By Sam Grobart  Bloomberg Business, March 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-23/see-through-solar-is-tomorrow-s-threat-to-oil

 

 

 

Solar energy is the future. The problem is, it's been the future for a long time. And while progress has been made, using the sun as a primary source of power hasn't really broken through.

 

One possible breakthrough, however, is becoming clearer-literally. The engineers at Ubiquitous Energy are developing solar panels that are completely transparent and as thin as a laminate. They can do this by creating see-through solar cells that absorb only the invisible parts of the solar spectrum-ultraviolet and infrared radiation.

 

Silicon Valley startup Ubiquitous Energy is making the world's first transparent solar cells, a technology that could greatly expand the reach of solar power. The invention is an invisible film that can go on any surface and generate power, which could lead to cell phones and tablets that never run out of batteries. Their ClearView PowerTM can be integrated directly into the surfaces of mobile electronics as an auxiliary power source, with no degradation of device function or display clarity. 

 

Among other applications, ClearView PowerTM can also serve as an invisible, power-producing coating for windows, providing an onboard power source for electronic window functionality or to offset energy consumption in buildings. Ubiquitous Energy has won numerous awards for their business and technology, including National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer grants, a Fraunhofer-Techbridge U-Launch Award, a MassCEC MTTC Catalyst Award, and the MIT Clean Energy Prize Renewables Category. 

 

See this video for more information.

 

 

The technology still has a way to go because the cells must become more efficient to prove cost-effective, but their promise is big: solar cells that could become a part of any glass or plastic surface. They could sit, invisibly, atop a smartphone's display, allowing the phone to charge itself under natural or artificial light. And if the process became part of glass and window manufacturing, homes and skyscrapers could draw power from the sun without the spatial and aesthetic limits of current, opaque solar panels. 

 

If solar is the future, transparent solar may be the future that actually works.

 

 

http://revolution-green.com/spray-transparent-solar-nano-cells/

 

MAKING FUEL FROM SUNLIGHT

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/535686/artificial-photosynthesis-takes-a-step-forward/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_source=newsletter-daily-all&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20150311

 

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By Sam Grobart  Bloomberg Business News  March 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-16/these-tiny-bubbles-may-save-the-planet

 

 

Carbon-absorbing nanobubbles could be the key to cutting greenhouse-gas emissions 

 

 

 There are two ways to cut down on our greenhouse-gas emissions: Reduce the amount we make or limit how much of what we make actually gets into the atmosphere.

 

It's the second solution that researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory want to tackle with cute caviar-sized bubbles that can absorb carbon dioxide.

 

The polymer bubbles are filled with the entirely pedestrian ingredient of baking soda, long known to absorb carbon dioxide, but it's the bubbles themselves that are the breakthrough. They're permeable, which means that CO2 gets trapped and absorbed by the baking soda solution inside them. In theory, you could affix the bubbles to the inside of a power plant smokestack and trap the CO2 before it is released into the atmosphere

 

They're also reusable. The CO2 can be released again by heating the bubbles in a sealed container. The released CO2 can be kept in tanks or safely pumped back underground while the bubbles can go back into the smokestack and start their world-saving job all over again.

 

Bloomberg's profile of Lawrence Livermore's carbon-capturing technology is the latest installment of The Spark, which looks at innovators finding solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems.

 

 

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By mark dansie, Revolution-Green, March 20, 2015,

 http://revolution-green.com/producing-energy-with-the-leidenfrost-effect/ 

 

 

This effect is commonly seen in the way water appears to skitter across the surface of a hot pan, but it also applies to solid carbon dioxide, commonly known as dry ice. Blocks of dry ice are able to levitate above hot surfaces protected by a barrier of evaporated gas vapor. Northumbria's research proposes using the vapor created by this effect to power an engine. This is the first time the Leidenfrost effect has been adapted as a way of harvesting energy. (see video) 

 

The technique has exciting implications for working in extreme and alien environments, such as outer space, where it could be used to make long-term exploration and colonization sustainable by using naturally occurring solid carbon dioxide as a resource rather than a waste product.

Mission to Mars?

 

If this could be realized, then future missions to Mars, such as those in the news recently, may not need to be "one-way" after all. Dry ice may not be abundant on Earth, but increasing evidence from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) suggests it may be a naturally occurring resource on Mars as suggested by the seasonal appearance of gullies on the surface of the red planet. If utilized in a Leidenfrost-based engine dry-ice deposits could provide the means to create future power stations on the surface of Mars.

 

 

 

Dry ice may not be abundant on Earth, but increasing evidence from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) suggests it may be a naturally occurring resource on Mars as suggested by the seasonal appearance of gullies on the surface of the red planet. If utilized in a Leidenfrost-based engine dry-ice deposits could provide the means to create future power stations on the surface of Mars.

One of the co-authors of Northumbria's research, Dr. Rodrigo Ledesma-Aguilar, said: "Carbon dioxide plays a similar role on Mars as water does on Earth. It is a widely available resource which undergoes cyclic phase changes under the natural Martian temperature variations.

 

"Perhaps future power stations on Mars will exploit such a resource to harvest energy as dry-ice blocks evaporate, or to channel the chemical energy extracted from other carbon-based sources, such as methane gas.

 

The team at Northumbria believe one of humanity's biggest challenges this century will be finding new ways to harvest energy, especially in extreme environments. It was this challenge which led them to develop their proposed Leidenfrost Engine.

 

Dr. Gary Wells, co-author of the paper, explains the unique properties of an engine based on this phenomenon.

 

He said: "The working principle of a Leidenfrost-based engine is quite distinct from steam-based heat engines; the high-pressure vapor layer creates freely rotating rotors whose energy is converted into power without the need of a bearing, thus conferring the new engine with low-friction properties."

 

As well as potentially making long-term space exploration and colonization more sustainable, the unique, low-friction nature of this engine could have other exciting applications, according to Executive Dean for Engineering and Environment, Prof. Glen McHale. Prof. McHale, who also worked on the new research with Dr Wells and Dr Ledesma-Aguilar, said: "This is the starting point of an exciting avenue of research in smart materials engineering. In the future, Leidenfrost-based devices could find applications in wide ranging fields, spanning from frictionless transport to outer space exploration."

 

Source: Northumbria Univ.

  

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By Floria Schumacher, Wearables.com 

http://www.wearable-technologies.com/2014/10/graphene-superpowers-for-wearables/

 

 

 

Graphene is the new super material in the tech industry and excites researchers and product developers all over the world with its unchallenged properties. Extremely thin, strong, flexible and transparent, Graphene has an enormous potential to improve processors, displays or batteries, all elements that are critical for the performance of wearables. The nanomaterial is made of a single layer of carbon atoms, which are bonded together in a hexagonal pattern. First studied theoretically in the 1940s it took until 2004 that scientists at the University of Manchester were able to produce the two-dimensional structure, a discovery that was honored with the Nobel price. Since then, researchers are working on scaling the Graphene production process in order to make the material available for industrial applications. Even if it is still a couple of years until we get there, here's how graphene could impact future generations of wearables.

 

Transistors and Microchips

Since their invention in the 1940s, silicon transistors have constantly been miniaturized so more of them can be packed into a microchip. In order to improve performance, this trend will have to continue and for silicon-based transistors the limits of miniaturization could be reached in a couple of years. With its thickness of only one atom layer, graphene could help to reach even smaller structures, making the material a promising candidate for future generations of microchips. On the other hand, the super material also has an extremely low electrical resistance which means electrons can move quickly and with little energy loss. This high conductivity in graphene transistors might lead to much faster, energy efficient processors. And because the nanomaterial is flexible, Graphene-based chips enable new form factors such as foldable electronics, opening up lots of opportunities for the wearables industry.

 

Flexible Displays

Flexible displays are on top of the wishlist when it comes to designing wearables. Although LGhas already presented an 18-inch OLED display that can be rolled up to a radius of 3 cm, an e-ink type of display developed at Cambridge Graphene Center looks even more promising for mass market applications. The researchers have built an active matrix electrophoretic display by "printing" Graphene electrodes on a plastic substrate. With this simple production process, the Graphene based version might become the first flexible display available at low costs, which is significant to hit a reasonable price point for wearables. Based on its initial research, Cambridge Graphene Center is already working on a full-color version based on LCD and OLED technologies. The super material Graphene shows potential not only for printing out pixels but has many other applications in display manufacturing. Applied as a coating, the transparent carbon layer could also turn all kinds of displays into touch screens.

 

Batteries and Solar Cells

Energy supply is critical for the performance and the usability of wearables. Thus, improvements in battery capacity and charging speed will determine what wearables can do. Graphene, used as battery electrodes, might significantly increase the capacity and charging time. Compared to a Lithium Ion cell, scientists at Lawrence Berkely Labs were able to double capacity by using graphene oxide. The experimental design is still at an early stage, so a lot of research is necessary before the new battery type might become available for device manufacturers. Graphene not only can improve energy storage, it also has the potential to change the way energy is produced. The nanomaterial might be used to produce ultra-thin and light solar cells and also increase the efficiency in converting light into electrical energy.

 

Superpowers for Wearables?

If the development of Graphene based processors, displays, batteries and other components turns out successful, this will have an enormous impact on the performance and the design of wearables. Cheap, flexible displays will enable totally new product forms and uses; efficient microchips will allow to embed more processing speed in all kinds of products. Powerful, graphene-based batteries and flexible solar cells will help dealing with the ever increasing energy demand. Given this potential its no wonder that the race for Graphene based elements has already begun. Researchers all over the world are working on overcoming technical hurdles and companies such as Samsung have already filed their patents for production processes. It might take a couple of years until we get to see graphene-based components but once the technology hits the market, it could bring wearables to the next level.

  

 

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By Philly Lim, Press Officer  World Scientific. com  March 23, 2015
http://www.worldscientific.com/page/pressroom/2015-03-23-01

 

  

Intermittently delivered pulsed electric fields technology could replace boiling and refrigeration of milk in the low-income countries 

 

 

Milk is a key element for household food security and provides a stable income to farmers including women, who are usually in charge of taking care of the milk-producing animals in the low-income countries. Currently pathogen growth in milk is managed with refrigeration or with chemicals. Although bacterial growth in milk is managed with refrigeration in the high-income countries, a high cost of infrastructure and a demand for a permanent electricity supply prevent milk refrigeration in the rural areas in the low-income countries. Moreover, certain pathogens, for example Listeria monocytogenes, are less sensitive to low temperature; therefore, they can proliferate at refrigeration during transportation and storage.

 

"There is a constant search for new, low-cost, chemical-free technologies for milk preservation, especially for the small farmers in the low-income countries," says Alexander Golberg, PhD of Porter School at TAU, the paper's author. "In many rural places refrigeration is not possible and its alternative, lactoperoxidaze system may be misused to disguise milk produced under poor hygienic conditions as Codex Alimentarius. This development not only holds great promise for unraveling many aspects of the complex wound healing process but can also potentially lead to new therapies," Golberg says, " We believe that this model will enable other laboratories to learn and uncover new aspects of adult tissue growth and development."

 

Pulsed electric fields is an emerging technology in the food industry. It was shown in multiple studies to effectively kill multiple food born microorganisms and could provide an alternative, non-thermal pasteurization process.

 

"In the storage application, developed in this work, we use the fundamentally different approach for microorganisms control. Refrigeration, the major milk preservation technology, slows the bacteria metabolism, pulsed electric fields kill them." Alex Golberg says. " Moreover, Our model shows that pulsed electric fields preservation technology does not require a constant electricity supply and can be powered 5.5 hours a day using small, family scale solar panels. I believe that this technology can provide a robust, simple and energy-efficient milk preservation system that would decrease the wasted milk thus increasing the income of the small farmers in developing countries."

 

The author acknowledges Prof. Boris Rubinsky from UC Berkeley for the active discussions about the work and for provision of part of laboratory equipment for pulse electric field treatment. The author acknowledges Prof. Daniel Portnoy and Dr. Chris Rae from UC Berkeley for providing bacteria strains.

Corresponding authors for this study in TECHNOLOGY are Alex Golberg (agolberg@gmail.com), John H. Rossmeisl Jr. (jrossmei@vt.edu) and Michael B. Sano (sano@vt.edu).

 

 

 

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6)The World's Largest, Cheapest Reverse-Osmosis Desalination Plant 

  

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