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Growdiesel WTG1XG Waste to Biofuel Multi-Phase Process

December 28th 2010 15:09
A new biocatalysis referred to WTG1XG claims to be capable of treating all types of organic waste and turning them into usable biofuels such as natural gas. The process involves treating organic waste with beneficial microbes that break the waste down into simpler biological structures. Another set of bacteria is then introduced into the system that converts the broken-down waste into natural gas that can be compressed and used for cooking, heating, energy generation, or transportation. An interesting fact about this unique process is that it is entirely odorless. Emerging technologies such as WTG1XG are poised to make a huge impact in the field of biofuels, reduce our dependency on foreign oil, and reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions associated with burning fossil fuels for energy generation, heating applications, and transportation uses.

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A Look into Electric Vehicles, Part 2: The Nissan LEAF

December 28th 2010 02:59
On December 11, the first Nissan LEAF arrived in San Francisco from the Oppama plant in Japan, marking the second debut in the US this month of a breakthrough electric vehicle that is the first of its kind to be mass-produced. The Nissan LEAF differs from the Volt in that it is an all-electric vehicle known as a plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) or battery electric vehicle (BEV). Thus, it does not rely on an internal combustion engine to spin the wheels or charge the batteries. Instead, the LEAF uses a 24-kWh battery pack to store the energy used to power the 80-kW (107-hp) motor that drives the wheels, and if that battery pack ever runs out of juice, just hope that it does so while parked in front of a charging station. While the LEAF has claimed range of 100 miles on a full charge will be more than enough for most people on most days, it will not appeal to the road-warriors out there or anybody looking for a car to take on long trips out of town. In fact, LEAF owners will be relatively restricted to where they can and cannot drive due to a lack of widespread charging stations currently available in the US. However, until we start investing huge amounts of money to upgrade our electrical infrastructure, implement smart grid technologies, and increase the number of charging stations around the nation, LEAF owners will have to keep from straying too far away from home – and the personal charging stations in their garage.
LEAF, PEV, BEV, electric vehicle, plug, charging station
The 2011 Nissan LEAF BEV

Once the battery pack runs out of juice, the cars must be plugged into a dedicated charging port to be replenished. Unlike a gas tank that can be filled up in a matter of minutes, it could take close to a day to charge the 24-kWh battery pack in the LEAF using a standard 110-V power source, such as a wall outlet. A charger that uses a 110-V power source is known as a level 1 charger. Level 2 chargers typically use between a 200-V and 240-V power source at about 20 to 30 amps and can fully charge a dead LEAF in approximately 8 hours, turning a 200-mile trip that would normally take a little over three hours into an 11-hour journey. It looks like that cross-country road trip is out of the question, at least for now. There is such thing as a level 3 “quick” charger, although, a level 3 charging standard has yet to be developed in the US. Nissan has announced that it will offer an optional port that will enable quick charging capabilities once a level 3 charging standard is established. Using a level 3 charging station will allow you to charge the LEAF to approximately 80% capacity in under thirty minutes; however, current level 3 charging technology is new and expensive. Level 3 chargers must be connected to dedicated circuits capable of providing over 440-V and more than 100 amps, which is enough to overwhelm a typical neighborhood transformer and kill power to the whole block. Coulomb Technologies, based in Campbell, CA, offers a level 3 charger for $40,000 plus an additional $20,000 for installation, which is well more than the cost of a LEAF or a Volt.
level I II III charging station plug battery
Nissan's Zero Emission and Coulomb's Charge Point Level 3 Charging Stations

On the other hand, one detail that is likely to win over the especially eco-conscious crowd is that the LEAF is made from recycled and recyclable materials, which helps to reduce its life-cycle carbon footprint – an important measure of sustainability that is often overlooked. Some people might look at a product or technology and judge it by how much energy it consumes during its operational lifetime compared with the energy consumed by similar products during the same period. This may be an acceptable measure in some cases; however, what is more valuable to know is the energy used or pollution emitted throughout a product’s entire life cycle. A product’s life-cycle carbon footprint is found by performing a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which adds up all the pollution emitted over a product’s entire lifetime. This includes all emissions associated with the mining and extraction of the raw materials, the shipment of the final product to the consumer, the energy consumed by the product during its lifetime, as well as the energy required to dispose of or recycle the final product after it has surpassed its useful lifetime and everything in between. Using recycled and recyclable materials is one of the best and easiest ways to reduce a product’s life-cycle carbon footprint, making this Nissan particularly green. Shall I say, like a leaf?

According to Nissan, the LEAF will retail for $32,780 before the $7,500 tax credit, and expect to pay an additional $2,000 to $5,000 for the charging station. Even with a charging station, the LEAF still costs significantly less than the Volt and is within the Prius’ price range of $22,150–$28,845. Otherwise, you could lease a LEAF from Nissan for $349/mo. and $1,999 down.
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A Look into Electric Vehicles, Part 1: The Chevy Volt

December 25th 2010 01:27
The last quarter of 2010 was a huge milestone for electric vehicle technologies and marked the arrivals of the Nissan LEAF and the long anticipated Chevy Volt, the first production vehicles of their respective classes to make it to the US. Although, nearly every major automobile manufacturer has built, tested, and proven some form of hybrid or electric vehicle technology, Chevrolet became the first to put a production model plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) on the streets of America when the first Volts rolled off the assembly line on November 30 at the Detroit Hamtramck Plant. This makes me think. Are Americans ready for electric vehicles? Time will only tell if we will ditch the gas pump at the station for the plug in the garage or parking lot.
chevy volt plug in hybrid electric vehicle phev
2011 Chevy Volt

The Volt’s drivetrain consists of a 111-kW (149-hp) drive motor, a smaller 54-kW (72-hp) generator motor, a 1.4-liter inline 4-cylinder engine, three clutches, and a planetary gear set - all of which work together to propel the car and sustain the onboard 16-kWh lithium-ion battery pack’s charge. By pairing a gasoline engine with two electric motors and an onboard battery pack, the Volt offers a brilliant compromise to the range anxiety issue that continues to plague electric vehicles, so you don’t have to worry about being stranded with a dead battery pack and no way to charge it. You do still have to remember to fill up the gas tank when it gets low, however. Using the batteries alone, the Volt is good for 25-50 miles (depending on how you drive) of pure-electric driving up to approximately 40 mph. When the battery pack becomes about 65% depleted, the 80-hp, internal-combustion engine kicks in to provide up to 300 additional miles of range from its 9.3-gallon tank, and it does this while achieving an impressive fuel economy of about 35 to 40 mpg.

What does this mean for American drivers? It means a versatile, fuel-efficient extended-range electric vehicle that can function as an all-electric daily driver for the 78% of Americans with a less than 50-mile round-trip commute that can also take the family out of town on the weekends. The Volt could also haul the family on a coast-to-coast vacation without having to stop every 100 miles or so to plug in – something the Nissan LEAF (which I will highlight in my next post) could never do! This versatility comes at a price, however. The Volt’s sticker price of $41,000 before the $7,500 rebate is more than $8,000 higher than the LEAF’s MSRP; however, you can lease the Volt for $350/mo and $2,500 down. Therefore, leasing a Chevy Volt for 36 months will only cost $291 more than leasing a LEAF.
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The Smart Home: How Building Management Systems Integrate Technology to Increase Energy Efficiency

November 3rd 2010 16:25
With a properly configured Building Management System (BMS), there is no more worrying about the doors or windows being open while the air conditioner (AC) or heater is running. Instead, when the BMS detects an open door or window, it can send a signal to shut down the AC or heater and activate the exhaust fan and/or vents to allow fresh air to circulate throughout the building during the mild temperatures that many experience during the spring and fall for a few weeks. At least I am able to enjoy these seasons here in Greenville, SC for a few weeks during the fall and spring.

I have dreamed about a house that wakes me up in the morning by opening the blinds and greeting me with conditioned air that is at the pre-set temperature of my choice without requiring the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system to maintain that temperature throughout the night while I am sleeping. This dream home will automatically turn lights on in a room when someone walks in and off once it is vacant. Similarly, it will detect when I arrive home and unlock the door for me. It will sense when I am at my desk and power up my computer monitor, speakers, printer, and everything else that does not need to be on while I am away from my desk


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Why algae to bio-fuel technology has a chance to become a viable form of renewable energy

October 28th 2010 19:28
In my opinion, one of the most promising renewable energy technologies being developed today is the conversion of algae to bio-fuels.

Let me start off by emphasizing that algae to bio-fuel technology will not be the golden ticket to our energy problems, nor will any other single renewable energy source no matter how big, small, cheap, or revolutionary. Instead, it will take a combination of all the renewable energy technologies that we know of today, along with those that have yet to be developed, to make any significant impact and (hopefully) eventually wean humans away from relying on non-renewable, polluting energy sources such as oil, coal, and natural gas


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Welcome to the Sustainability Tech, Trends, and News blog!

October 26th 2010 15:14
This blog is dedicated to all things “green”. Here, I will be posting about topics such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable technologies and the government policies (or lack of) that drive them. This blog will highlight the novel ideas that are being developed today that help reduce energy consumption, increase renewable energy generation, and are just plain cool. We will look at the most promising technologies that are leading the way towards a sustainable future, one that will be able to support generations to come.

We realize that the non-renewable natural resources on this planet (water, coal, oil, uranium, etc.) are finite and, therefore, must be conserved in order to ensure the success of future generations. We recognize that burning oil, coal, and natural gas just because it is cheap, although it may seem like a good idea right now to some, is not a viable long-term solution. We understand the adverse environmental, health, and economic impacts that arise from relying on fossil fuels for energy production, and we are aware that if this does not change soon, the fate of our future will be compromised


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