Important Technologies, Society and Engineering

Important Technologies, Society and Engineering

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Disclaimer—This paper partially fulfills a writing requirement for first year (freshman) engineering students at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. This paper is a student, not a professional, paper. This paper is based on publicly available information and may not provide complete analyses of all relevant data. If this paper is used for any purpose other than these authors’ partial fulfillment of a writing requirement for first year (freshman) engineering students at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, the user does so at his or her own risk.

IMPORTANT TECHNOLOGIES, SOCIETY AND ENGINEERING

Nicholas Cerep ()

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THE ENERGY CRISIS

All over the world people, governments and society as a whole faces a huge problem which must be fixed. The worlds dependency on fossil fuels has begun to run their supply dry. It is not only possible but likely that in the future people will have run out of them and will need to fully rely on renewable energy sources. Also, the burning of all of these fossil fuels has played a detrimental role on the health of our planet and environment. It is destroying the ozone layer and hurting affecting a plethora of forms of life. Many people may think it is easier to let the people of the future figure out how to fix this issue, but it is the job of all people from every aspect of today’s society, to start the push towards clean renewable energy, especially engineers. Delving into the idea of renewable energy, solar power stands out as a clear answer. However, it must be more affordable and with the use of new updates and brand new methods such as nanocrystal technology engineers are bridging the gap, to bring solar power to the forefront of energy supply.

THOUGHTS ON NEW ENERGY

Engineers and scientists from many different fields have worked together on discovering new ways of developing this renewable and “clean” energy. Even though many forms of new renewable energy have been developed over the past couple decades, (such as hydroelectric power, wind energy, geothermal energy, and ocean energy) the world still heavily relies on fossil fuels. [1] This shows the need to develop and improve upon the already existing options in order to start the recline of fossil fuel depends for the good of all people.

One of many renewable energy sources that shows promise is solar power. Like most new power sources, solar energy needs vast improvement if it will ever help dethrone the environmental wrecking ball that is fossil fuel and make our planet a better place to live.

ASPECTS OF SOLAR ENERGY

Solar energy provides a whole new way to power the world. Solar energy works through panels composed of photovoltaic cells (PV) which convert light into direct current (DC) electricity during the day while light shines on it. This DC electricity is converted to alternating current energy by an inverter inside the panels which then sends the electricity to wherever it is being applied to, such as a house or building. Some energy is stored as well in order to power the buildings through the night when there is no light to be absorbed by the panels. This system provides a way to produce energy without ever burning fossil fuels or really doing any work after the panels are installed. This proves to be good for the environment and saves valuable fossil fuels. Implementing more solar energy usage cuts down on the cost that governments would have to pay trying to reduce the amount of Green House gas as well as helping to save the environment. A few experts on the subject from the National Renewable Energy laboratory agree with this fact as well stating, “To find the incremental benefits of new solar deployment, we compare the difference between two scenarios, one where solar costs have fallen such that solar supplies 14% of the nation's electricity by 2030 and 27% by 2050, and a baseline scenario in which no solar is added after 2014. We monetize benefits, where credible methods exist to do so. We find that under these scenarios, solar power reduces GHG and air pollutants by ~10%, from 2015 to 2050, providing a dis- counted present value of $56-$789 billion (central value of ~$250 billion, equivalent to ~2 ¢/kWh-solar) in climate benefits and $77e$298 billion (central value of $167 billion, or ~1.4 ¢/kWh-solar) in air quality and public health benefits” [2]. Plus, the fact that sunlight won’t run out gives reassurance that we have an environmentally friendly, endless source of power. Of course there are not only positives to solar panels but some negatives as well. The short list of negatives to solar panels, is the expense. In order for light to filter through the panels and be converted the substances making it up must be very, very pure to ensure transparency. The need for extreme purity causes the price of solar panels to heavily inflate. While solar energy costs are slowly falling to the price of generating fossil fuels [3] some experts say that waiting for the slow fall to continue isn’t worth dumping money into research when they can explore other forms of energy.

Rather than scrap solar panels completely because of their expense, I would rather take what is known about solar energy, make some tweaks, and try to make it an affordable, common energy source. Engineers and scientists who believe in using this technology to save the environment and preserve fossil fuels like myself have been investigating ways to make the panels more efficient and subsequently, more affordable. Recent research into nanocrystal solar energy has been extremely promising and can potentially be the breakthrough that solar energy needs to become more widely used and economical.

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NANOCRYSTALS AND SOLAR ENERGY

Nanotechnology has been making ground breaking advances in solar energy efficiency. “In standard cells, the impact of a particle of light (a photon) releases an electron to carry electric charge, but it also produces some useless excess heat. Lead-selenium nanocrystals enhance the chance of releasing a second electron rather than the heat, boosting the electric current output” [4]. In recent tests, nanocrystals of lead and selenium have been able to produce upwards of 40 percent absorbance of energy. Whereas the absorbance rate for current solar panels is at a low 20 percent. With new tests being done often, showing rises in absorbance of 60 percent and climbing [4], nanocrystal technology seems to be the future in high efficiency solar power. These tests prove that we can make this energy more economically relevant by upping the absorbance, thus cutting how much we would have to spend in extra panels. If it is possible to get the same amount of energy from one panel as it is to get that same amount of energy from 3 current panels, then it could potentially cut the cost by two thirds. I see this as the most relevant way to implement solar energy as one of the world’s leading power producing elements. Keeping the environment clean with an eco-friendly power source that can sustain the world can help cut down on pollution and preserve the environment that we know today for future generations to come.

I come from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, an area that was once a hotspot for coal mining and the extraction of fossil fuels. After a coal mining disaster were mines cut dangerously close to the Susquehanna River, causing the river to collapse into mine tunnels, the river became so heavily polluted that wild life has been greatly affected. Reports of mass quantities of sickly fish, covered in tumors and countless dead animals around the banks are a common feature in local newspapers to this day. Despite the disaster happening decades ago, the area, environment, and wild life have yet to recover. This shows that I have witnessed the need for new energy sources that do not involve risky extractions of fossil fuels first hand. This also explains why I feel so strongly that as people of this planet we must remove ourselves from fossil fuels that destroy our ecosystems.

Engineers and scientists see this need as well, which is why so much work must be done into discovering new ways to globally power the cities and places we live. The engineers who work with nanotechnology and are pushing the boundaries of how much we can get out of this new type of energy understand that the most effective way to go green and make solar energy affordable is to make it work to its full potential. This is why it is so important to society to have nanocrystal technology in solar power.

Professional engineers who work on the research of nanocrystal absorption at Brigham Young university agree that this technology is the best way to make solar power more efficient, affordable and widely used. They wrote, “Increasing global energy demands, environmental concerns over carbon dioxide emissions, and finite fossil fuel reserves drive the transition to clean, renewable sources of energy. While solar power currently only fulfills a minute fraction of the world’s energy needs, the International Energy Agency projects that it could meet up to one third of global demand by 2060. To meet this goal, advances will need to be made in photovoltaic (PV) efficiencies” [5]. In the same article from 2014 they also stated, “Quantum dot (QD) PV cells have shown promise for solar energy conversion, bringing a number of potential benefits unavailable to bulk semiconductors” [5]. The quantum dot PV cells that are mentioned here are used for the growth of nanocrystal solar cells which are then housed in these quantum dot cells for absorption of solar energy. It is clear that most renewable energy experts show the same passion as I for the necessities of this nanocrystal technology.

ENGINEERING A BRIGHTER FUTURE

Engineers have a morale responsibility to use free thinking, creativity and innovation to help make the world a better place. Engineering is all about advancing the world we live in and making things more efficient, safer and relevant. Nanocrystal technology is one the most engineering based real life applications there can be. With such a great societal need for nanotechnology in solar power, it is clear that with engineers working on ways to continue advancing this technology, it can become a truly important aspect of helping our environment and the future of Earth for years to come.

SOURCES

[1] Y.Liu. “Colloidal Synthesis of Cu2FeSnSe4 Nanocrystals for Solar Energy Conversion.” Elsevier.com. 09.14.2014. Accessed 10.25.2016.

[2] R.Wiser. “The Environmental and Public Health benefits of Achieving High Penetrations of Solar Energy in the United States.” Elsevier.com. 07.22.2014. Accessed 10.25.2016.

[3]”How Does Solar Energy Work?” Solarcity.com. Accessed 10.25.2016.

[4]”Make Solar Energy Economical.” Engineeringchallanges.org. Accessed10.25.2016.

[5]S.Dickerson. “Non-native Co-, Mn-, and Ti-Oxyhydroxide Nanocrystals in Ferritin For High Efficiency Solar Energy Conversion.” 12.09.2014. Accessed 10.25.2016. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2549

AWKNOLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to my friends Ian Arcudi and Dave Mack for helping explain the process of writing this paper to me.

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