Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

For hundreds of years mankind has been making use of the energy and power generated by wind. Whether it has been to travel the world, manufacture products, or in the modern age to generate electricity, wind has provided the means. And while there have been dozens of different methods over the years, new technology is still being invented to make even further use of this ancient power source.

Windmills were one of the second most widespread uses of wind energy. The variety of uses that windmills were put to included grinding grain, as well as pumping water, up until the industrial revolution where the windmill was mostly replaced by the steam engine.

First of all, biofuels come in many varieties, but in general, there are two main products, those that replace (or blend with) gasoline, and those that replace (or are blended with) middle distillate fuels, such as diesel fuel, or home heating oil.

We are working to produce biofuels that are low cost, low carbon, sustainable and able to fulfil the world’s transportation fuel needs on a large scale without compromising food production

This produces the electricity that is carried by cable to shore.

Once it's plugged into an electrical grid, the electricity can be distributed [

What is a fuel cell?A fuel cell produces electricity from fuel and air. The simplest fuel cell produces electricity from hydrogen and air with water as the only by-product.

Where can fuel cells be used?Fuel cells in general can be used in many different circumstances, depending on the type of fuel cell. Topsoe Fuel Cell focuses on SOFC fuel cells, which can be used in:Auxiliary power units (APUs) provide electricity where there is no access to grid power. Fuel cell based APUs can be used on, for instance, long-haul trucks to generate power during breaks.Micro combined heat and power units may be scaled to meet the electricity demand in single family households. Combined heat and power generation for households is one of the most efficient ways to meet residential energy requirements.Distributed generation using SOFC technology offers efficient power generation, for example hospitals, shopping malls, in apartment buildings and in areas with low power capacity.

Because pure hydrogen does not occur naturally, it takes energy to manufacture it. There are different ways to manufacture it, such as, electrolysis and steam-methane reforming process.

In electrolysis, electricity is run through water to separate the hydrogen and oxygen atoms. This method can be used by using wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, fossil fuels, biomass, and many other resources.

The more natural methods of making electricity (wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, biomass), rather than fossil fuels, would be better used as to continue the environment-friendly process of the fuel. Obtaining hydrogen from this process is being studied as a viable way to produce it domestically at a low cost. Steam-methane reforming process extracts the hydrogen from methane. However, this reaction causes a side production of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide which are greenhouse gases and contribute to global warming.

This initiative, supported by legislation in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005) and the Advanced Energy Initiative of 2006, aims to develop hydrogen, fuel cell and infrastructure technologies to make fuel-cell vehicles practical and cost-effective by 2020

Why are governments, private businesses and academic institutions collaborating to develop and produce them? Fuel cells generate electrical power quietly and efficiently, without pollution. Unlike power

that use fossil fuels, the by-products from an operating fuel cell are heat and water

The most important advantage of using liquid as fuel is that they can be easily pumped and can also be handled easily.

Biofuels are the best way of reducing the emission of the greenhouse gases.

Some of the major producers and users of biogases are Asia, Europe and America. Theoretically, biofuel can be easily produced through any carbon source; making the photosynthetic plants the most commonly used material for production. Almost all types of materials derived from the plants are used for manufacturing biogas. One of the greatest problems that is being faced by the researchers in the field is how to covert the biomass energy into the liquid fuel

their products contain lead, a potent neurotoxin

contain cadmium, a known carcinogen.

nitrogen triflouride, a potent greenhouse gas

Producing Hydrogen for Fuel-Cell Vehicles

Cleaning Up Oil Spills

Generating Electricity

Hydrogen Hydrogen can be produced domestically through electrolysis (the process of splitting the hydrogen and oxygen particles apart in a water molecule). When used in automobiles, a hydrogen-powered car will emit only water vapor from its tailpipe. Hydrogen vehicles use fuel cells as their source of power, and currently this technology is too expensive for most consumers. If the costs of fuel cell technology and hydrogen production can decrease, hydrogen may become one of the most environmentally friendly and sustainable sources of energy available.

The U.S. consumes a little more than 20 million barrels of oil a day. The largest end uses are motor gasoline (9 million barrels) and diesel (4 million barrels). That works out to about 140 billion gallons of gasoline and 60 billion gallons of diesel a year. In 2006, the U.S. consumed nearly 5.4 billion gallons of ethanol, 12 percent of which was imported. Adjusting for its lower energy content, that amounted to about 2.5% of the total U.S. demand for gasoline. Biodiesel consumption was much lower, about 250 million gallons in 2006.

The U.S. consumes a little more than 20 million barrels of oil a day. The largest end uses are motor gasoline (9 million barrels) and diesel (4 million barrels). That works out to about 140 billion gallons of gasoline and 60 billion gallons of diesel a year. In 2006, the U.S. consumed nearly 5.4 billion gallons of ethanol, 12 percent of which was imported. Adjusting for its lower energy content, that amounted to about 2.5% of the total U.S. demand for gasoline. Biodiesel consumption was much lower, about 250 million gallons in 2006. In the Energy

The U.S. consumes a little more than 20 million barrels of oil a day. The largest end uses are motor gasoline (9 million barrels) and diesel (4 million barrels). That works out to about 140 billion gallons of gasoline and 60 billion gallons of diesel a year. In 2006, the U.S. consumed nearly 5.4 billion gallons of ethanol, 12 percent of which was imported. Adjusting for its lower energy content, that amounted to about 2.5% of the total U.S. demand for gasoline. Biodiesel consumption was much lower, about 250 million gallons in 2006. In the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Congress enacted the Renewable Fuels Standard, which requires an annual increase in biofuels use to 7.5 billion gallons by 2012. The chart above details past levels of U.S. ethanol production and the minimum levels set by the Renewable Fuels Standard. In the 2006 State of the Union address, President Bush announced a goal of replacing “more than 75% of our oil imports from the Middle East by 2025.” According to the Department of Energy, meeting that goal will require 60 billion gallons of biofuels a year. A year later, the President accelerated the timetable and called for “20 in 10.”

Biofuels in the solid form has been in use ever since man discovered fire.

Wood was the first form of biofuel that was used even by the ancient people for cooking and heating

This form of fuel was discovered even before the discovery of the fossil fuels, but with the exploration of the fossil fuel like gas, coal, and oil the production and use of biofuel suffered a severe impact.