A new reactor could make chemically recycling carbon dioxide back into petrol a worthwhile endeavour, US scientists say.
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico, are to test a prototype device this spring, which will use concentrated solar energy to drive chemical reactions that split carbon dioxide molecules to get carbon monoxide. The same system was originally designed to split water to form hydrogen; and these two products can then be combined to synthesise liquid hydrocarbon fuels - such as methanol or petrol.
Splitting the stable carbon dioxide molecule is so tough that many researchers think the most economic course of action is simply to bury the greenhouse gas underground. And solar plants usually generate electricity, rather than split CO2.
But the Sandia team led by Jim Miller, Nathan Siegel and Richard Diver, who work on the 'Sunshine to Petrol' (S2P) project, think their device's chemical reactions are efficient enough to make it a worthwhile way of producing liquid fuels from CO2 . Ellen Stechel, manager of Sandia's fuel and energy transitions department, explained to Chemistry World that the ultimate aim is to have a series of solar-powered reactors, each collecting around 22kg of carbon dioxide and 18kg of water daily, and churning out some 2.5 gallons of petrol, based on target conversion efficiencies. 'Liquid fuels can be stored in trucks or piped using existing infrastructure,' Stechel pointed out.
full article
Thursday, 6 March 2008
Meter customers 'forced to pay more for energy'
Customers who use prepayment meters to buy their gas and electricity are being charged up to £328 a year more than those with online tariffs who pay by direct debit, the energy watchdog said today.
Some energy providers, including EDF Energy, have started to charge prepayment customers the same as those on standard tariffs, but all of the big six energy firms offer their lowest rates to those who manage their accounts online and pay by direct debit.
Energywatch said that on average, prepayment energy customers were paying £255 more than those with an online direct debit tariff.
The watchdog said the price difference was "scandalous" and penalised poorer families and pensioners who often have no choice but to pay by meter.
It called on energy firms to end discriminatory pricing.
The biggest differential was between tariffs at British Gas, where prepayment meter customers pay an average of £1,127 while dual fuel customers who operate their accounts online and use direct debit pay just £795.
by Hilary Osborne
full article
Some energy providers, including EDF Energy, have started to charge prepayment customers the same as those on standard tariffs, but all of the big six energy firms offer their lowest rates to those who manage their accounts online and pay by direct debit.
Energywatch said that on average, prepayment energy customers were paying £255 more than those with an online direct debit tariff.
The watchdog said the price difference was "scandalous" and penalised poorer families and pensioners who often have no choice but to pay by meter.
It called on energy firms to end discriminatory pricing.
The biggest differential was between tariffs at British Gas, where prepayment meter customers pay an average of £1,127 while dual fuel customers who operate their accounts online and use direct debit pay just £795.
by Hilary Osborne
full article
Wednesday, 5 March 2008
MPs call for rise in green taxes
The UK Treasury has "continually demonstrated a lack of ambition and imagination" when it comes to green taxes, a report by MPs has concluded.
The Commons Environmental Audit Committee says there is little sign that ministers have acted on the recommendations of the Stern Review.
They also call for a rise in air taxes, especially on long-haul flights.
Failure to act would undermine the government's environmental credibility, warned the MPs.
The committee of 16 MPs said green taxes, as a proportion of all taxes, has declined from its peak of 9.7% in 1999 to 7.6% in 2006.
full article
The Commons Environmental Audit Committee says there is little sign that ministers have acted on the recommendations of the Stern Review.
They also call for a rise in air taxes, especially on long-haul flights.
Failure to act would undermine the government's environmental credibility, warned the MPs.
The committee of 16 MPs said green taxes, as a proportion of all taxes, has declined from its peak of 9.7% in 1999 to 7.6% in 2006.
full article
Tuesday, 4 March 2008
Fuel Cells Make Power for Homes in Japan
The technology — which draws energy from the chemical reaction when hydrogen combines with oxygen to form water — is more commonly seen in futuristic cars with tanks of hydrogen instead of gasoline, whose combustion is a key culprit in pollution and global warming.
Developers say fuel cells for homes produce one-third less of the pollution that causes global warming than conventional electricity generation does.
"I was a bit worried in the beginning whether it was going to inconvenience my family or I wouldn't be able to take a bath," said the 45-year-old Japanese businessman, who lives with his wife, Tomoko, and two children, 12 and 9. But, as head of a construction company, he was naturally interested in new technology for homes.
Tomoko Naruse, 40, initially worried the thing would explode, given all she had heard about the dangers of hydrogen.
"Actually, you forget it's even there," her husband said.
Their plain gray fuel cell is about the size of a suitcase and sits just outside their door next to a tank that turns out to be a water heater. In the process of producing electricity, the fuel cell gives off enough warmth to heat water for the home.
The oxygen that the fuel cell uses comes from the air. The hydrogen is extracted from natural gas by a device called a reformer in the same box as the fuel cell. But a byproduct of that process is poisonous carbon monoxide. So another machine in the gray box adds oxygen to the carbon monoxide to create carbon dioxide, which — though it contributes to global warming — is not poisonous.
The entire process produces less greenhouse gas per watt than traditional generation. And no energy is wasted transporting the electricity where it's actually going to be used.
full article
Developers say fuel cells for homes produce one-third less of the pollution that causes global warming than conventional electricity generation does.
"I was a bit worried in the beginning whether it was going to inconvenience my family or I wouldn't be able to take a bath," said the 45-year-old Japanese businessman, who lives with his wife, Tomoko, and two children, 12 and 9. But, as head of a construction company, he was naturally interested in new technology for homes.
Tomoko Naruse, 40, initially worried the thing would explode, given all she had heard about the dangers of hydrogen.
"Actually, you forget it's even there," her husband said.
Their plain gray fuel cell is about the size of a suitcase and sits just outside their door next to a tank that turns out to be a water heater. In the process of producing electricity, the fuel cell gives off enough warmth to heat water for the home.
The oxygen that the fuel cell uses comes from the air. The hydrogen is extracted from natural gas by a device called a reformer in the same box as the fuel cell. But a byproduct of that process is poisonous carbon monoxide. So another machine in the gray box adds oxygen to the carbon monoxide to create carbon dioxide, which — though it contributes to global warming — is not poisonous.
The entire process produces less greenhouse gas per watt than traditional generation. And no energy is wasted transporting the electricity where it's actually going to be used.
full article
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