756791030411692

Pete Buttigieg has a VERY tough time trying to explain why "only 7 or 8 [electric vehicle] charging stations have been produced with the $7.5 BILLION investment that taxpayers made back in 2021"

What's the fuss. Everyone know charging stations cost a $1 billion per unit.especially if you inlcude all the graft, payola and corruption.

[pinstripers]

https://x.com/RNCResearch/status/1794756791030411692

Pete Buttigieg has a VERY tough time trying to explain why "only 7 or 8 [electric vehicle] charging stations have been produced with the $7.5 BILLION investment that taxpayers made back in 2021"

[WstateU]

[Atxshoxfan]

If a "scientist" wants government grants they have to agree to try and provide data that supports what the government is trying to sell to the dumbed down public.............like climate change or a virus

Or the declining population of the 7 toed yellow bellied European frog.