Electrochemical Science and Technology Information

India's rural poor give up on power grid, go solar

2011-07-14T01:39:00.000-07:00

By Katy Daigle, Associated Press

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

In this May 25, 2011 photograph, Sharan Pinto installs a solar panel antenna on the roof top of a house in Nidle village, on the outskirts of Manglore, India. Across India, thousands of homes are receiving their first light through small companies and aid programs that are bypassing the central electricity grid to deliver solar panels to the rural poor. Those customers could provide the human energy that advocates of solar power have been looking for to fuel a boom in the next decade. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

NADA, India (AP) — Boommi Gowda used to fear the night. Her vision fogged by glaucoma, she could not see by just the dim glow of a kerosene lamp, so she avoided going outside where king cobras slithered freely and tigers carried off neighborhood dogs.

But things have changed at Gowda's home in the remote southern village of Nada. A solar-powered lamp pours white light across the front of the mud-walled hut she shares with her three grown children, a puppy and a newborn calf. Now she can now cook, tend to her livestock and get water from a nearby well at night.

"I can see!" Gowda said, giggling through a 100-watt smile. In her 70 years, this is the first time she has had any kind of electricity.

Across India, thousands of homes are receiving their first light through small companies and aid programs that are bypassing the central electricity grid to deliver solar panels to the rural poor. Those customers could provide the human energy that advocates of solar power have been looking for to fuel a boom in the next decade.

With 40 percent of India's rural households lacking electricity and nearly a third of its 30 million agricultural water pumps running on subsidized diesel, "there is a huge market and a lot of potential," said Santosh Kamath, executive director of consulting firm KPMG in India.
"Decentralized solar installations are going to take off in a very big way and will probably be larger than the grid-connected segment."

Next door to the Gowdas, 58-year-old Iramma, who goes by one name, frowned as she watched her neighbors light their home for the first time. At her house, electrical wiring dangles uselessly from the walls.

She said her family would wait for the grid. They've already given hundreds of dollars to an enterprising electrician who wired her house and promised service would come. They shouldn't have to pay even more money for solar panels, she insisted.

But she softened after her 16-year-old son interrupted to complain he was struggling in school because he cannot study at night like his classmates.

"We are very much frustrated," she said. "The children are very anxious. They ask every day, 'Why don't we have power like other people?' So if the grid doesn't come in a month, maybe we will get solar, too."

Despite decades of robust economic growth, there are still at least 300 million Indians — a quarter of the 1.2 billion population — who have no access to electricity at home. Some use cow dung for fuel, but they more commonly rely on kerosene, which commands premium black-market prices when government supplies run out.

They scurry during daylight to finish housework and school lessons. They wait for grid connections that often never come.

When people who live day-by-day on wage labor and what they harvest from the land choose solar, they aren't doing it to conserve fossil fuels, stop climate change or reduce their carbon footprints. To them, solar technology presents an elegant and immediate solution to powering everything from light bulbs and heaters to water purifiers and pumps.

In this May 24, 2011 photograph, Parvin Yeyyada works with electric wiring as Boommi Gowda looks on during the installation of solar power in her house in Nada, a village near the southwest Indian port of Mangalore. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

"Their frustration is part of our motivation. Why are we so arrogant in deciding what the poor need and when they should get it?" said Harish Hande, managing director of Selco Solar Light Pvt. Ltd.

The company, which is owned by three foreign aid organizations, has fitted solar panels to 125,000 rural homes in Karnataka state, including the Gowdas', outside the west coast port of Mangalore.

Getting the technology to low-income customers is not easy. They need help with everything from setting up their first bank accounts and negotiating loans to navigating the fine print of payment contracts.

To find new clients, agents must go door-to-door in remote settlements, sometimes crossing rivers, hiking mountains or wading through wetlands to reach them.

But the sales pitch leads to reliable profits. Solar panels take little space on a rooftop, the lights burn brighter than kerosene lamps and they don't start forest fires or get snuffed in strong winds. Unlike central power, solar units don't get rationed or cut.

Buying solar panels is more expensive than grid electricity, but for people off the grid it compares well with other options. One of Selco's single-panel solar systems goes for about $360, the same or less than a year's supply of black-market kerosene. And government subsidies mean customers actually pay less than $300.

In two years, India's government hopes the off-grid solar yield will quadruple to 200 megawatts — enough to power millions of rural Indian homes with modest energy needs.

Boommi Gowda's family signed up for its solar system within weeks of seeing one at the home of neighbor Babu Gowda, who is not related but shares the common regional last name.

"With kerosene, you have to carry the lamp around wherever you go. The light is dim, and smoke fills the room and spoils the paint," said Babu Gowda, a sprightly 59-year-old.

He finally decided on solar after losing his dog to a tiger from the neighboring national park. Now light from his home wards off predators.

"I kept waiting and thinking the grid would come, and after years I was angry. But now I'm thrilled," he said. "Now we have light. We can move on, maybe expand with another solar panel and get a TV."

What's predicted for India's solar market is not unlike the recent explosion in cell phones, as villagers and slum-dwellers alike embraced mobile technology over lumbering landline connections. There is now at least one mobile phone link for every two people in the country.

The government has pushed for manufacturers and entrepreneurs to seize the opportunity. Its solar mission — an 11-year, $19 billion plan of credits, consumer subsidies and industry tax breaks to encourage investment — is fast becoming a centerpiece of its wider goal for renewable sources, including wind and small hydropower, to make up 20 percent of India's supply by 2020. Solar alone would provide 6 percent — a huge leap, since it makes up less than 1 percent of the 17 gigawatts India gets from renewables alone. The federal government leads a massive campaign titled "Light a Billion Lives" to distribute 200 million solar-powered lanterns to rural homes, while also supporting the creation of so-called "solar cities" with self-contained micro-grids in areas where supply is short.

Solar power is making inroads in smaller ways as well.

Near Nada, some schools send students home with solar-charged flashlights to study at night, and the temple town of Dharmasthala, visited by 10,000 pilgrims a day, offers free water purified through solar filtration.

Another Hindu temple in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh boasts one of the world's largest solar-powered kitchens, preparing 30,000 meals a day, while western Gujarat state has experimented with a solar crematorium. Even in the Himalayan frontier state of Arunachal Pradesh, where the sunshine is not India's brightest, Buddhist monks have installed solar panels to heat water at the 330-year Tawang Monastery.

Solar panels are becoming a must-have luxury item on dowry lists, even for those who have electricity but are annoyed by power cuts. And the capital of New Delhi requires hotels, hospitals and banquet halls to have solar water-heating systems.

Even Tata Power, India's energy giant and main supplier of coal-sourced grid power, is eyeing the off-grid market while it plans large solar and wind installations to feed into the network.

"Decentralized and distributed power from renewables is where we see a lot of growth. There are many suitable technologies. All that's needed are entrepreneurs," Tata's chief sustainability officer Avinash Patkar said.

In this May 24, 2011 photograph, Pushpa Gowda right, makes Bidi, a low-grade tobacco, as she sits with her mother Boommi Gowda, left and brother Ubay Gowda after they installed solar light in their house. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

India's government is desperate to expand its energy options as its fast-moving economy faces chronic electricity shortages. Last year's 10 percent shortfall is expected to increase to 16 percent this year, according to the Central Electricity Authority. Within 25 years, India must increase electricity production fivefold to keep up with its own development and demand, the World Bank says.

India is planning new nuclear plants and quickly building more coal-firing plants, but it's also working to take better advantage of its renewable energy opportunities. It has been named the world's third most attractive destination for renewable energy investment, after the U.S. and China, according to two separate reports by global consulting firms KPMG and Ernst & Young.

Western states like Gujarat and Rajasthan get the full brunt of the sun, with famed deserts and scrublands filled with sand dunes, camels and residents who spend hours fetching water from wells. These states are luring big projects for solar fields to plug into the grid.

But most new grid capacity will be sucked up by industry, leaving little for the poor who live in off-grid desert outcrops, mountain hamlets and jungle villages like Nada. For them, the surest way to get electricity anytime soon may be to get a solar panel and make it themselves.

P.N. Babu, a 51-year-old laborer who supplements his wages by tapping sap from rubber trees, finally stopped waiting for the grid when he saw his 14-year-old son's eyes tearing as he tried to read by lamp.

"My children are too important," Babu said as the sun set in Nidle village, about 10 kilometers (six miles) south of Nada.

Normally, it is so dark not even moonlight cuts through the dense canopy of palms overhead. But on the family's first night with solar electricity, the house was ablaze.

The family took turns praying, elated they could see the Hindu icons of Lords Krishna and Ganesh by the light.

"When school starts again, I am ready now to get high scores," Babu's son Suresh said. "I couldn't see the words in the book before, with the smoke and the tears."

With the lights on, Suresh grabbed his sketchbook, filled with fanciful drawings of tigers, hippos, flowers and water jugs. He opened to a blank page and quickly outlined a modest house like his own, complete with a neatly swept yard and jungle gardens growing wild.
He finished by drawing the small box of a solar panel atop the roof.

SOURCE: The Associated Press
http://www.rdmag.com/News/2011/07/Energy-India-s-rural-poor-give-up-on-power-grid-go-solar/

Cientifica Release 2011 Report Global Nanotechnology Funding and Impact

2011-07-14T01:33:00.000-07:00

Cientifica, the worlds most respected nanotechnology information and forecasting company has just released the much anticipated 2011 report on global nanotechnology funding and impact.

Founder Tim Harper commenented, "It's something we do every year, undertaking one of the world's most exhaustive searches into the global funding of nanotechnologies in order to identify not only where the dollars, euros and yen are being spent, but also to gain an unique insight into the trends shaping tomorrow's applications."

The major change for this year has been to develop a method of determining how effective government investment in emerging technologies is likely to be, using data from the World Economic Forum's annual Global Competitiveness Report among other sources.

The report found that while countries such as the UK have academic excellence, the service based economy means that there is little outlet for the fruits of nanotechnology research, unlike for example Germany which has a large and vibrant manufacturing sector that is hungry for new technologies to stay competitive.

A white paper giving an overview of the key numbers, which we believe to be the most accurate available anywhere, can be downloaded here.

Key findings are:

With US government funding of nanotechnology receding slightly in 2011, Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) estimates indicate that for the first time, China will spend more than the US to fund nanotechnology.
In the last 11 years, governments around the world have invested more than US$67.5 billion in nanotechnology funding. When corporate research and various other forms of private funding are taken into account, nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars will have been invested in nanotechnology by 2015.
Corporate research and private funding were thought to have surpassed government funding figures as far back as 2004. But this year, according to Cientifica's estimates, in PPP terms China will spend US$2.25 billion in nanotechnology research while the US will spend US$2.18 billion. In real dollar terms, adjusted for currency exchange rates, China is only spending about US$1.3 billion to the US's $2.18 billion.
This appears to be a temporary hiccup in US dominance in public funding of nanotechnology with the US again taking the lead next year even in PPP terms, spending $2.46 billion with China allotting $2.2 billion.
Cientifica's index of countries' ability to take advantage of emerging technologies indicates the US, Germany, Taiwan and Japan have the combination of academic excellence, technology-hungry companies, skilled workforces and the availability of early stage capital to ensure effective technology transfer.

When combined with levels of nanotechnology funding, the US is still the place to be, although China and Russia are increasingly attractive. The UK and UK and India struggle at the bottom of the league.

Source: http://www.azonano.com/news.aspx?newsID=22980

ISAEST-9

2010-09-27T21:32:00.000-07:00

9th International Symposium on Advances in Electrochemical Science and Technology (ISAEST 9) is to be held during December 2 - 4, 2010 at Hotel Green Park, Chennai, India. It is organised by the Society for Advancement of Electrochemical Science and Technology (SAEST) and CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Karaikudi (CECRI).

The Symposium will provide a forum for electrochemists and technologists from all over the world to meet and exchange knowledge and research experience. The Symposium will discuss developments in all branches of Electrochemical Science and Technology.

Please visit : www.saest.com to explore more about the Symposium.

Nanotechnology Helps to Develop Solar Cells with Over 65% Efficiency

2010-06-19T05:47:00.000-07:00

TU/e researchers want to develop solar cells with an efficiency of over 65 percent by means of nanotechnology. In Southern Europe and North Africa these new solar cells can generate a substantial portion of the European demand for electricity. The Dutch government reserves EUR 1.2 million for the research.

An agency of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, will grant the EUR 1.2 million to researchers dr. Jos Haverkort, dr. Erik Bakkers en dr. ir. Geert Verbong for their research into nanowire solar cells. It is their expectation that, when combined with mirror systems, these solar cells can generate a sizeable portion of the European electricity demand in Southern Europe and North Africa.

The current thin-film solar cells (type III/V) have an efficiency that lies around 40 percent, but they are very expensive and can only be applied as solar panels on satellites. By using mirror systems that focus one thousand times they can now also be deployed on earth in a cost-effective manner. The TU/ researchers expect that in ten years their nano-structured solar cells can attain an efficiency of more than 65 percent. Jos Haverkort: "If the Netherlands wants to timely participate in a commercial exploitation of nanowire solar cells, there is a great urgency to get on board now." The research is conducted together with Philips MiPlaza.

They think that nanotechnology, in combination with the use of concentrated sunlight through mirror systems, has the potential to lead to the world’s most efficient solar cell system with a cost price lower than 50 cent per Watt peak. In comparison: for the present generation of solar cells that cost price is 1.50 euro per Watt peak.

StackingNanowires make it possible to stack a number of subcells (junctions). In this process each subcell converts one color of sunlight optimally to electricity. The highest yield reported until now in a nanowire solar cell is 8.4 percent. Haverkort: 'We expect that a protective shell around the nanowires is the critical step towards attaining the same efficiency with nanowire solar cells as with thin-film cells." Haverkort thinks that at 5 to 10 junctions he will arrive at an efficiency of 65 percent.

Scarcity of raw materialsIn addition, the researchers expect considerable savings can be made on production costs, because nanowires grow on a cheap silicon substrate and also grow faster, which results in a lower cost of ownership of the growth equipment. What is more, the combination of the mirror systems with nanotechnology will imply an acceptable use of the scarce and hence expensive metals gallium and indium.
Source: http://www.tue.nl/

LINK

2010 Global R&D Funding Forecast

2009-12-28T20:18:00.000-08:00

The 2010 Global R&D Forecast, created by Battelle analysts and the editors of R&D Magazine, predicts overall global R&D will increase 4.0% in 2010 to $1,156.5 billion from $1,112.5 billion spent in 2009. This increase will mostly be driven by continued spending by China and India, who will drive a 7.5% increase in Asian R&D.

American R&D spending is expected to increase 3.2% to $452.8 billion, while EC spending will only increase 0.5% to $268.5 billion in 2010.
Download the report:
http://www.rdmag.com/uploadedFiles/RD/Featured_Articles/2009/12/GFF2010_ads_small.pdf

Tech Pioneers Who Will Change Your Life

2009-12-27T22:44:00.000-08:00

Tech Pioneers Who Will Change Your Life
K.R. Sridhar, Bloom Energy
The Sunnyvale, Calif., start-up says it has developed a fuel-cell system that produces energy that's cleaner and more efficient than oil, gas or coal and more reliable than wind or solar power. "This technology is fundamentally going to change the world," gushes K.R. Sridhar, co-founder and CEO of Bloom Energy. "It's going to have a disruptive impact on the way energy is produced."Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1948486_1948485_1948479,00.html#ixzz0b25Q1sSw

The water-powered clock: the most eco-friendly timepiece ever?

2009-11-30T00:30:00.000-08:00

Anna Leach

on November 25, 2009

It doesn't need batteries, solar panels or winding, it just needs water. The Water Powered Clock sounds like something out of mythology, but it's real and it's turning H2O into energy somewhere near you.

All you have to do to keep the clock ticking is change the water every six months. It uses "the latest electrochemical technology" to power the digital display with water and there are no emissions or waste. Shaped like cans, the clocks are available in four colours.

It's not an alarm - water obviously isn't that powerful yet, but it does look quite cute and displays the time on the digital panel at that front. Pair it up with Efergy's showtime water-use monitor as a green present for the eco-warrier in your life.

Even better, get GreenStamp's water-powered clock making kit and let your green friend experiment with what liquids make the clock run. A good one for kids.

SOURCE

New hydrogen-storage method discovered

2009-11-23T20:59:00.000-08:00

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Scientists at the Carnegie Institution have found for the first time that high pressure can be used to make a unique hydrogen-storage material. The discovery paves the way for an entirely new way to approach the hydrogen-storage problem. The researchers found that the normally unreactive, noble gas xenon combines with molecular hydrogen (H2) under pressure to form a previously unknown solid with unusual bonding chemistry. The experiments are the first time these elements have been combined to form a stable compound. The discovery debuts a new family of materials, which could boost new hydrogen technologies. The paper is published in the November 22, 2009, advanced online publication of Nature Chemistry. Read more...

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/ci-nhm112009.php

A Path to Sustainable Energy by 2030

2009-11-10T21:56:00.000-08:00

A recent article - "A Path to Sustainable Energy by 2030" authored by Jacabson and Deluchhi, published in the recent issue (November 2009) of Scientific American will be a useful resource for the researchers who do research in the area of energy.

Also visit here to explore more.

Interview of Venkataraman Ramkrishnan by Amit Roy of The Telegraph, Calcutta.

2009-10-26T21:48:00.000-07:00

No real reason why it can't be done in India
- Venki on his forthcoming visit, why he loves Cambridge and how crucial luck is.
Amit Roy
Cambridge, Oct. 17: Venkataraman Ramakrishnan, seems happy and settled in Cambridge, where autumn has set in and where the Nobel laureate can admire ancient trees with leaves turning to russet and mauve and gold as he cycles to work every day.

But over the past four decades, he has led an itinerant existence. Fame has come at a price.
Read more...
Courtesy: The Telegraph

Low-cost electrodes for fuel cells

2009-10-15T02:32:00.000-07:00

AFC Energy, the developer of low-cost alkaline fuel cells, has successfully completed trials of its non-platinum-based electrodes for fuel cells. Read more...

Source: The Engineer Online

Breakthrough in Battery Technology in the offing

2009-09-07T04:24:00.000-07:00

Scientists in advanced materials and electrochemistry have produced electric storage batteries what could be the single most important breakthrough for clean, alternative energy.

It's a new generation of deep-storage battery that's small enough, and safe enough, to sit in your basement and power you home.

Read More...
Source: Daily Herald

Nanotechnology: Lithium-Ion Batteries Have Better Performance With New Electrode Material

2009-03-04T03:55:00.000-08:00

Nanotechnology: Lithium-Ion Batteries Have Better Performance With New Electrode Material

Need to store electricity more efficiently? Put it behind bars.
That's essentially the finding of a team of Rice University researchers who have created hybrid carbon nanotube metal oxide arrays as electrode material that may improve the performance of lithium-ion batteries.
With battery technology high on the list of priorities in a world demanding electric cars and gadgets that last longer between charges, such innovations are key to the future. Electrochemical capacitors and fuel cells would also benefit, the researchers said.
The team from Pulickel Ajayan's research group published a paper this week describing the proof-of-concept research in which nanotubes are grown to look – and act – like the coaxial conducting lines used in cables. The coax tubes consist of a manganese oxide shell and a highly conductive nanotube core. REA MORE...
Source: ScienceDaily

Methanol fuel cells the latest in portable power

2009-02-25T02:10:00.000-08:00

Methanol fuel cells the latest in portable power
by Mark Rutherford
February 22, 2009 6:00 AM PST
A German company has introduced a "wearable" fuel cell that usesdirect methanol fuel cell technology, doing away with the weightymechanical components usually associated with generation of electricalpower.

Based on an award-winning unipolar stack technology design, the Jenny600S delivers 25 watts of power for up to 20 hours at a time,according to the company Smart Fuel Cell (SFC).
SFC fuel cells took top honors in the U.S. Department of Defense'sWearable Power Competition last October against stiff competition froma host of big-name competitors. But it's not the only game: companieslike UtraCell and Jadoo Power also offer a range of portable fuel celloptions to military customers.
The Jenny uses replaceable liquid methanol fuel cartridges and can beworn by soldiers in a vest, where it instantly kicks in from standbymode to automatically recharge batteries when needed. It workssilently in both vertical and horizontal positions, according to SFC.It can also be left in a hands-off mode to automatically power upequipment in the field. The company estimates that the unit couldreduce the weight of the batteries that soldiers must carry on certainmissions by up to 70 percent.
And the SFC system uses nonpressurized methanol, which has been giventhe seal of approval in tests by Army Research Lab and Natick SoldierCenter, according to SFC. Low pressure gives it a leg up, in terms ofsafety over pressurized gases like hydrogen, propane, or butane.
It's not available to civilians yet, but look for systems like this toshake out in the near future. Mark Rutherford is a West Coast-based freelance writer. He is amember of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. Emailhim at markr@milapp.com
Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13639_3-10169022-42.html

New freely accessible nanotechnology and nanoscience publications archive

2009-02-19T23:14:00.000-08:00

New freely accessible nanotechnology and nanoscience publications archive

Research at the nanoscale has the potential to solve many fundamental scientific problems and lead to new developments in different disciplines and application areas such as medicine, electronics, energy, and the environment. Successful outcomes to such research will have a measurable impact on the future well-being of our global society; however this can only be achieved through improving access to information and opportunities for international collaboration. The ICPCNanoNet project is one such initiative in this framework. Funded by the EU under FP7 for four years from June 2008, it provides:
an electronic archive of nanoscience publications that is freely accessible to researchers around the globe;
an electronic database of nanoscience organizations and networks in ICPC;
links to nanoscience researchers and stakeholders across the globe;
annual reports on nanoscience developments in eight ICPC regions: Africa, Caribbean, Pacific, Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA), Latin America, Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPC), Western Balkan Countries (WBC);
online networking tools (forums, workshops);
annual workshops, one in each of EU, China, India, and Russia, which will also be webcast to facilitate greater access.
The project brings together partners from the EU, China, India and Russia and aims to provide wider access to published nanoscience and nanotechnology research and opportunities for collaboration between scientists in the EU and International Cooperation Partner Countries. This will be achieved through the creation of an open access electronic archive of nanoscience publications and tools to facilitate networking between scientists in different world regions.
The project builds on previous initiatives including Nanoforum (www.nanoforum.org) which provides information on nanoscience and technology in the EU; EuroIndiaNet (http://www2.spi.pt/euroindianet/) which promoted stronger collaboration between EU and Indian nanoscientists and technologists, and NanoforumEULA (www.mesaplus.utwente.nl/nanoforumeula/) which promotes stronger collaboration between EU and Latin American nanoscientists and technologists.
ICPCNanoNet is coordinated by the Institute of Nanotechnology (UK) and includes Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação (Portugal), St Petersburg Electrotechnical University (Russia), Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (India), Chinese Society of Micro-Nano Technology (China), MERIT, Universiteit Maastricht (Netherlands), and Malsch TechnoValuation (Netherlands).
To register your interest in ICPCNanoNet please contact the project coordinator:
Dr Mark Morrison
Institute of Nanotechnology
mark.morrison@nano.org.uk
Tel. +44 (0)141 303 8444.
or register on the project websites: www.ICPC-nanonet.org (main project website) and www.nanoarchive.org (electronic archive).
Source: ICPCNanoNet

New catalyst paves the path for ethanol-powered fuel cells

2009-02-01T20:35:00.000-08:00

(Nanowerk News) A team of scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Delaware and Yeshiva University, has developed a new catalyst that could make ethanol-powered fuel cells feasible. The highly efficient catalyst performs two crucial, and previously unreachable steps needed to oxidize ethanol and produce clean energy in fuel cell reactions. Their results are published online in the January 25, 2009 edition of Nature Materials.

Like batteries that never die, hydrogen fuel cells convert hydrogen and oxygen into water and, as part of the process, produce electricity. However, efficient production, storage, and transport of hydrogen for fuel cell use is not easily achieved. As an alternative, researchers are studying the incorporation of hydrogen-rich compounds, for example, the use of liquid ethanol in a system called a direct ethanol fuel cell. READ MORE...

World's highest drug levels entering India stream

2009-02-01T20:32:00.000-08:00

Jan. 26, 2009By Margie Mason, AP Medical Writer Patancheru, India (AP)—When researchers analyzed vials of treated wastewater taken from a plant where about 90 Indian drug factories dump their residues, they were shocked. Enough of a single, powerful antibiotic was being spewed into one stream each day to treat every person in a city of 90,000.

And it wasn't just ciprofloxacin being detected. The supposedly cleaned water was a floating medicine cabinet—a soup of 21 different active pharmaceutical ingredients, used in generics for treatment of hypertension, heart disease, chronic liver ailments, depression, gonorrhea, ulcers and other ailments. Half of the drugs measured at the highest levels of pharmaceuticals ever detected in the environment, researchers say. READ MORE...

AP National Writer Martha Mendoza contributed to this report from California.
SOURCE: The Associated Press.

UN declares 2011 as International Year of Chemistry

2009-02-01T20:27:00.000-08:00

UN declares 2011 as International Year of Chemistry

New York, Paris, 30 December 2008 - The 63rd General Assembly of the United
Nations has adopted a resolution proclaiming 2011 as International Year of Chemistry,
placing UNESCO and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)
at the helm of the event.
Ethiopia submitted the U.N. resolution calling for the Year, which will celebrate
the achievements of chemistry and its contributions to the well-being of humanity. The
Year will also draw attention to the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable
Development 2005-2014. National and international activities carried out during 2011
will emphasize the importance of chemistry in sustaining natural resources.
Chemistry is fundamental to our understanding of the world and the cosmos.
Moreover, molecular transformations are central to the production of food, medicines,
fuel, and countless manufactured and extracted products. Through the Year, the world
will celebrate the art and science of chemistry, and its essential contributions to
knowledge, to environmental protection and to economic development.
“The International Year of Chemistry will give a global boost to chemical science
in which our life and our future are grounded. We hope to increase the public
appreciation and understanding of chemistry, increase young people’s interest in science,
and generate enthusiasm for the creative future of chemistry,” declared the President of
the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), Professor Jung-Il Jin. READ MORE...

Source: IUPAC/UNESCO release, 30 Dec 2008

'India will have to reduce energy consumption by 20%’

2008-12-25T20:57:00.000-08:00

CHENNAI: Some sections view the current economic meltdown as a direct fall-out of consumption exceeding money supply. Power policy makers of the
country seem to have stuck on the analogy to caution energy con-sumption in urban India.
“In fact, we need to expand energy con-sumption in this country, mainly to the two-thirds of our population who have scarce or no access to electricity, and non-biomass fuels,” said Planning Commission principal adviser (energy) Surya P Sethi. India’s per capita consumption of power is 20% the world average, 4% that of the US, and 28% that of China. “To achieve a desirable human development index growth, the pres-ent power consumers will have to cut their usage by 20%, by which growth may come down by a percentage point or two”. Speaking at the panel discussion on sustainable electricity in India, at Pan IIT, an IIT alumni conference, at the Indian institute of technology Madras on Saturday, he said the situation was potentially explosive unless we invest talent, technology and innovation in equitable allocation of basic resources like energy, water and land.To achieve 20% energy conservation we need to increase the energy efficiency of our appli-ances by 20%, he said. READ MORE...
Source: The Economic Times

Low-cost fuel cells a step closer

2008-12-25T20:52:00.000-08:00

Low-cost fuel cells a step closer Chinese researchers develop a nickel catalyst
by Helen Tunnicliffe

A GROUP OF scientists from Wuhan University in China have developed a hydrogen fuel cell using a nickel-based catalyst and an alkaline electrolyte, which they believe is a viable alternative to expensive platinum catalysts and acidic electrolytes currently in use.

Shanfu Lu, Jing Pan, Aibin Huang, Lin Zhuang and Juntao Lu developed an alkaline electrolyte - the polymer quaternary ammonium polysulphone – which can conduct hydrogen ions. They used silver for the positive electrode and chromium-decorated nickel for the negative electrode.

“The surface electronic structure of nickel has been tuned to suppress selectively the surface oxidative passivation with retained activity toward hydrogen oxidation,” states the abstract.

In other words, the chromium has changed the surface electronic structure of the nickel to prevent it from being oxidised (which would otherwise reduce its effectiveness) while still allowing the catalysis of the reaction of hydrogen ions which produces the electrical current.

Most hydrogen fuel cells in use today are acidic and corrode metals. Most research has, therefore, concentrated on catalysts made from precious metals, usually platinum, which are stable in acidic conditions. However, their high cost has prevented a greater uptake of the technology. The scientists believe their discovery to be an important advance in fuel cell technology.

The paper was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Source: tcetoday, Friday 26 December 2008

Scientific output in nanoscience increased by nearly 16% per year during the last decade

2008-12-17T20:49:00.000-08:00

(Nanowerk News) Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Nanotechnology - World R&D Report 2008 - Research in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology" report to their offering. This bibliometric report examines scientific activity in nanoscience using scientific papers, as well as intellectual property in nanotechnology using patents granted by the USPTO. The central aim of the scientometric and technometric analyses is to identify areas in which high-output, high-intensity, and high-impact research is being conducted. For this purpose, emphasis is placed on ranking research at the country, company and university levels. In addition, the report examines how nanoscale research and technology are evolving over time and features detailed analyses of eight non-mutually exclusive domains of nanoscale R&D. Nanoscience and nanotechnology are hotbeds of R&D wherein emergent properties of matter, which are present only at extremely small feature scales, are discovered and exploited. R&D Reports uses bibliometric indicators calculated on peer-reviewed papers in the Scopus database and granted patents in the USPTO database to produce multicriteria rankings and collaboration networks of countries, universities and companies. These show, at a glance, the leaders' scientific and technological positions in eight key domains of nanoscience and nanotechnology: General Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Materials Electronics and Computing Optics and Photonics Nanoelectromechanical Systems (NEMS) Medicine and biology Energy Environment Metrology
Key findings include: The scientific output in nanoscience increased at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 16% during the last decade. The scientific output in Republic of Korea and China exhibit spectacular growth. The number of patents granted has also grown rapidly (10%). Nanomaterials, nanophotonics, nanoelectronics and nanoscience in medicine & biology represent the largest concentration of R&D. Growth is particularly fast in emerging domains, namely NEMS, energy and environment.
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/5e25cc/nanotechnology_w

Source: Research and Markets

New Polymer Coatings Prevent Corrosion, Even When Scratched

2008-12-10T21:23:00.000-08:00

Imagine tiny cracks in your patio table healing by themselves, or the first small scratch on your new car disappearing by itself. This and more may be possible with self-healing coatings being developed at the University of Illinois.

The new coatings are designed to better protect materials from the effects of environmental exposure. Applications range from automotive paints and marine varnishes to the thick, rubbery coatings on patio furniture and park benches.

"Starting from our earlier work on self-healing materials at the U. of I., we have now created self-healing coatings that automatically repair themselves and prevent corrosion of the underlying substrate," said Paul Braun, a University Scholar and professor of materials science and engineering. Braun is corresponding author of a paper accepted for publication in the journal Advanced Materials, and posted on its Web site. READ MORE....
Source: ScienceDaily

Now, chromium-free coatings to protect cars against rust

2008-12-10T21:21:00.000-08:00

A new chromium-free coating can help protect cars against rust, reveals new study.
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institutes for Silicate Research ISC in Würzburg and for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU in Chemnitz, developed an alternative anti-corrosion method based on nanocomposites as against the long-standing chromium plating prohibited since 2007.
The boffins along with colleagues at the Institute for Corrosion Protection Dresden GmbH had submerged steel sheets into a coating sol, applied a power coating and exposed them to various tests to produce the new nanomaterials.
While the steel sheets were kept in a chamber filled with atomized brine for 360 hours, or 15 days, at a temperature of 35 degrees, the metal sheets had also been placed in an environment chamber with a relative humidity of 100 percent for 240 hours, or 10 days.
ISC project manager Dr. Johanna Kron said: “These coatings protect most galvanized materials almost as well as commercial yellow chrome plating. Indeed, the new coatings are often even more effective than the chromium-free system and chromium(III) passivation currently on the market.”
The study also found that the chromium-free coated metal sheets, which were less than a thousandth of a millimeter thick, could be formed in exactly the same way as yellow chrome plated sheets.
Kron revealed that the corrosion-proofing system could be expected to hit the market in around five years. (ANI)
Source: http://www.freshnews.in/now-chromium-free-coatings-to-protect-cars-against-rust-103493

A new water treatment method

2008-12-10T21:16:00.000-08:00

Treating industrial wastewater with scrap iron can be a cheap and effective way to reduce pollution from factories

SCRAP conjures up visions of rusting junkyards on the wrong side of the tracks. But this image could soon be given a green makeover. Researchers have found that iron filings from factories can be a cheap and efficient way to clean up polluted water. Because such scrap is widely available, the idea could be particularly useful in developing countries.

The new approach is being used to treat wastewater in the Taopu Industrial District of Shanghai, which is home to many small pharmaceutical, petrochemical and textile factories that discharge water contaminated with dyes, phosphorus and nitrogen. The project, which began in August 2006, now treats about 60,000 cubic metres (about 13m gallons) a day of industrially contaminated water—which is about the volume of municipal wastewater that a small town generates. READ MORE...

Source: The Economist

Fusion breakthrough will boost power output

2008-12-07T21:08:00.000-08:00

Fusion breakthrough will boost power output
Dec. 4, 2008David Chandler, MIT News OfficeResearch carried out at MIT's Alcator C-Mod fusion reactor may have brought the promise of fusion as a future power source a bit closer to reality, though scientists caution that a practical fusion powerplant is still decades away.
Fusion, the reaction that produces the sun's energy, is thought to have enormous potential for future power generation because fusion plant operation produces no emissions, fuel sources are potentially abundant, and it produces relatively little (and short-lived) radioactive waste. But it still faces great hurdles."There's been a lot of progress," says physicist Earl Marmar, division head of the Alcator Project at the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC). "We're learning a lot more about the details of how these things work."The Alcator C-Mod reactor, in operation since 1993, has the highest magnetic field and the highest plasma pressure of any fusion reactor in the world, and is the largest fusion reactor operated by any university. READ MORE...

The story is also available in the Dec. 3, 2008, edition of MIT Tech Talk, http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/techtalk53-10.pdf

SOURCE: MIT

Will solar power ever be as cheap as coal?

2008-12-07T21:05:00.000-08:00

Will solar power ever be as cheap as coal?
Some predict that within five years, it could rival fossil-fuel energy.

Lexington, Mass.

“Solar power is the energy of the future – and always will be.”

That tired joke, which has dogged solar-generated electricity for decades due to its high cost, could be retired far sooner than many think.

While solar contributes less than 1 percent of the energy generated in the United States today, its costs are turning sharply downward.

Whether using mirrors that focus desert sunlight to harvest heat and spin turbines or rooftop photovoltaic panels that turn sunshine directly into current, solar is on track to deliver electricity to residential users at a cost on par with natural gas and perhaps even coal within the next four to seven years, industry experts say.

“We’re confident that we’re not that far away from a tipping point where energy from solar will be competitive with fossil fuels,” said Ray Kurzweil, a National Academy of Engineers panel member after the panel reported on the future of solar power in February. “I personally believe that we’re within five years of that tipping point.” READ MORE...
Source: The Christian Science Monitor

ISRO and Tata Motors: Towards hydrogen fuel cells operated bus

2008-12-07T21:02:00.000-08:00

(Dr. Lalit Kishore)

It was in 2006 that ISRO and Tata Motors had entered into an agreement to design and develop a hydrogen fuel cell for operating a Tata bus as a replacement to fossil fuel. V. Gandhi is leading the team of ISRO researchers working on this project.

According to report by Radhakrishna Rao, everything is going as planned and the hydrogen fuel cell system will be integrated into the Tata bus by the first quarter of 2009. READ MORE...

Indian industry taking to green technologies with relish

2008-12-07T20:59:00.000-08:00

December 7th, 2008 - 12:56 pm ICT by IANS -

Poznan (Poland), Dec 7 (IANS) Indian entrepreneurs are taking to green technologies with a relish and do not see intellectual property rights (IPR) as a barrier, a new international study has found.Co-author of the study, David Ockwell of the University of Sussex in Britain, said that he had found Indian industry driving collaborations with firms around the world to work jointly on developing green technologies in the five areas studied:

* Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) for power generation;* Energy efficient technology adoption in Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs), specifically the glass and foundry industries;* Wind energy;* Solar photovoltaic (PV) cells; and* Hybrid vehicles
The study was carried out by a joint team from four organisations: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) based in New Delhi; the Science & Technology Policy Research Unit (SPRU) of the University of Sussex; the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) in Sussex and the Britain-based Margaree Consultants.

Announcing the interim results of the study on the sidelines of the Dec 1-12 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) summit in this city in western Poland, Ockwell said he had found technology transfer to the Indian firms had led not only to the transfer of goods and services, but also of the skills and know-how for operation and maintenance as well as the knowledge and expertise behind the technology.

This, he said, had led to new production and technological capacity.

The study, initiated by the governments of India and Britain, had been meant to identify barriers to the transfer of low-carbon energy technology.

In the area of IGCC for power generation, the researchers found the key barrier was having to work with high-ash content in Indian coal. The other problem was that the technology had not yet been commercialised anywhere in the world.

The researchers felt there was high potential for international collaboration here, Ockwell said, though he did find international firms were a bit cautious about which Indian firm they collaborated with.

The spread of green technologies in India is of course intimately connected with their take-up by the SMEs, which account for one-third of the country’s exports, half of its industrial output and are the largest employers after agriculture.

Ockwell said the researchers had found that by and large SMEs use indigenous knowledge and techniques, their resource use is inefficient, they do not have off-the-shelf solutions easily available and they conduct little research and development (R&D).

But, the researchers found many entrepreneurs in the SME sector keen on green technology collaborations, and they did not think IPRs were an issue.

“This leads to an interesting high potential for aggregate emissions reductions without issues associated with large industrial installations,” Ockwell said, though it is “reliant on willingness of international firms to share technology”.

He had found a “strong emphasis on long term international, public-private-NGO collaboration” and that a “possible domestic policy push - switch from coal to gas in the specific industrial areas around Delhi, Agra and Jaipur” was accelerating the interest of SMEs in green technologies.

In the area of wind energy, of course, India has done very well, with Suzlon being one of the top five wind energy firms globally. The researchers found that Indian wind energy firms had “used commercial approach to access IPRs via acquisition and licensing”, Ockwell said, “for example through R&D in Netherlands and marketing in Denmark”.

In the area of manufacturing solar PV cells, the researchers had found that the Indian market export driven and to date IPRs for manufacturing equipment largely stays with foreign firms.
“The Indian firms’ niche is to produce at lower cost,” Ockwell said.

“IPRs are not a barrier as yet, but they could become more of an issue as firms move towards manufacture along the value chain and more automated processes, such as PV grade silicon and thin film. This will be dependent on how concentrated relevant parts of the value chain are.”
Ockwell had found that recent developments in the solar PV cell manufacturing market were largely driven by domestic policy. This June, the Indian government placed development of solar energy at the centre of its National Action Plan on Climate Change.

The researchers found “strong domestic efforts in India to develop hybrid technology, driven also by acquisition such as the Tata purchase of the Norweigan electric vehicle company Miljo, as well as collaboration in development of the National Hybrid Propulsion Platform.

Ockwell said Indian entrepreneurs - many of whom had moved from large car manufacturing firms abroad - were licensing new hybrid technologies from second tier firms in the West.
Overall, he added, Indian firms found the only barriers to transfer of green technologies were people. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way, they said.”

However, the researchers were worried that Indian firms seemed happy to follow and not lead research in green technologies. “This leaves unanswered the question of long term technological capacity building,” Ockwell said.

(Joydeep Gupta can be contacted at joydeep.g@ians.in)
Source: www.thaindian.com

New nanotechnology educational resource offers teachers ready-to-use modules

2008-11-30T22:02:00.000-08:00

(Nanowerk News) AccessNano is a unique, cutting-edge nanotechnology educational resource designed to introduce accessible and innovative science and technology into Australian secondary school classrooms. AccessNano aims to provide teachers with a fresh new approach to teaching science in their school, as well as stimulating new ideas and opening pathways for careers in nanotechnology for students.
AccessNano is an Australian government initiative funded through the Australian Office of Nanotechnology, under the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research in working with the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
AccessNano provides teachers with 13 ready-to-use, versatile, web-based teaching modules, featuring PowerPoint presentations, experiments, activities, animations and links to interactive websites. Topics covered fit into current Australian curricula requirements, and include teaching units for Years 7-11.
READ MORE...
Source: NanoWerk

Micro Fuel Cells Get Closer to Replacing Batteries

2008-11-30T22:00:00.000-08:00

Micro Fuel Cells Get Closer to Replacing Batteries

Mobile electronics have the potential to offer digital luxuries beyond our imagination, but they will never get there on today’s lithium ion batteries. Power has been the weak spot in the development of more advanced mobile electronics, and the need for power will become even more important as devices feature more energy-sapping applications.

Source:Micro Fuel Cells Get Closer to Replacing Batteries

Indo-German science ties

2008-11-30T21:58:00.000-08:00

NEW DELHI: A team of German science journalists is on a 10-day visit to India. The purpose of the visit is to familiarise themselves with the science and education system in India.

"India is increasingly becoming a global player and an important partner in the field of science,” says Eva-Maria Streier, head, press and public relations division, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, adding that while in Delhi the team will be getting an idea of the Indian education policies, their visit to the institutes in Bangalore and Hyderabad will give them an idea about the IT industry and biotechnology respectively. Martin Spiewak, who mainly writes about education and science politics, and is an editor of the German weekly newspaper, Die Zeit, is looking forward to his stay in India. He will be trying to find out more about the quality and system of higher education in science in India. READ MORE...

Source: Times of India

Direct methanol fuel cells could power portable devices

2008-11-19T02:16:00.000-08:00

By: Dennis Ndaba
Published: 14 Nov 08 - 0:00
Fuel cells can contribute to energy security, because they possess the potential to convert potentially renewable fuels, such as hydrogen, methanol or ethanol, cleanly and efficiently into electrical energy, says the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR’s) Mark Rohwer.
They are of particular interest to South Africa, as they incorporate catalytic metals, like platinum, of which three-quarters of the world’s known reserves are found in South Africa.
A fuel cell is a device that converts chemical energy directly into electrical energy. In contrast, conventional production of electricity from fossil fuels involves conversion of the chemical energy in the fuel into thermal energy, then kinetic energy and finally into electrical energy.
READ MORE...

Now, ISRO scientists develop hydrogen fuel cells to power bus

2008-11-19T00:23:00.000-08:00

Bangalore, Nov 17 (PTI) India's space scientists have developed hydrogen fuel cells to power an automobile bus by leveraging their know-how of the homegrown cryogenic technology for rockets.The two-year effort has yielded positive results and the scientists are now readying for the fuel cells to be fitted into a bus."That's not exactly the cryogenic technology... (It's) liquid hydrogen handling and that's where we have some expertise. So, we have finalised the design", Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation, G Madhavan Nair told PTI here.According to Honorary Adviser of ISRO V Gnana Gandhi leading the technical team in this project, ISRO and Tata Motors entered into an MoU in 2006 to design and develop an automobile bus using hydrogen as a fuel through fuel cell route.Nair said: "Tatas are taking the responsibility for the locomotive part of it, and hydrogen handling system also. First protomodel has been assembled. Results are good. May be next year, it should be on the road".Gandhi said: "We are planning to integrate the system in the first quarter of next year (January-March 2009), and vehicle integration in the second quarter".He said the hydrogen cells are a spin-off of the cryogenic technology that ISRO has been developing for the last few years. PTI
Source: PTI

An electric workout through pedal power

2008-11-18T21:42:00.000-08:00

Gyms hook up exercise bikes to TVs, laptops, and batteries to let their patrons power the place. By Vijaysree Venkatraman Correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor/ November 13, 2008 edition

Cambridge, Mass.
After classes, Sally Peach, a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has a long list of to-dos.
She wants to hit the gym, tackle school work, and, as captain of an intramural soccer team and member of a campus health advocacy program, she has plenty of e-mail to respond to every evening.
“Though I know I am being productive, it feels like a complete waste of time to sit there and do just [e-mail replies],” says Ms. Peach.
So, once she arrives at the gym, Peach makes a beeline for a special stationary bike that has a laptop built into the front. The computer is not plugged in. There is an empty space where the battery once fit. But when Peach starts pedaling, the computer fires up. Her spinning workout powers the laptop – and lets her cross off two tasks at once.
Pedal power has been a small-time alternative-energy source for ages. Many innovators have tried to tap the simple motion to power devices – especially those engineered for developing countries, where power grids are unreliable. But few designs have stuck. People aren’t willing to exert much energy just to run simple devices.
But in gyms across the country, ecoconscious patrons are asking why cardio equipment needs to drain power, when the exercisers are already eager to burn calories. Now, fitness centers are beginning to experiment with ways to put muscle strength to good use.
“The idea pretty much sold itself,” says Adam Boesel, a personal trainer in Portland, Ore.
He saw a television report about a Hong Kong gym with human-powered equipment and set out to create an eco-friendly fitness center in his hometown. Mr. Boesel’s Green Microgym opened in late August and has already registered more than 100 members.
The gym chose Team Dynamo stationary bikes, which harness the power of four connected bicycles to generate an average of up to 200 watts per hour. That’s enough to power a LCD television and stereo system for the duration of the ride, according to Team Dynamo inventor Mike Taggett. “And you don’t have to be cycling champ Lance Armstrong to do this because it is a team effort,” he says, referring to how four bikers help charge the batteries.
At Green Microgym, electricity generated by the bikes flows into a bank of batteries, which, in turn, powers devices. Boesel plans to install a “grid-tie” inverter, which allows the generated energy to stream directly into the power grid. This device allows creators of alternative energy, such as solar and wind, to “spin the meter backward” and sell power to their local utility company.
The idea is to meet the gym’s power requirements – kept low by a prudent use of plugged-in devices – with solar panels and an array of energy-producing equipment, says Boesel.
Power bike setups of all sizesDavid Butcher, a California Web manager, gets his daily workout on a generator-bike he built three years ago. Pedaling at a steady pace, he charges many appliances at once: the robotic vacuum cleaner, a set of lights, and his laptop. Mr. Butcher webcasts live from his Los Gatos, Calif. basement during these 40-minute sessions. Thanks to the energizing workout, “I feel like a rocket now,” he says, a little breathless from his morning exercise.
Elsewhere, others are testing retrofitted equipment in well-trafficked commercial gyms. A group spinning class can produce a monthly output of 300 kilowatt-hours – enough energy to light six homes for a month and cut 420 pounds of carbon emission, according to Jay Whelan, founder of Green Revolution.
“There is no use it or lose it, or battery maintenance, because the power goes right back to the grid,” says Mr. Whelan, a clean-energy entrepreneur who recently retrofitted bikes for the spin class at the 1,200-member Ridgefield Fitness Club in Connecticut.
Elliptical trainers, another popular piece of cardio equipment, are a good source of human power.
“They are even better than bikes since they involve both arm and leg muscles,” says Hudson Harr, founder of ReRev.com in St. Petersburg, Fla. In April, his start-up company installed an array of retrofitted ellipticals at the 28,000-member Gainesville (Fla.) Health & Fitness Center. A student gym at the University of Florida in Gainesville was next on his list. “Not doing this would be such a waste of energy,” says David Bowles, the school’s director of recreational sports.
How to balance the workoutThe idea of using human energy to power appliances – instead of using batteries – is catching on for two reasons: fun and environment-consciousness, says Arjen Jansen, a researcher in human-powered energy systems at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
“Laptops and televisions have evolved and the designs are very energy-efficient, says Jason Moore, a Fulbright scholar studying bicycle design at the Dutch university. Now that these rigs are better at capturing energy, gyms are can put them to use – powering little perks such as TVs, laptops, and lights.
Still, few people go to a fitness center in order to generate electricity.
“People go the gym primarily to get a good workout,” says Whelan from Green Revolution. The workout equipment should feel just like it did before the retrofitting, he emphasizes. Raising the resistance level on these machines will increase the output exponentially, but it might ruin the experience for his customers. He opts to let the rider have complete control over the settings, same as before.
What’s next for ecogyms?“What we are doing now is taking baby steps in the right direction,” says Boesel of Green Microgym.
All aerobic equipment, including Stairmasters and rowing machines, can be retrofitted to generate power. Each device, however, comes with its own set of engineering challenges. And while the industry is most driven by retrofitting companies, “in the future, manufacturers may offer power-generation as an option on cardio equipment,” says Joe Cirulli, owner of the Gainesville Health & Fitness Center.
Some energy savings could be incidental. “As the exerciser’s output exceeds the display needs, the extra power is ‘shunted’ to resistors, which then heat up simply to shed the energy that is created,” says Mr. Taggett of Team Dynamo. The cardio room warms up and requires extra air-conditioning in warmer climates. With these new machines, however, the excess energy is channeled into creating power.
As exercisers become aware of the metrics of human power-production, it could push them to work harder.
“What we have been finding is that people challenge themselves to work a little bit harder because now they can measure how much energy they create,” says Whelan. “It seems like there is a personal goal to try and create just a little bit more than the last time they worked out.”
When they gravitate to these innovative systems, gym-goers could also move away from power-hogging equipment. Once people figure out that the average treadmill takes 1,500-2,000 watts to run, they may switch to power-producing machines, says Taggett.
“Right now, it would take nine Lance Armstrongs or 15 nonathletes to keep one treadmill chugging along,” he says.
Source: The Christian Science Monitor

Light Weight Hydrogen 'Tank' Could Fuel Hydrogen Economy

2008-11-12T03:49:00.000-08:00

Dutch-sponsored researcher Robin Gremaud has shown that an alloy of the metals magnesium, titanium and nickel is excellent at absorbing hydrogen. This light alloy brings us a step closer to the everyday use of hydrogen as a source of fuel for powering vehicles. A hydrogen ‘tank’ using this alloy would have a relative weight that is sixty percent less than a battery pack.

In order to find the best alloy Gremaud developed a method which enabled simultaneous testing of thousands of samples of different metals for their capacity to absorb hydrogen.

Hydrogen is considered to be a clean and therefore important fuel of the future. This gas can be used directly in cars in an internal combustion engine, like in BMW’s hydrogen vehicle, or it can be converted into electrical energy in so-called fuel cells, like in the Citaro buses in service in Amsterdam. READ MORE...
Source: ScienceDaily

High-temperature Superconductors: New Method Exploring 'Energy Gap' Shows Electron Pairs Exist Before Superconductivity Sets In

2008-11-12T03:46:00.000-08:00

Like astronomers tweaking images to gain a more detailed glimpse of distant stars, physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have found ways to sharpen images of the energy spectra in high-temperature superconductors — materials that carry electrical current effortlessly when cooled below a certain temperature.

These new imaging methods confirm that the electron pairs needed to carry current emerge above the transition temperature, before superconductivity sets in, but only in a particular direction. READ MORE...

Source: ScienceDaily

Digital revolution comes to printed word

2008-11-12T03:38:00.000-08:00

By Eric Pfanner
Published: November 7, 2008

PARIS: "Why are books the last bastion of analog?" Jeff Bezos, the chief executive of Amazon.com, asked last November as his company unveiled the Kindle, a portable, electronic book-reading device. Long after other media had joined the digital revolution - in some cases only after suffering its ravages - book publishers clung to the reassuringly low-tech tools of printing press, paper and ink.

A year later, that bastion is starting to yield. The world of books is going digital, too.
Last week, American authors and publishers reached an agreement with Google to settle lawsuits over the company's Book Search program, under which Google is scanning millions of books and making their contents available on the Internet. The deal allows Google to sell electronic versions of copyrighted works that have gone out of print, a category that includes the vast majority of the world's books.

"So almost overnight, not only has the largest publishing deal been struck, but the largest bookshop in the world has been built, even if it is not quite open for business yet," wrote Neill Denny, editor of The Bookseller, a trade publication based in London, on his blog.

The settlement remains subject to approval by a U.S. court, and the bookshop would operate only in the United States for now. But the agreement is only one of many initiatives under which books are making what may be the biggest technological leap since Gutenberg invented the printing press. READ MORE...

Source: International Herald Tribune

UPS Systems helps prove hydrogen fuel cells as an energy source for businesses

2008-11-11T21:46:00.000-08:00

Hungerford, UK--UPS Systems plc will supply and install a hydrogen fuel cell for the Environmental Energy Technology Centre (EETC) in Yorkshire. The Centre aims to prove that hydrogen is a viable source of energy, which is more reliable, more cost effective and ultimately more environmentally friendly than fossil fuels.

Yorkshire Forward commissioned the Centre located on the Advanced Manufacturing Park on the Rotherham-Sheffield border. Designed to be an iconic zero-carbon building, it encourages the development and commercialisation of environmental energy technologies.

The main feature of the Centre is its "Hydrogen Mini-Grid System" (HMGS) which has been developed by Pure Energy in the Shetlands and the energy consultancy, TNEI. The HMGS is an innovative system which supplies power to the building, enabling it to be self sufficient. It uses renewable energy produced by a 225kW wind turbine, which will produce over 500MWh each year - more than enough to power the Centre.

Through its close working relationship with Pure Energy, UPS Systems will be providing the EETC with a 30kW power system comprising nine inverters, three 12kW fuel cells, 240Ah batteries and supervisory software to control the system. These components will be installed and integrated with the HMGS to form an end-to-end renewable energy process to power the EETC's facilities.

With sufficient wind, the Centre's turbine will generate enough electricity to power both the onsite facilities and an electrolyser that will, in turn, create hydrogen. The hydrogen will then be compressed and stored for later use, and any excess power will be fed back into the National Grid. During periods of low wind speed, the fuel cell will automatically activate, converting the stored hydrogen into electricity and ensuring a continuous supply of power to the EETC.
Managing Director of UPS Systems Tom Sperrey commented: "This project will prove to be important in the progression of hydrogen and fuel cell technology as viable alternative sources of energy. The Environmental Energy Technology Centre demonstrates how businesses can potentially be self sufficient by using renewable energy."

Dr. Jason Stoyel, Technical Manager at TNEI concluded, "The HMGS is at present the largest wind-to-hydrogen installation in the UK and is the first to incorporate both the ability to dispense high pressure hydrogen for vehicle refuelling as well as a fuel cell to generate electricity. UPS Systems' expertise in fuel cells is vital to the success of the project and will help make the EETC a truly Carbon Neutral facility."

UPS Systems plc (www.upssystems.uk.com) is the UK's largest independent supplier of standby power solutions. Through its independent position, allied to close working relationships with the world's leading manufacturers, the company is uniquely able to offer impartial technical advice on the widest range of standby power solutions. An authority on fuel cell technology, UPS Systems implemented the UK's first two hydrogen fuel cells providing standby power, and is currently working on projects where the technology will be used for the supply of backup or prime power to utilities, telecommunications, remote telemetry, portable signage and renewable energy applications.

The Advanced Manufacturing Park (www.ampwaverley.com) is a manufacturing technology park providing advanced solutions for organisations. The Environmental Energy Technology Centre located at the Park has a low-carbon life time design and unique energy system.
Pure Energy (www.pure.shetland.co.uk) provides off-grid renewable hydrogen solutions for the community, private and public sector.

TNEI (www.tnei.co.uk) is an independent consultancy specialising in five key energy services: Energy Management; Power Systems and Technology; Planning and Environmental; Culture, Strategy and Sustainability and Software Development incorporating IPSA Power.

Yorkshire Forward (www.yorkshire-forward.com) is the Regional Development Agency charged with improving the Yorkshire and Humber economy. It is a business-led organisation that aims to help improve the region's relative economic performance and reduce social and economic disparities by encouraging public and private investment.

CONTACT: Alice Cambata, Resonates SLM Ltd Tel: +44 (0)1635 898 363 e-mail: upssystems@resonates.com
Source: Fuelcellworks.com

Nanotechnology sparks fears for the future

2008-11-11T21:40:00.000-08:00

Nanomaterials are likely to kill people in the future just as asbestos did unless extensive safety checks are put in place, a Royal Commission report has said.

The team of experts assessing the likely impacts of the emerging technology are worried that when nanomaterials escape into the environment they will damage people and wildlife but that it will be years before the effects are seen.

Past generations have brought into general usage materials such as asbestos, leaded petrol, CFCs and cigarettes without adequately considering the potential damage and the commission fears nanomaterials will prove similarly dangerous. READ MORE...

Indian refiner to bottle water from fuel-cell plant

2008-11-10T02:05:00.000-08:00

Bharat Petroleum plans to use purified water byproduct to break into Rs. 1,250 crore-bottled water market.

Mumbai-based Bharat Petroleum (BOM: BPCL.BO) said it plans to break into the bottled water business to capitalize on the byproduct of hydrogen fuel cells.

State-run Bharat has tentative plans for a 1,000-megawatt hydrogen fuel cell plant during the next three to five years. READ MORE...

Courtesy: Dr S Vasudevan

Golden slingshot

2008-11-06T20:53:00.000-08:00

There is an article on "Golden slingshot" appeared in Economist.

The next generation of cancer treatments may be delivered by nanoparticles.

Record High Performance With New Solar Cells

2008-11-06T20:46:00.000-08:00

Researchers in China and Switzerland are reporting the highest efficiency ever for a promising new genre of solar cells, which many scientists think offer the best hope for making the sun a mainstay source of energy in the future. The photovoltaic cells, called dye-sensitized solar cells or Grätzel cells, could expand the use of solar energy for homes, businesses, and other practical applications, the scientists say. READ MORE...

Source: ScienceDaily (Nov. 3, 2008)

Light Weight Hydrogen 'Tank' Could Fuel Hydrogen Economy

2008-11-06T20:43:00.000-08:00

Connecting Private Tutors and Students

2008-11-06T20:25:00.000-08:00

Connecting Private Tutors and Students
100% free service - for both students and personal tutors

Welcome to Tutor Hunt, we know that finding a tutor is not an easy task. Whether searching for primary, GCSE, A-Level or an adult learner, at Tutor Hunt we strive to make the process as painless as possible - listing all personal and private tutors closest to you is simple.

Tutor Hunt is a service for both pupils and tutors wishing to advertise their service on this site. We feel by making this site free we are under no obligation to list anyone. Should we have a reason that we think a tutor shouldn't be listed we simply won't list them online. This leaves us with an unbiased source for private tutors.
Visit: http://www.tutorhunt.com/

Reducing Pollution: Green Future For Scrap Iron

2008-11-06T20:20:00.000-08:00

Zhang, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, recently concluded a five-year research project in which he and his colleagues at Tongji University in Shanghai used two million pounds of iron to detoxify pollutants in industrial wastewater.

The project, carried out in Shanghai, was the largest in history to use iron in an environmental application. The iron, called zero valent iron (ZVI) because it is not oxidized, was obtained in the form of shavings or turnings from local metal-processing shops for less than 15 cents a pound.
READ MORE...
Source: ScienceDaily (Nov. 7, 2008)

Clean energy to supply half of Asia's electricity needs by 2050

2008-11-06T04:11:00.000-08:00

MANILA, Philippines - Renewable energy sources will account for 67 percent of the electricity produced in developing countries in Asia by 2050, a report by Greenpeace and the the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) said. Renewable energy will supplant “the need for nuclear energy and reducing requirements for fossil fuel-fired power plants," the report said.
READ MORE...
Source: gmanews.tv

New type of fuel found in Patagonia fungus

2008-11-04T04:51:00.000-08:00

BOZEMAN, Mont. -- A team led by a Montana State University professor has found a fungus that produces a new type of diesel fuel, which they say holds great promise.

Calling the fungus' output "myco-diesel," Gary Strobel and his collaborators describe their initial observations in the November issue of Microbiology.

The discovery may offer an alternative to fossil fuels, said Strobel, MSU professor of plant sciences and plant pathology. The find is even bigger, he said, than his 1993 discovery of fungus that contained the anticancer drug taxol. READ MORE...

Source: Erekalert

Lithium-ion Nanomaterial Batteries: Our new hope with a dose of caution

2008-10-31T00:18:00.000-07:00

The article says that the batteries could be significant to energy storage for transportation; wind, solar, and other forms of alternative energy; smart-grid electricity management; viable electric vehicles; and others. The article says that there is currently a lack of oversight on other potential risks and that only a few studies exist on the potential environmental implications of recycling and disposing these new batteries.

The article can be viewed here.

A World of Science in the Developing World

2008-10-29T21:28:00.000-07:00

A World of Science in the Developing World

The public and policy-makers are increasingly looking to the scientific community to address critical global problems. Finding solutions will require the collective insights and experience of scientists, policy-makers, industry and non-governmental groups. A World of Science in the Developing World reflects the expertise of members and associates of TWAS, the academy of sciences for the developing world, and coincides with its twenty-fifth anniversary.

Nature has published as supplement collection of articles by eminent developing world scientists. Most of them are free access...
READ MORE...

Source: Nature

Patenting of publicly funded research

2008-10-29T21:22:00.000-07:00

Is Bayh-Dole Good for Developing Countries? Lessons from the US Experience

Recently, countries from China and Brazil to Malaysia and South Africa have passed laws promoting the patenting of publicly funded research, and a similar proposal is under legislative consideration in India. These initiatives are modeled in part on the United States Bayh-Dole Act of 1980. Bayh-Dole (BD) encouraged American universities to acquire patents on inventions resulting from government-funded research and to issue exclusive licenses to private firms, on the assumption that exclusive licensing creates incentives to commercialize these inventions. A broader hope of BD, and the initiatives emulating it, was that patenting and licensing of public sector research would spur science-based economic growth as well as national competitiveness. And while it was not an explicit goal of BD, some of the emulation initiatives also aim to generate revenues for public sector research institutions.

We believe government-supported research should be managed in the public interest. We also believe that some of the claims favoring BD-type initiatives overstate the Act's contributions to growth in US innovation. Important concerns and safeguards —learned from nearly 30 years of experience in the US— have been largely overlooked. Furthermore, both patent law and science have changed considerably since BD was adopted in 1980. Other countries seeking to emulate that legislation need to consider this new context....

Anthony D. So and six co-authors, Is Bayh-Dole Good for Developing Countries? Lessons from the US Experience, PLoS Biology, October 28, 2008.

Source: PLoS Biology

Materials for electrochemical capacitors

2008-10-29T03:04:00.000-07:00

The recent issue of Nature Materials carries a review article on electrochemical capacitors. It will be very much useful for reserachers in this field.

Abstract of the review can be viewed here.

The Future of Food: How Science Will Solve the Next Global Crises.

2008-10-29T02:59:00.000-07:00

The Future of Food: How Science Will Solve the Next Global Crises.

Forty years ago, advances in fertilizers and pesticides boosted crop yield and fed a growing planet. Today, demand for food fueled by rises in worldwide consumption of meat and protein is again outpacing farmers ability to keep up. It's time for the next Green Revolution.
READ MORE...
Source: Wired Magazine

US scientist to develop anti corrosion metal alloys

2008-10-29T00:24:00.000-07:00

October 29, 2008
US scientist to develop anti corrosion metal alloys

It is reported that American scientists have found ways to make metal alloys which are more resistant to corrosion. Oxide scales develop on the outer surface of alloys, creating a protective barrier that prevents carbon-bearing molecules from getting into the alloy and causing corrosion.However, scientists at the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have discovered networks of continuous metal nano particles in the coating. These let the carbon dissolve and diffuse through the layer, leading to increased corrosion rates and brittleness.According to the scientists, by eliminating these nano particles, alloys can be made to be more corrosion resistant and longer lasting. They have already created 22 kilogram batches of modified alloys which are said to have ten times the life expectancy of similar commercial alloys.The researchers say these alloys will be commercialized in due course, and will be of interest to the chemical, petrochemical and refining industry.
Source: Steelguru
The original article can be seen in Nature Materials 7, 641 - 646 (2008) Published online: 11 July 2008 doi:10.1038/nmat2227

The Search for a Better Battery Seems Everlasting

2008-10-29T00:13:00.000-07:00

Computer chips double in speed every two years. The typical personal computer's storage capacity has expanded 36,000 times since 1989. Internet-connection speeds climb at about 50% a year.

But the batteries that run these devices can't keep up. Their power is rising at only about 10% a year. They hold a charge for maddeningly short periods that have, at one time or another, frustrated every laptop-, cellphone- or Blackberry-toting road warrior. In airport waiting areas, freeloaders routinely rush to the outlets to recharge their gadgets for the next leg of the trip.
READ MORE...

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Fuel cells for aircraft engine

2008-10-29T00:10:00.000-07:00

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) recently presented the first manned airplane that can take-off and fly exclusively with a fuel cell. The innovative fuel cell, based on a high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM), generates power for the electric engine of the motor glider Antares DLR-H2. The initial results of the high-temperature PEM fuel cells demonstrated better performance from the DLR testing - even under difficult low pressure conditions.

This technology is based on Celtec® - membrane electrode assemblies by BASF - a technology that integrates into aircraft auxiliary power fuel cells. High temperature PEM fuel cells can operate at 120 to 180°C; need no humidification; require simple cooling system; and offer a broad operating window. It can also tolerate impurities in the hydrogen fuel gas, due to which impure hydrogen is sourced from jet fuel reformation on board the aircraft.

The project evaluates the potential of the technology for future applications in commercial aircraft.
Source: Alibaba.com

International Energy Outlook 2008

2008-10-24T01:02:00.000-07:00

The International Energy Outlook 2008 (IEO2008) presents an assessment by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the outlook for international energy markets through 2030. U.S. projections appearing in IEO2008 are consistent with those published in EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2008 (AEO2008), which was prepared using the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS). The complete report can be downloaded here.

Source: EIA

Nanowires: Boosting batteries

2008-10-23T01:46:00.000-07:00

Nanowires: Boosting batteries
Tim Reid

Electrodes made from silicon nanowires can greatly improve the performance of lithium-ion batteries.

Original article citation Peng, K., Jie, J., Zhang, W. & Lee, S. T. Silicon nanowires for rechargeable lithium-ion battery anodes. Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 033105 (2008).

Source: Nature

Periodic Table Live!

2008-10-23T01:09:00.000-07:00

Periodic Table Live! allows you to explore a broad range of information about the elements, their reactions, their properties, their structures and their histories.

Chemical Education Digital Library (ChemEd DL) recently developed a noteworthy resource “Periodic Table Live!”. It allows you to explore a broad range of information about the elements, their reactions, their properties, their structures and their histories.

You can see pictures, view videos of reactions, and play around with 3-dimensional crystal structure(s) of elements. An additional function of the periodic table is its ability to chart and sort. You can choose a certain property (or many properties) of a selection of elements, and see how they compare based on where the element is on the periodic table. Periodic Table Live! is useful way to teach students about periodic trends.

Periodic Table Live can be accessed at: http://chemeddl.org/collections/ptl/index.html

The Future of the Electric Car in China

2008-10-22T01:48:00.000-07:00

by Lou Schwartz, China Strategies
Pennsylvania, United States

A recent New York Times article reporting that a Warren Buffett controlled company will pay 1.8 billion Hong Kong dollars for a 9.89% share of BYD Automotive, the Chinese battery and car manufacturer that plans to sell electric-powered cars in the United States, puts a spotlights on electric vehicles (EVs) and infrastructure in China.

Though attention is now focused on BYD Automotive, there are several other Chinese car companies that are also developing EVs as a result of the technical, legal and physical infrastructure to support alternative fuel vehicles that is currently being put in place. Though there are only a relative few EVs on the streets of a few large cities, the Chinese EV is gaining traction in terms of research and development. In addition to BYD Automotive, the following companies have a gained a foothold in the Chinese electric car industry: the Wanxiang Group, Wuhan Dongfeng, Tianjin Qingquan and Anhui Qirui.
READ MORE...

India launches first Moon mission

2008-10-21T23:29:00.000-07:00

India has successfully launched its first mission to the Moon.

The unmanned Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft blasted off smoothly from a launch pad in southern Andhra Pradesh to embark on a two-year mission of exploration.

The robotic probe will orbit the Moon, compiling a 3-D atlas of the lunar surface and mapping the distribution of elements and minerals.

The launch is regarded as a major step for India as it seeks to keep pace with other space-faring nations in Asia.

It was greeted with applause by scientists gathered at the site.
READ MORE...

Source: BBC

Science in India on the rise

2008-10-21T23:22:00.000-07:00

Thomson Reuters Analyzes India's Growing Share of World's Scientific Papers

The Scientific business of Thomson Reuters announced the results of a survey assessing India's growing scientific prominence. In the September/October issue of Science Watch, Thomson Reuters analyzes data from its National Science Indicators and Essential Science Indicators to show Indias steady increase in research output and impact since 2000.

Such analysis is a hallmark of Science Watch, which uses unique citation data to provide rankings and reports on todays most significant science.

In 1985, Indian researchers accounted for 12,500 research papers indexed by Thomson Reuters. Between 1985 and 2000, this number barely exceeded 14,000 annually. Then, in 2000, India began to see a significant rise in its scientific output, by 2007 reaching more than 27,000 papers.

For more information, go to http://www.thomsonreuters.com/

NCL scientists have developed a low-cost fuel cell component

2008-10-21T02:21:00.000-07:00

Since making fuel cells that use pure hydrogen is prohibitively expensive, scientists make do with so-called diluted hydrogen, which has traces of impurities such as carbon monoxide
Jacob P. Koshy

New Delhi: The National Chemical Laboratory, or NCL, has developed an efficient, low-cost component crucial to build fuel cells which combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, scientists said.

Though hydrogen as fuel is still not commercially viable when compared with fossil fuels such as petrol and coal, it hasn’t prevented countries including India from making big bets on it, since it is an eco-friendly alternative and does not contribute to climate change.

The Central government last year unveiled a hydrogen economy plan that envisages a million hydrogen-fuelled vehicles on India’s roads by 2020.

Researchers at Pune-based NCL have innovated a variant of polybenzimidazole that can be used as an electrolyte, a part of the electricity-producing mechanism in fuel cells. Polybenzimidazole is a class of polymer used in making spacesuits.

Since making fuel cells that use pure hydrogen is prohibitively expensive, scientists make do with so-called diluted hydrogen, which has traces of impurities such as carbon monoxide.
Though much cheaper, diluted hydrogen has its set of problems such as a higher working temperature and corrosive reactions that reduce performance of the cells.

Researchers, therefore, spend a lot of time in developing electrolytes that can get around these problems, and the polybenzimidazole variant promises to be a suitable one, said K. Vijayamohan, a senior scientist at the NCL, who is closely involved with the fuel cell programme of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, or CSIR, the country’s largest publicly funded research and development agency.

Most hydrogen fuel cells currently use nafion, a polymer trademarked by chemical giant E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., as electrolyte.

“Nafion is an industry standard. In fact, every major fuel cell application — from cars to stationary power backup — is done with nafion, though most manufacturers wouldn’t advertise it,” said Manoj Neergat, a fuel cell expert at Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.

“Nobody has yet developed a better substitute to nafion, and being a crucial component, anybody who comes up with a cheaper, more efficient alternative has certainly taken a big step,” he said.

According to Vijayamohan, the polybenzimidazole variant that NCL has developed “will be at least 100 times cheaper to manufacture than nafion”.

He claimed the electrolyte is superior to nafion because it is resistant to carbon monoxide and has efficiently worked at 150 degree Celsius.

Nafion doesn’t tolerate temperatures above 80 degrees Celsius.

However, Vijayamohan said, crucial tests on its viability still remain, such as how many hours it could run without a replacement.

Also, a viable electrolyte is only a part of a series of steps required to develop a successful working fuel cell, said Yogeswara Rao, who heads the technology and business development programmes of CSIR.

“After the membrane (electrolyte), we have to develop fuel cell stacks, (and) that cannot be too heavy. We need to develop reformers (devices that extract hydrogen from fossil fuels such as natural gas and methanol), all of which are being done at various CSIR labs across the country,” Rao said.

With oil prices at nearly $69 (Rs3,367.2) a barrel and the threat of climate change from greenhouse gas emissions on the rise, governments are increasingly looking at alternative sources of fuel, from vegetable oil to bacteria.

CSIR’s Rs23.5 crore fuel cell programme began in 2001, and though it has yielded 11 patents and at least 27 research publications in peer-reviewed journals, even a 1kW indigenous fuel cell is still some time away.

According to Neergat, viable Indian fuel cells are at least a decade away. “Not only in India, but the world over, fundamentally new breakthroughs are yet to be made. Everybody is still working on approaches (membranes, catalysts) that were discovered in the 1990s,” he said.

“So...an indigenous fuel cell is still much more than five years away.”

Source: Livemint

Anti-corrosion metal treatment

2008-10-19T23:56:00.000-07:00

BIRCHWOOD Casey Metal Finishes claim to have developed a low temperature, non-polluting black oxide treatment which gives a protective finish to high strength metal bolts and critical fasteners.

The TRU TEMP process forms a non-dimensional, deep black finish which is said to provide long-term corrosion resistance for high tension bolts, nuts and similar fastening devices. It can also prevent galling on critical thread surfaces.

The black magnetite coating is 0.5 microns thick, and does not affect the parts’ hardness or tensile strength.The process developer claims the finish can withstand up to 100 to 200 hours of neutral salt spray, and several hours of humidity. This protection from corrosion allows for parts to be used in storage and shipment in corrosive atmospheres such as ocean shipment.

According to the company, the TRU TEMP solution operates at 93 degrees Celsius, as opposed to 143 degrees. This is safer because it eliminates the risks of splattering and boilover.

It is also not a phosphate process, which can cause steel to become brittle due to extended contact with acidic process baths.

The metal treatment uses mild alkaline chemistry and takes 25 minutes. Small parts can be processed in bulk loads, while largest parts are finished on racks. The process lines can be automated through the use of a computer numerically controlled programmable hoist system.

Source: http://www.metalworker.com.au/Article/Anti-corrosion-metal-treatment/173131.aspx

NANOSTRUCTURED SOLAR CELLS

2008-10-15T03:36:00.000-07:00

Nanotechnology carried out a special issue on Nanostructured Solar Cells. This issue provides concrete examples of how the techniques of nanoscience and nanotechnology can be used to understand, control and optimize the performance of novel photovoltaic devices.
Leading research in this area is described in many of the articles in this special issue.

SPECIAL ISSUE: NANOSTRUCTURED SOLAR CELLS

It is available for free access to its contents for some days.

The issue can be viewed at: http://www.iop.org/EJ/toc/0957-4484/19/42

NISCAIR Online Periodicals Repository

2008-10-15T03:28:00.000-07:00

National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (NISCAIR), New Delhi recently started open access repository of its publications using DSpace. NISCAIR publishes 16 scholarly journals in various fields. Presently full text facility is provided for some of the journals . For other journals, one can access abstracts. Full text of these journals will be made available shortly.

The repository can be viewed at: http://nopr.niscair.res.in/

On a Solar Mission: How India is Becoming a Centre of PV Manufacturing

2008-10-15T02:19:00.000-07:00

by Jaideep Malaviya

With a new energy plan in place, India is focusing on solar energy for a major contribution. Meanwhile, India's PV manufacturing sector is developing fast, writes Jaideep Malaviya.

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s recent announcement of a credible energy plan for India goes way beyond the hullabaloo Indo–US nuclear deal. By far the most welcome component of the six-point plan is the declaration to develop India’s capacity to tap the power of the sun in order to increase sustainable sources of energy. The PM memorably said: ‘In this strategy, the sun occupies centre stage, as it should, being literally the original source of all energy. We will pool all our scientific, technical and managerial talents with financial sources to develop solar energy as a source of abundant energy to power our economy and to transform the lives of our people and change the face of India.’ To help achieve this, the Indian government has launched a National Mission on Solar Energy.
READ MORE...

Source: Renewableenergyworld.com

“Nanotechnology offers huge research scope”

2008-10-14T22:05:00.000-07:00

Dr Aiyagiri Rao, Mission Director (Nano Mission) and Advisor and Head, Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC), Department of Science and Technology during the inauguration of nanomaterials laboratory at SASTRA University, Thanjavur said nanotechnology offers tremendous scope and opportunities for research. He pointed out that the Department of Science and Technology had undertaken the Nano Mission with a view to fostering interdisciplinary research in nanoscience and technology.

Source: The Hindu, Saturday, Oct 11, 2008

Low-cost nanotechnology substitute for gold and silver in printable electronics

2008-10-14T21:43:00.000-07:00

Ink-jet printing of metal nanoparticles for conductive metal patterns has attracted great interest as an alternative to expensive fabrication techniques like vapor deposition. The bulk of the research in this area focuses on printing metal nanoparticle suspensions for metallization. For example, silver and gold nanoparticle suspensions have been inkjet printed to build active microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), flexible conductors and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. Nobel metals like silver and gold are preferred nanoparticles for ink-jet formulations because they are good electrical conductors and they do not cause oxidation problems. However, gold and silver still are too expensive for most high volume, ultra low-cost applications such as RFID tags with required unit costs below one cent.

In order to print metals one needs to prepare a metal ink, or, in terms of materials engineering, it requires matching the properties of small metal particles with an ink-jet base fluid. Furthermore, for large-scale and low-cost industrial applications, the ink needs to be rugged and stable against air and humidity.

READ MORE...

Source: Nanowerk.com

Sensitive nanowire disease detectors made by Yale scientists

2008-10-13T21:07:00.000-07:00

New Haven, Conn. — Yale scientists have created nanowire sensors coupled with simple microprocessor electronics that are both sensitive and specific enough to be used for point-of-care (POC) disease detection, according to a report in Nano Letters.

The sensors use activation of immune cells by highly specific antigens — signatures of bacteria, viruses or cancer cells — as the detector. When T cells are activated, they produce acid, and generate a tiny current in the nanowire electronics, signaling the presence of a specific antigen. The system can detect as few as 200 activated cells.

In earlier studies, these researchers demonstrated that the nanowires could detect generalized activation of this small number of T cells. The new report expands that work and shows the nanowires can identify activation from a single specific antigen even when there is substantial background "noise" from a general immune stimulation of other cells.

Describing the sensitivity of the system, senior author Tarek Fahmy, Yale assistant professor of biomedical engineering, said:. "Imagine I am the detector in a room where thousands of unrelated people are talking — and I whisper, 'Who knows me?' I am so sensitive that I can hear even a few people saying, 'I do' above the crowd noise. In the past, we could detect everyone talking — now we can hear the few above the many."

According to the authors, this level of sensitivity and specificity is unprecedented in a system that uses no dyes or radioactivity. Beyond its sensitivity, they say, the beauty of this detection system is in its speed — producing results in seconds — and its compatibility with existing CMOS electronics.

"We simply took direction from Mother Nature and used the exquisitely sensitive and flexible detection of the immune system as the detector, and a basic physiological response of immune cells as the reporter," said postdoctoral fellow and lead author, Eric Stern. "We coupled that with existing CMOS electronics to make it easily usable."

The authors see a huge potential for the system in POC diagnostic centers in the US and in underdeveloped countries where healthcare facilities and clinics are lacking. He says it could be as simple as an iPod-like device with changeable cards to detect or diagnose disease.

Importantly, Stern notes that the system produces no false positives — a necessity for POC testing.

The authors suggest that in a clinic, assays could immediately determine which strain of flu a patient has, whether or not there is an HIV infection, or what strain of tuberculosis or coli bacteria is present. Currently, there are no electronic POC diagnostic devices available for disease detection. "Instruments this sensitive could also play a role in detection of residual disease after antiviral treatments or chemotherapy," said Fahmy. "They will help with one of the greatest challenges we face in treatment of disease — knowing if we got rid of all of it."

Citation: Nano Letters 8(10): 3310-3314 (October 1, 2008)
Contact: Janet Rettig Emanueljanet.emanuel@yale.edu203-432-2157Yale University

Source: Eurekalert

New composites could suit fuel cells and biosensors

2008-10-13T01:23:00.000-07:00

Composites made of glucose oxidase (GOx), carbon nanotubes and biologically synthesised silica have been developed with the aim of using them in biosensors and biofuel cells, as well as a variety of medical, scientific and industrial applications.

The development has been made by: Heather Luckarift and Glenn Johnson of the Air Force Research Laboratory at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, and Dmitri Invitski, Kateryna Artyuskova, Rosalba Rincon and Plamen Atanassov of the University of New Mexico.

READ MORE...

Source: Eureka Magazine

Plant waste to power future fuel cells

2008-10-13T01:20:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON: Scientists are working on using cellulose to power microbial fuel cells, in which bacteria digest plant waste matter to create electricity directly. These fuel cells could be used to charge batteries or power electrical devices.

READ MORE...

Source: The Times of India

India hopes to attract over $4 bln in green energy

2008-10-13T01:17:00.000-07:00

By Biman Mukherji and Krittivas Mukherjee

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is hoping to attract investments of more than $4 billion in renewable energy over the next 5-7 years, as it prepares to unveil a new biofuels policy within a month, the renewable energy minister said.

Domestic and foreign companies such as India's Tata group and Reliance Industries as well as state-run utilities are among hundreds of companies vying for a stake in India's emerging green energy sector.

Another 150 companies are also keen to set up biofuel processing plants, Vilas Muttemwar told Reuters in an interview.

"A lot of scope is there in the coming days for renewable energy... According to our information, nearly 200 billion rupees ($4.3 billion) is the investment we are expecting in five to seven years," he said during Reuters Global Environment Summit.

The investments span solar, hydro, wind and biofuel energy.

India aims to generate 25,000 megawatts of power from renewable energy over the next four years, more than double the current generation level of 12,000 MW.
READ MORE...

Source Reuters

OpenSource Nanotechnology

2008-10-12T22:35:00.000-07:00

Open Source Nano is an invitation to participate in the innovations of nanotechnology right from the start. It is an experiment in making high-tech laboratory research something that can be improved and innovated outside the laboratory, by making it "vernacular"–putting it in the language that people speak, and the tools and materials they have at hand.

OS Nano is an experiment in making nanotechnology research accessible, simple and transferable and to make it address environmental, health and social justice issues around the world.

OS Nano

Courtesy: Prof. S. Arunachalam

Mushroom Enzyme-The Way to Clean Fuel Cells

2008-10-12T22:17:00.000-07:00

From specific mushrooms could be extracted some enzymes wich could act as an essential catalyst in fuel cells and hence reduce the use of heavy metals in the future.Scientists at Oxford University have uncovered a new variety of mushrooms whose enzyme could be used instead of heavy metals like platinum in the future of fuel cells...
SOURCE

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2008

2008-10-08T04:03:00.000-07:00

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2008 jointly to
Osamu Shimomura, Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), Woods Hole, MA, USA and Boston University Medical School, MA, USA,
Martin Chalfie, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
and
Roger Y. Tsien, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA"for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP".

Glowing proteins – a guiding star for biochemistry

The remarkable brightly glowing green fluorescent protein, GFP, was first observed in the beautiful jellyfish, Aequorea victoria in 1962. Since then, this protein has become one of the most important tools used in contemporary bioscience. With the aid of GFP, researchers have developed ways to watch processes that were previously invisible, such as the development of nerve cells in the brain or how cancer cells spread.

Tens of thousands of different proteins reside in a living organism, controlling important chemical processes in minute detail. If this protein machinery malfunctions, illness and disease often follow. That is why it has been imperative for bioscience to map the role of different proteins in the body.

This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry rewards the initial discovery of GFP and a series of important developments which have led to its use as a tagging tool in bioscience. By using DNA technology, researchers can now connect GFP to other interesting, but otherwise invisible, proteins. This glowing marker allows them to watch the movements, positions and interactions of the tagged proteins.

Researchers can also follow the fate of various cells with the help of GFP: nerve cell damage during Alzheimer's disease or how insulin-producing beta cells are created in the pancreas of a growing embryo. In one spectacular experiment, researchers succeeded in tagging different nerve cells in the brain of a mouse with a kaleidoscope of colours.

The story behind the discovery of GFP is one with the three Nobel Prize Laureates in the leading roles:
Osamu Shimomura first isolated GFP from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria, which drifts with the currents off the west coast of North America. He discovered that this protein glowed bright green under ultraviolet light.

Martin Chalfie demonstrated the value of GFP as a luminous genetic tag for various biological phenomena. In one of his first experiments, he coloured six individual cells in the transparent roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans with the aid of GFP.

Roger Y. Tsien contributed to our general understanding of how GFP fluoresces. He also extended the colour palette beyond green allowing researchers to give various proteins and cells different colours. This enables scientists to follow several different biological processes at the same time.
Source: nobelprize.org

A new approach to use hydrogen as an alternative fuel source has been discovered

2008-10-08T03:39:00.000-07:00

A team of scientists from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) has designed a material with such high ion conductivity that it allows the use of hydrogen as a clean fuel. The research work has been published in the prestigious journal 'Science.'

Fuel cells are the foundation of this technology which, if it becomes industrially viable, would represent the beginning of an energy revolution that would replace the current fossil fuel based system by a model based on hydrogen. This would be an energy source that is practically endless and since it only generates water as a combustion by-product, it is ecologically friendly.
The function of fuel cells is similar to that of batteries, but while batteries only store energy in a closed chemical system, fuel cells produce energy by combusting hydrogen.

To accomplish this, fuel cells require an electrolyte that permits the flow of ions between the electrodes. The problem that scientists currently face is that a temperature of up to 800 degrees Celsius is needed to achieve a high enough ionic conductivity. Therefore the challenge they must overcome is how to reduce the working temperature of this technology to an acceptable range.
Towards this end, a research group at the Complutense University has produced a material with a new structure by alternating layers of an ion conductive material that is currently used in fuel cells (Yttria-stabilized zirconia) with a dielectric material (Strontium titanate). The combination of these two materials with very diverse crystalline structures has produced a rare atomic disposition full of gaps that act as a path for the flow of ions. This results in a colossal ionic conductivity at the transition surface between the two materials.

The image of the molecular structure of this material has been obtained at the Oak Ridge national laboratory (USA) using a scanning transmission electron microscope with a resolution of less than 0,1 nanometres (the approximate size of an hydrogen atom). The researchers were very surprised to see in the images a perfectly structured growth at the atomic level, in spite of the very different structures of the materials. As a matter of fact, this result was absolutely unexpected according to the experience gathered from the analysis of this type of structures.

An even greater surprise was the high degree of ionic conductivity, measured at the Universidad Complutense in collaboration with the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid. It is about a hundred million times higher than that of materials used at present for the fabrication of fuel cells. This characteristic could allow their use at room temperature, permitting extensive use of hydrogen as an alternative energy source.

SOURCE: http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=08100782

Pillars of Modern Electrochemistry

2008-10-07T23:56:00.000-07:00

The recent issue of INTERFACE (the Electrochemical Society publication) carries an interesting article on historical glimpses of electrochemistry.

The article titled "Pillars of Modern Electrochemistry" authored by A. K. Shukla and T. Prem Kumar appeared under ECS Classics. It carries wonderful collection of information and photographs of the pioneers in the field of electrochemistry. It will be a handy reference guide for students, research scholars and scientists.

The fulltext of the article can be viewed at http://www.electrochem.org/dl/interface/fal/fal08/fal08_p31-39.pdf
INTERFACE ,Vol. 17, No. 3 Fall 2008

PV's "Moore's Law" Required To Drive Increased Material Efficiency

2008-10-07T23:46:00.000-07:00

by Debra Vogler, Senior Technical Editor, Solid State Technology

The road to grid parity for PV power generation will be difficult, needing five or more years to compete with utility power, unsubsidized, on a large scale, noted Mark Thirsk, managing partner at Linx Consulting, at a recent SEMI PV forecast luncheon (Sept. 18) in Santa Clara, CA.

Most input materials for PV production are in relative oversupply and will not constrain production, Thirsk pointed out — and for this reason manufacturers are conservative about capacity investment. In particular, his PV module production forecast shows an overstep in demand in 2008. One reason for suppliers' reluctance to build capacity for entering the silicon supply chain is that it is an inefficient process. "Only about 15% of all the silicon going into the supply chain goes into the wafers, so it's a pretty wasteful and capital intensive process, so there is a lot of reluctance to build capacity," said Thirsk. Despite the efficiency challenges, Thirsk's forecast indicates that an oversupply may occur in 2009.

READ MORE...

Now solar rickshaws on Delhi roads

2008-10-07T22:15:00.000-07:00

NEW DELHI: Solar-powered rickshaws called green rickshaws were introduced in Chandni Chowk here on Thursday as part of a pilot project. Each of these rickshaws costs about Rs.17, 000 and the idea is to have them in place of the man-pulled rickshaws.

The inaugural ceremony was attended by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Union Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, who is the Member of Parliament from Chandni Chowk.

The green rickshaws weigh about 210 kg each and are able to run at a speed of 15 to 20 km per hour.

Solar power: Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Union Minister for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal riding a solar-electric rickshaw after launching it in Delhi on Thursday.

They operate on solar battery that is expected to last 70 km on a single charge. These batteries take about five hours to be charged with the help of solar panels that are to be connected to the charging unit. Most of these charging units are being set up above Delhi Metro stations.

As these rickshaws would have to go to the charging station for replacement of existing battery, they would ply within a radius of 3 km from the metro stations.

Source: THE HINDU

Nobel Prize In Physics

2008-10-07T21:45:00.000-07:00

Nobel Prize In Physics

Three honored for developing fundamental theory that explains why matter persists
Elizabeth K. Wilson

This year's Nobel Prize in Physics pays homage to symmetry breaking, an abstruse but critical theory in physics that explains why matter should have persisted after the Big Bang. Developed in the 1960s and '70s, symmetry breaking also led to predictions about new types of quarks, which are subatomic particles that make up particles such as protons and neutrons.

The prize will be shared by three researchers. Yoichiro Nambu, 87, of the Enrico Fermi Institute at the University of Chicago, will receive half the $1.4 million prize for, in the words of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, "the discovery of the mechanism of spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physics."

The other half of the prize will be shared by Makoto Kobayashi, 64, of the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization in Tsukuba, Japan, and Toshihide Maskawa, 68, of the Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics at Japan's Kyoto University, "for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature."

Kobayashi, who was reached by phone in Japan during a press conference at the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm announcing the prize, said he was "very glad" to have been honored. "It was a surprise—I did not expect it," he said.

Symmetry breaking is one of the cornerstones of the so-called standard model, which unites theories of matter and three of the four fundamental forces in nature—the electromagnetic, strong nuclear, and weak nuclear forces—professor Lars Bergström, secretary of the Nobel Committee for Physics, said at the conference, which was broadcast over the Web.
The theories also have implications for chemistry, notes Richard L. Hahn, a nuclear chemist at Brookhaven National Laboratory. "The concepts of symmetries and symmetry breaking are fundamental to our understanding of the universe in which we live and to all of the sciences, chemistry as well as physics," he says. "The eventual creation of the chemical elements in the early stages ... of the universe is also tied to these processes."

The ultimate importance of symmetry breaking is illustrated by the events that occurred after the Big Bang, when a slight imbalance or spontaneous "breaking" of symmetry between matter and antimatter particles allowed what we know as regular matter to establish a predominant presence over antimatter in the universe. If that had not occurred, matter and antimatter would have existed in equal amounts, and the particles would have simply annihilated each other.
"Because of this small breaking...we can sit here," Bergström said.
Source: C&EN

China and India's energy problems

2008-10-06T01:27:00.000-07:00

China and India's energy problems

It took some time today. In two long articles, Reuters talk about the future of energy in China, and India's Vice President of the draft speech at the conference are all for energy. Both, the issue of energy efficiency and economic growth, and the amount of energy to the problem have a common point.Reuters coverage of China starts that Beijing suburb east ring road 5 line from the story of the Sinopec gas station has begun. The gas station is unable to supply gasoline to the truck in the raw, and saying go somewhere another. Trucks say, we do not go anywhere, because we can not move without gasoline. At the end of the article, the recent drastic increase in the wholesale of diesel per liter up 5.29 yuan to 6.23 yuan. Then, Sinopec stand has a shorter raw of trucks, because of the impact of energy policy, it is said.China is blessed with natural resources is likely, if per capita it is not. China’s coal is the world's third largest reserve, and, in 2007, the China)s production was accounted for 40 percent of the world. However, if used as it does, coal would be disappearing in 80 years, oil in 15 years, and natural gas in 30 years. China’s energy consumption per GDP is three time an eight times of the United States and Japan. That has been we are paying attention.The Chinese government has a plan the current energy per 10,000 yuan GDP, equivalent to about 1,460 dollars , to be go down to a 20 percent cut in 2010.

That means , in 2005, TCE was the equivalent of 1.22 tons of coal and will be 0.98 tons in 2010. In the 11th Five-Year Energy Development Plan, for 2005-2010, the growth of energy consumption reduced to 3.5 percent and, energy consumption in 2010 will be to 2,446,000,000 tons of coal equivalent.Vice-President of India has touched on this point, but it is not match with our sense. According to him, Indian to earn a dollar GDP1 with 0.16kg of oil equivalent using electricity, China's response 0.23kg, the United States 0.22kg, and the world's average of 0.21kg. The loss of power problem, it is important for India. It is now 36 percent loss in India and it is worse than the world average of 28 percent.Both of the two articles have, on renewable energy, a lot of character. Both the development of hydropower is considered as a major pillar of renewable energy. China's nuclear power is also still planning on going to be room for expansion.

Both have a point of how to curb coal-fired to be saved. It is going to say with a common point.For bio-fuels, Vice President of India has an important point. First, solar and bio-fuel dependence on the land, his saying “land intensity”, are his concern. For example, cover with solar power in Japan and 250 million people are said to be sacrificed. Shikoku Island in Japan is comparable to the population and land on this point. Also, for a scattered collection of bio-fuels, Google saying is that the intelligence network of transmission lines is required and it may be arevolution.ReferencePhilippines●081004A Philippines, Manila BulletinERC pegs WESM prices at NPC TOU rates for Oct.

billinghttp://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS20081004136998.htmlLaos●081004B Laos, .alertnet.orgLaos dams threaten homes, incomes and fish, say campaignershttp://www.alertnet.org/db/an_art/20316/2008/09/3-151757-1.htmIndia●081004C India, pib.nic.inVice President Inaugurates ‘India Energy Conference’http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=43332China●081004D China, china.org.cnChina's road to energy securityhttp://www.china.org.cn/business/news/2008-10/04/content_16564426.htm

SOURCE

Mixed predictions on hydrogen car

2008-10-06T01:24:00.000-07:00

Monday, 6 October 2008

US carmaker Ford says the mass production of hydrogen-fuelled cars is unlikely for at least 20 years, a forecast at odds with other carmakers targeting an earlier transition.Cars running on hydrogen fuel cells are seen as the eventual replacement for fossil fuel cars, with gasoline-eclectic hybrids and fully electric “plug in” cars seen as transitional technologies along the way because of range limitations.Hydrogen fuel cells create electricity under a chemical process using hydrogen and oxygen. The only emission from the process is water vapour and only small amounts of hydrogen are needed to go along way. While the technology has already produced prototypes and plans by some carmakers for commercial models by 2010, the cost of hardware and the lack of a distribution network for the refuelling of cars is seen as a major barrier.“I have not seen a viable, affordable plan to convert an economy to hydrogen, it could well take until 2030,'' Greg Frenette, Ford's lead hydrogen engineer, told Bloomberg.General Motors and Honda are far more optimistic in their outlook and have small numbers of hydrogen cars on the road in testing programmes in the US. GM says the distribution challenge is being overcome and is working with local government to install filling stations in its trial areas.GM says its targeting 2010 for the availability of a cost-completive technology. Honda says mass production may be possible within ten years. The technology should be competitive on range and speed within five years, but not on cost, said Masaaki Kato, chief of Honda’s research unit.

Bloomberg 3/10/08
SOURCE

Online Scientific Repository Hits Milestone

2008-10-05T23:08:00.000-07:00

Online Scientific Repository Hits MilestoneWith 500,000 Articles, arXiv Established as Vital Library Resource

ITHACA, N.Y. (October 3, 2008) . Reinforcing its place in the scientific community, the arXiv repository at Cornell University Library reached a new milestone in October 2008. Half a million e-print postings . research articles published online . now reside in arXiv, which is free and available to the public.

arXiv is the primary daily information source for hundreds of thousands of researchers in many areas of physics and related fields. Its users include the world's most prominent researchers in science, including 53 Physics Nobel Laureates, 31 Fields Medalists and 55 MacArthur Fellows, as well as people in countries with limited access to scientific materials. The famously reclusive Russian mathematician Grigori Perelman posted the proof for the 100-year-old Poincare Conjecture solely in arXiv.

Journalists also use the repository extensively to prepare articles for the general public about newly released scientific results. It has long stood at the forefront of the open-access movement and served as the model for many other initiatives, including the National Institute of Health?fs PubMedCentral repository, and the many institutional DSpace repositories. arXiv is currently ranked the No. 1 repository in the world by the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities.
"arXiv began its operations before the World Wide Web, search engines, online commerce and all the rest, but nonetheless anticipated many components of current 'Web 2.0' methodology," said Cornell professor Paul Ginsparg, arXiv's creator. "It continues to play a leading role at the forefront of new models for scientific communication."

arXiv encompasses publications in physics, mathematics, statistics, computer science and quantitative biology. Researchers upload their own articles to arXiv, and they are usually made available to the public the next day. A team of 113 volunteer moderators from around the world screen submissions and recommend whether they should be included in the repository.
More than 200,000 articles are downloaded from arXiv each week by about 400,000 users, and its 118,000 registered submitters live in nearly 200 countries, including Suriname, Sudan and Iraq. Fifteen countries host mirrors of the main site, which is located on Cornell's campus in Ithaca, N.Y.

"It represents an incredible model for scholarly communication that transcends borders, publishers and time," said Anne R. Kenney, Cornell's Carl A. Kroch University Librarian. "We bring operational stability and a demonstrated track record of stewardship to this invaluable open-access resource."

Ginsparg developed arXiv in 1991, when he was working for Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. When Ginsparg came to Cornell as a faculty member in 2001, the repository came with him and is now a collaboration between Cornell University Library and Cornell?fs Information Science Program. The Library maintains the repository; information science handles research and development.

The repository is continually evolving, adding links to other repositories and RSS feeds. New facilities are being developed to ease the submission process for authors and support the addition of articles from conference management systems. The new query-and-retrieval interface allows others to build additional services onto arXiv, such as an iPhone interface.
"We're excited to not only sustain and grow arXiv, but also to make it an integral part of the global scholarly communications infrastructure," he said arXiv manager Simeon Warner, who has been working on the project for nearly a decade."

===See arXiv.org for more details
Courtesy: Prof. S Arunachalam

First Fuel Cell-Powered Plane Presented in Germany

2008-10-02T23:16:00.000-07:00

Written by Ariel Schwartz
Published on October 1st, 2008

Last night, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) demonstrated the world’s first manned airplane that can fly exclusively with the use of a fuel cell. The fuel cell, which is based on polymer electrolyte membranes (PEM), generates power for the motor glider’s electric engine.PEM fuel cells are both simple and safe— they can operate between 120 and 180 C, only need a simple cooling system, don’t require humidification, and and can tolerate hydrogen gas impurities.

While the DLR’s demonstration is promising, its technology requires significantly more testing before it can be used commercially. And when PEM fuel cells are ready for aircraft use, they probably will only be used in small planes.

The DLR isn’t the first organization to test fuel cells for flight— this past April, Boeing flew a plane for 20 minutes on power generated solely by onboard fuel cells. But unlike the DLR’s plane, the Boeing model used lithium-ion batteries for takeoff.

While fuel cells may not be used to power aircraft anytime soon, they could be used in the near
future for auxiliary power-generation in small planes.

Source: http://cleantechnica.com/2008/10/01/first-fuel-cell-powered-plane-presented-in-germany/

Half of Global Electricity To Come From Renewables IEA Says

2008-10-02T22:37:00.000-07:00

by David Appleyard, Editor, Renewable Energy World Magazine
Paris, France [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]

Nearly 50% of global electricity supplies must come from renewable energy sources in order to cut CO2 emissions in half by 2050, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says in its latest study, “Deploying Renewables: Principles for Effective Policies.”

Meeting these very ambitious objectives to “minimize significant and irreversible climate change” will require unprecedented political commitment and effective policy design and implementation, the IEA said. The IEA is also urging governments to adopt effective policies based on five key design principles to accelerate the exploitation of the “large potential for renewable energy.”Nonetheless, the IEA also recognizes the scale of such an undertaking, saying in a statement, “this is a huge challenge and part of the entire energy revolution we need to achieve.”

Commenting at the launch of the study, Nobuo Tanaka, executive director of the IEA, said, “Only a limited set of countries have implemented effective support policies for renewables and there is a large potential for improvement. Several countries have made important progress in recent years in fostering renewables, with renewable energy markets expanding considerably as a result. However, much more can and should be done at the global level - in OECD member countries, large emerging economies and other countries - to address the urgent need of transforming our unsustainable energy present into a clean and secure energy future.”

READ MORE...
Courtesy: Dr S Vasudevan

Solar Paint on Steel Could Generate Renewable Energy Soon

2008-10-02T22:34:00.000-07:00

by Jane Burgermeister, European Correspondent
London, UK [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]

In three years, buildings covered in steel sheets could be generating large amounts of solar electricity, thanks to a new photovoltaic paint that is being developed in a commercial partnership between UK university researchers and the steel industry.

A laboratory built to develop the new solar technology that replicates plant's photosynthesis is due to start work on October 30th in Shotton, North Wales.

"If the solar cell paint can be successfully brought to the market, it could spell big changes when it comes to the future production of electricity," said Steve Fisher, spokesperson of the Corus Group, the Anglo-Dutch steel manufacturing group that is believed to be pouring tens of millions of euros into the venture.

READ MORE...

Courtesy: Dr S Vasudevan

Alternative vehicles get their day

2008-09-30T04:35:00.000-07:00

By Gregory M. Lamb 09.29.08

The world of alternative-powered vehicles is booming. Gas prices north of $4 this summer have gotten the attention not only of consumers, but businesses as well. From hybrid diesel-electric delivery trucks to electric-assisted cargo tricycles, natural gas and hydrogen fuel-cell power plants to the minuscule Smart Car, new ways to get people and cargo where they need to go efficiently are springing up.The fourth annual AltWheels Fleet Day held Sept. 28 in Framingham, Mass., just west of Boston, put 45 alternative-powered vehicles on display, making it the largest alternative vehicle showcase on the East Coast. The 300 participants were triple the number of just a year ago, says event found Alison Sander. They included Ford, GM, Honda, Toyota, Isuzu, and a host of aftermarket and specialized manufacturers. Listening to their pitches were corporate fleet managers, who are looking to save money on transportation costs as well as green-up their image.Staples, the office supply giant, hosted the event at its headquarters. Staples has two hybrid delivery trucks built by Isuzu and souped up with electric motors from Enova that its testing right now. Smith Electric Vehicles, based in Britain, showed off a large delivery truck that's all electric and boasts an estimated cost-per-mile of 11.5 cents. It powers up overnight (4 1/2 to 6 hours) off the electric grid. Made for use on urban streets, it has a range of 130-150 miles per charge and a top speed of 50 m.p.h. Smith plans to begin selling the lithium-ion battery-powered vehicles in the US beginning next year.John Viera, Ford's director of sustainable business strategies, laid out his company's future in a small meeting with members of the news media. Ford's looking at new technologies that will meet its criteria of being both affordable and capable of selling in high volume. The company is high on its new line of EcoBoost engines, which it expects will hike gas mileage by up to 20 percent and cut CO2 emissions by up to 15 percent. They draw on two proven technologies (direct fuel injection and turbo-charging) and will allow V8 engines to be replaced by V6s, and V6s replaced by V4s, without any lose of horsepower or torque. Ford aims to have EcoBoost engines available in 90 percent of its nameplates by 2013.Meanwhile, it's looking for ways to inch economy higher in a number of small ways, including slimming down vehicle weight, six-speed transmissions (4 to 6 percent better fuel fuel economy), and lighter-weight electric power-assisted steering (3 to 5 percent better fuel economy). It's also expanding its hybrids to the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan mid-size sedans, which will greatly increase the number of hybrid Fords on showroom floors. The company is eyeing plug-in hybrids but isn't diving in in a major way.Ford is also planning to import some of its popular small vehicles now being sold only in Europe. They include the Fiesta sedan and Transit Connect small van, six small vehicles in all by 2012.I got to drive a Ford Focus powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. I would have never known I was driving a fuel-cell-powered vehicle except for a slight whine from the rear of the car. Acceleration from stoplights was brisk. Meanwhile, GM is letting consumers test a fleet of 100 hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles right now in a program called Project Driveway.

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

The Periodic Table of Videos

2008-09-29T21:26:00.001-07:00

Tables charting the chemical elements have been around since the 19th century - but this modern version has a short video about each one.

Since launching this site, the videos have been watched more than 2.5 million times.

The chemical elements videos developed by The University of Nottingham and it can be viewed from http://www.periodicvideos.com

Water-propelled cars may run on Indian roads, in about two decades

2008-09-29T01:46:00.000-07:00

Manas Dasgupta

VADODARA: It may not be long before the cars will be running on the Indian roads literally on water! Sounds amazing, but the senior researcher of the central government’s Energy Resources Development Agency (ERDA), Vadodara, G. S. Grewal, believes that it could become a reality in a maximum of two decades or even earlier.

The ERDA has already developed techniques for using hydrogen gas, available in abundance from water, as fuel to run cars and other uses to meet the world’s energy crisis likely to arise from the diminishing fossil fuels. Based on the indigenous technology, the system developed by the ERDA for the generation of hydrogen gas would cost just about Rs. three per kilo watt per hour as against Rs. 9.3 required for the creation of same amount of energy from diesel.

Dr. Grewal was speaking at a seminar on “Impact and Benefits of the Petroleum Products and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Act, 2006, on the Society,” organised by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Power and Energy Society of India with the support of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Gas Authority of India Limited and the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation.

Dr. Grewal said the technology to use hydrogen as fuel for static installations had been fully developed and the ERDA was ready for commercial production, but the technology for using it in moving vehicles could still take some time in developing suitable containers to store gas. Pointing out that storing hydrogen in gaseous or liquid forms would be unviable, he said the ERDA had developed a magnesium-based alloy to use as hydrogen container in solid state, but was yet find an answer to the problem of explosion in the event of even a minor collision.

Source: The Hindu
Courtesy: Dr S Vasudevan

‘Research interest growing in India’

2008-09-28T21:18:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Research India on the trends shaping the scene..

“The situation here is always improving. We at Microsoft Research India got about 60 to 70 submissions when we started. Now we get about 400 a year. The numbers have doubled in other institutions, too.”

Ravikanth Nandula

Compared to a thousand doctorates in computer science that come out of American universities every year, India produces 50. But the situation here is improving, P. Anandan, Managing Director of Microsoft Research India, says.

Excerpts from a chat with eWorld:

Could you tell me a little bit about the idea behind setting up a computer science research lab?
I was already interacting with the Indian research community for close to a decade before this lab was conceptualised.

As part of my job (leading a group researching into computer vision at Microsoft, Redmond) I would attend various technological events where research papers are presented by professors and IITians. And a lot of those papers were from third year and final year students.
At the time when I did my B.Tech (in 1977) from IIT Madras I could not tell what writing a paper even meant! That was one of the first things that made me realise that a change was on.
A second point is, back in 2003-2004, a certain area of research was becoming interesting — ICT (information and communication technologies).

It made sense that if you wanted to do research, the developing countries were the place to go to.

And India was the best place, with its opened economy, strong educational foundations and the resulting opportunities. It is still easily a leading destination.

But wasn’t the talent flying out of India at that time?

That is true of today. And that is definitely true of yesterday. But reverse migration is also happening. People who have gone abroad in the 1970s and 80s want to come back and contribute.

The economy had opened up and opportunities for people who wanted to come back were there.
In fact, setting up the labs was a recognition of these changing conditions.

How does the research environment in India fare, say, vis-a-vis, the US ?

We produce about 50 Ph.Ds a year in computer science. The US, about one thousand. Last year was especially good for them with 1,500 Ph.Ds. But don’t ignore the fact that about a quarter of them are from Indian students.

To do research, we need a critical mass of people. We need four or five faculty members who’re interested and a few students rally around them and then things get to happen.

Is this situation changing?

The situation here is always improving. We at Microsoft Research India got about 60 to 70 submissions when we started. Now we get about 400 a year. The numbers have doubled in other institutions, too.

Can you tell me how your research activities are structured?

We have about 60 people; 52 do research. Each research area has one or two top people, world-renowned, who attract other researchers.

At the middle, we have fresh Ph.Ds from around the world, not just India. The third one are an interesting group: fresh graduates from B.Tech and M.Tech who come and work with us.
These are assistant researchers who work with us and eventually go for a Ph.D. They are really good! Very bright!

You are a research facility that’s attached to a company. How different is it for a prospective researcher from working in an academic institution?

There are two things that stimulate a researcher: One is peer recognition and the other is the impact his research has on the larger society.

The best way a technological researcher can affect the society around him is to work through the company that makes the technological products. There is a satisfaction when a thousand peers cheer you in a seminar hall and then there is an altogether different satisfaction when a billion people use the products that your research made happen. We offer them both.
You also hold an annual research symposium. Tell us about it.

It’s called TechVista. It is part of our efforts to create awareness about what research is and the potential that research has to make a global impact. It is a one-day symposium that brings together some of the world’s leading researchers, scientists and academics.

A number of Turing award winners (the most prestigious award in computer science) have been speakers at previous editions of TechVista and this year will also feature a Turing award winner,

Prof. John Hopcroft, as a speaker.
We’re holding it in Chennai on October 1. It’s open to all.
rkanth@thehindu.co.in
Source: Hindu Business Line

Blog notes on OA in chemistry

2008-09-28T21:16:00.000-07:00

Blog notes on OA in chemistry
Jan Kuras, Chemistry Central host OA session at EuCheMS Congress, Chemistry Central Blog, September 26, 2008.
Chemistry Central hosted an engaging open session - An Introduction to Open Access Publishing in Chemistry - at the recent EuCheMS Chemistry Congress in Torino, Italy [(September 16-20, 2008)].Jan Kuras, Associate Publisher at Chemistry Central, provided an overview of the strategy and business model of OA publishing and positioned it within the publishing landscape, highlighting the beneficiaries throughout the research community.Dr Livia Simon Sarkadi, from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, then examined the benefits (as well as some disadvantages) of OA publishing to the chemistry community and shared some initiatives that could be implemented to progress OA in chemistry. These included: soliciting articles from leading chemists in areas of high topicality to raise the profile of an OA journal; engaging with young chemists for whom OA publications will be part of their careers; and seeking support for OA publishing from national societies and divisions. ...
SOURCE:

Rice research center takes aim at corrosion

2008-09-27T04:21:00.000-07:00

Rice University has established a National Corrosion Center where researchers will develop better technology for preventing corrosion, particularly as it affects the oil and gas industry.
Rice will collaborate with NACE International, an association of more than 20,000 scientists, engineers and technicians worldwide involved in virtually every industry and aspect of corrosion prevention and control.

“Anything made with steel corrodes, so our system of highways and bridges, our pipelines for transporting water, oil and gas, our buildings, our aviation and transportation industries are all at risk,” said Emil Peña, executive director of the new center and also of Rice’s Energy and Environmental Systems Institute.

“We will focus on corrosion prevention and mitigation technologies that not only have the potential to improve the reliability and safety of just about everything made of steel, but also can save billions of dollars in repairs and rebuilding. This research even has biomedical implications.”

A 2001 study by the Federal Highway Administration found that corrosion costs the oil and gas industry $13.4 billion a year, while the overall cost to U.S. industry is about $276 billion.
With Rice’s expertise in nanotechnology, Peña is optimistic about developing so-called nanocoatings that can keep water away from steel surfaces.

The center is seeking government and private corporate funding.

Source: Houston Business Journal

Scientists solve 100-year-old engineering problem

2008-09-27T04:17:00.000-07:00

Sept. 26, 2008As a car accelerates up and down a hill then slows to follow a hairpin turn, the airflow around it cannot keep up and detaches from the vehicle. This aerodynamic separation creates additional drag that slows the car and forces the engine to work harder. The same phenomenon affects airplanes, boats, submarines, and even your golf ball.

Now, in work that could lead to ways of controlling the effect with potential impacts on fuel efficiency and more, MIT scientists and colleagues have reported new mathematical and experimental work for predicting where that aerodynamic separation will occur.

The research solves "a century-old problem in the field of fluid mechanics," or the study of how fluids—which for scientists include gases and liquids—move, says George Haller, a visiting professor in the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. Haller's group developed the new theory, while Thomas Peacock, the Atlantic Richfield Career Development Associate Professor in the same department, led the experimental effort.

Papers on the experiments and theory are being published in the Sept. 25 issue of the Journal of Fluid Mechanics and in the September issue of Physics of Fluids, respectively.

Fluid flows affect everything in our world, from blood flow to geophysical convection. As a result, engineers constantly seek ways of controlling separation in those flows to reduce losses and increase efficiency. One recent accomplishment: the sleek, full-body swimsuits used at the Beijing Olympics.

Controlling fluid flows lies at the heart of a wide range of scientific problems, including improving the performance of vehicles, Peacock says.
READ MORE...
Source: R&D Magazine

Rutgers University Breaks Ground on 1.4-MW Solar System

2008-09-26T05:26:00.000-07:00

Officials from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, joined commissioners from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to break ground on the construction of a seven-acre solar energy facility, one of the largest systems on a single campus in the United States.

The 1.4-megawatt (MW) solar energy facility at Rutgers will consist of more than 7,000 solar panels and will generate approximately 10 percent of the electrical demand of the school's Livingston Campus. Rutgers will fund approximately half of the US $10 million cost of the project but the balance will be subsidized by a rebate through the BPU 's Clean Energy Program. The program is aimed at public agencies and institutions to help them defer the cost of implementing solar projects.
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Source: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com
Courtesy: Dr S Vasudevan

Nanoparticles in the blood

2008-09-25T06:19:00.000-07:00

Researchers at the University of Urbino have developed a way to encapsulate magnetic nanoparticles inside blood cells, resulting in a more effective contrast agent for medical imaging.

Contrast agents are compounds that are used to increase the visibility of internal organs, blood vessels or tissue in the images generated by medical scanners. By doing so, they can help radiologists determine the presence and extent of a given disease.

At the present time, magnetic nanoparticle contrast agents are quickly excreted from the blood via the patient’s liver, limiting their application.

But since the new magnetic nanoparticles developed at the University of Urbin are captured inside the patient’s own red blood cells, they remain protected from the body’s excretion mechanisms for as long as 120 days, the typical lifetime of healthy red blood cells.

A key feature of the University of Urbino’s technology is that it could allow the preparation of relatively large volumes of blood loaded with the contrasting agent.

Now, the university researchers have joined forces with Philips Research, whose scientists will take samples of the blood and test its effectiveness in Philips scanners.

The two and a half year collaboration between the two outfits is expected to result in a more effective treatment of cardiovascular disease.

One way of treating heart rhythm disorders, for example, is a minimally invasive procedure known as radio-frequency ablation. During this procedure, a catheter is inserted into the patient’s heart and the tissue responsible for propagating abnormal electrical signals through the heart muscle is destroyed by heat from the tip of the catheter.

Medical imaging techniques are presently used to direct the procedure, which can take hours to complete. The images provide the means by which a cardiologist can guide the instrument through the body.

The researchers believe that injecting encapsulated magnetic nanoparticles into a patient’s bloodstream during such procedures could be used to highlight the volume of blood in the different heart chambers, providing invaluable assistance for the cardiologist.

Source: The Engineer Online, 25 September, 2008

Nokia looks beyond fuel cells for energy

2008-09-25T06:03:00.000-07:00

By Tarmo Virki

HELSINKI (Reuters) - The mobile industry needs to focus more on power usage to keep today's sophisticated devices playing video and music for longer, a Nokia executive told Reuters in an interview.

The way cellphones use energy has changed dramatically since the introduction of technologies like streaming video and high-resolution displays, which consume a lot more power.
Nokia says software developers need to focus more on making their programmes use less energy. At the same time, the world's biggest handset maker is looking into alternatives to the lithium-ion batteries that power cellphones today...

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Source: Thomson Reuters

Nanotechnology applications could provide the required energy breakthroughs

2008-09-25T05:54:00.000-07:00

(Nanowerk Spotlight) Nanotechnology applications could provide decisive technological breakthroughs in the energy sector and have a considerable impact on creating the sustainable energy supply that is required to make the transition from fossil fuels. Possibilities range from gradual short- and medium-term improvements for a more efficient use of conventional and renewable energy sources all the way to completely new long-term approaches for energy recovery and utilization. With enough political will – and funding – nanotechnology could make essential contributions to sustainable energy supply and global climate protection policies. The technological foundation is there, all it takes is political leadership to create the right research and investment conditions to make it happen.

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Source: http://www.nanowerk.com/

Editor of "Science" urges China to cultivate research, talent

2008-09-24T21:58:00.000-07:00

BEIJING, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- A leading American scientist said China should encourage projects that "continually generate innovative ideas and technologies" in its scientific endeavors.

China has made very good scientific progress over the past 30 years, said Bruce Alberts, editor-in-chief of the American journal Science, noting China has become a leader in fields such as material science.

Alberts, who became editor of the magazine in March, was here to deliver two speeches and meet with prominent scientists. The magazine featured the latest Chinese research into genetically modified cotton as its cover story in the Sept. 19 issue.

China needs to support more small independent projects and more young scientists to generate innovation, he said, adding that achievement should be measured not by the quantity but the quality of scientists' papers.

Alberts said a nation's "scientific temper" was important to its sustainable development.

"We need good scientific education with an emphasis on active enquiry for all nations," he said in a speech on "Science and the World's Future" at Tsinghua University on Tuesday.

"For each of our nations to benefit from science, we must keep science healthy," Alberts said. "Good science must continually generate innovative ideas and technologies."

He was the president of the United States National Academy of Sciences from 1993 to 2005. During that time, he visited China almost every year.

Alberts, also a renowned molecular biologist at the University of California, San Francisco, said that scientists need to "have a much larger presence in world affairs".

He is one of the co-chairs of the Inter Academy Council, representing 15 academies of science and equivalent organizations in China, Brazil, India, the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries.

"I found his talk quite useful and China's scientific policies could benefit from referring to his opinions," said Fan Chunliang, a researcher at the Institute of Policy and Management of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"I was quite inspired by the words 'science knows no country, knowledge belongs to humanity', which he quoted from Louis Pasteur," said Wu Wei, a doctoral candidate at Tsinghua University. "I think we should all make a strong effort to help science become 'the torch that illuminates the world'."

Science, with 1 million subscribers worldwide, is sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Alberts said that he hoped the magazine would become a powerful platform for setting scientific standards and bringing outstanding science all over the world into public view.

Alberts said that with the opening of the Asia-Pacific news bureau in Beijing last October, the magazine's coverage of China had increased. He hoped that the level of reporting about China could be sustained, while India, Brazil and other developing countries could also get more coverage.

Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/24/content_10104723.htm

Solar power: Light work

2008-09-24T21:46:00.000-07:00

Printing the active coating onto organic photovoltaic solar cells instead of using other methods, such as spreading it by centrifugal force, improves the efficiency of solar-cell manufacture, according to industry scientists.

Solar cells based on organic compounds can be cheaper, lighter and more versatile than silicon-based cells, but are much less efficient at converting sunlight into electrical power.
The printing technique developed by Claudia Hoth and her colleagues at the German arm of Konarka Technologies, a solar materials manufacturer based in Lowell, Massachusetts, allows organic solar cells to be produced more simply and quickly, which might make them commercially viable.

The efficiency of cells made by this method is 3.5%, still lagging behind the 5.21% efficiency of the best organic solar cells produced by more conventional methods.
Nano Lett. 8, 2806–2813 (2008)

Source: Nature 455, 435 (25 September 2008) doi:10.1038/455435d;
Published online 24 September 2008

Slicing Solar Power Costs

2008-09-24T21:33:00.000-07:00

University of Utah engineers devised a new way to slice thin wafers of the chemical element germanium for use in the most efficient type of solar cells. They say the new method should lower the cost of such cells by reducing the waste and breakage of the brittle semiconductor.

The expensive solar cells now are used mainly on spacecraft, but with the improved wafer-slicing method, "the idea is to make germanium-based, high-efficiency solar cells for uses where cost now is a factor," particularly for solar power on Earth, says Eberhard "Ebbe" Bamberg, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering. "You want to do it on your roof."

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Courtesy: Dr S Vasudevan