ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING features the Application of ENVIRONMENTAL Technologies to ENGINEERING Systems to attain OPTIMAL Performance according to ESTABLISHED Standards.
The Newsletter of the Environmental Engineering Division (EED) will attempt to highlight a Variety of Environmental Technology Applications aimed at Enhancing Engineering Systems Performances in accordance with the Latest Standards by presenting Excerpts of and Links to Selected Articles from a Variety of Websites. EED Members are encouraged to forward materials on Environmental Engineering topics for review by the Newsletter Editorial Staff. EED Newsletter Readers are urged to forward comments on materials that appear in its content.
The EED Newsletter will feature presentations in NINE Sections:
1. ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES 5. NEWSLETTER READER COMMENTS
2. ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS 6. NEWSLETTER EDITORIAL BOARD
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4. CHAIRMAN/DIVISION NEWS 8. NEWSLETTER REFERENCES – REGS
9. EDITORIAL BOARD SELECTION REFERENCES
It is envisioned that the EED Newsletter will be a Monthly enterprise involving ALL members of the EED in its production. Your participation in providing and reviewing EED Newsletter materials is encouraged and will be greatly appreciated by the EED Newsletter Editors.
SCALABLE SOLAR-POWERED DESALINATION SYSTEM
The majority of the planet's surface may be water, but unfortunately a heaping pile of salt makes most of that undrinkable. Desalination makes saltwater more palatable and potable, but being a bit of an energy guzzler means it isn't the most practical solution in off-grid situations. A new system makes use of nanoparticles to harness the power of the sun and distill water more efficiently, without needing electricity.
Developed at Rice University's Center for Nanotechnology Enabled Water Treatment (NEWT), the new system is built around the membrane distillation method, where heated salty water runs across the top of a porous membrane. Water vapor is drawn through the membrane and collects underneath in the form of purified water, but plenty of energy is lost in the process.To improve that efficiency, the researchers harnessed the power of the sun in a system they call "nanophotonics-enabled solar membrane distillation" (NESMD). Sunlight-absorbing carbon black nanoparticles are embedded into the membrane, which helps the material harvest up to 80 percent of the sunlight that hits it, evaporating the water faster and reducing the external power that the system needs. (Ref 1)
SOLAR PAINT PRODUCES HYDROGEN FROM SUNLIGHT AND WATER VAPOR
There have been a few breakthroughs over the years that have promised a future where solar cells could besprayed onto surfaces for easy solar power, anywhere. A new solar paint technology from RMIT University takes a unique approach by using sunlight to split water molecules to produce hydrogen.The paint is able to absorb water vapor in the air because it contains a substance like the silica gel packs that are used to keep moisture out of items like medicines and electronics. The material is called synthetic molybdenum-sulfide and it goes a step beyond just being an excellent sponge for moisture, it also acts as a semi-conductor and catalyst that splits water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen.The addition of titanium dioxide to the paint boosts its sunlight absorbing abilities, making the paint into a hydrogen fuel plant that can be applied to any surface. (Ref. 2)
PUTTING THE BRAKES ON RUNAWAY ELECTRONS BRINGS FUSION POWER CLOSER
Last year,researchers at MITbrought us closer to a fusion future by placing plasma under what they say is the most pressure ever created in a fusion device. Now, two researchers from the Chalmers University of Technology of Swedenhave devised a new model to effectively decelerate these runaway electrons by injecting "heavy ions", such as neon or argon, into the reactor. As the electrons collide with the high charge in the nuclei of these ions, they slow down and become much more controllable.The Chalmers model can effectively predict the electrons' energy and behavior. Using mathematical descriptions and plasma simulations the physicists are now able to effectively control the speed of the runaway electrons without interrupting the fusion process. (Ref 3)
CHINA'S FOREST CITY TO FIGHT POLLUTION WITH A MILLION PLANTS
The Liuzhou Forest City will be constructed in the mountainous region of Liuzhou, in Southern China. The city will host some 30,000 residents and feature the hallmarks of a typical city, such as offices, houses, hotels, hospitals and schools. These buildings will draw on geothermal energy and rooftop solar panel for their power needs.
The city will also be clad in trees and in plants – not just in the parks, gardens and city streets, but over building facades too. This will total 40,000 trees and almost one million plants, drawn from more than 100 species. It will absorb an estimated 10,000 tons of C02 and 57 tons of pollutants each year, plus it will produce a claimed 900 tons of oxygen annually. (Ref 4)
BIG OIL TURNS TO BIG DATA TO SAVE BIG MONEY ON DRILLING
In today's U.S. shale fields, tiny sensors attached to production gear harvest data on everything from pumping pressure to the heat and rotational speed of drill bits boring into the rocky earth.The sensors are leading Big Oil's mining of so-called big data, with some firms envisioning billions of dollars in savings over time by avoiding outages, managing supplies and identifying safety hazards.
The industry has long used sophisticated technologies to find oil and gas. But only recently have oil firms pooled data from across the company for wider operating efficiencies - one of many cost-cutting efforts spurred by the two-year downturn in crude oil prices.ConocoPhillips says that sensors scattered across its well fields helped it halve the time it once took to drill new wells in Eagle Ford shale basin of South Texas.
By comparing data from hundreds of sensors, its program automatically adjusts the weight placed on a drill bit and its speed, accelerating the extraction of oil.It is just one application, but if applied to the more than 3,000 wells ConocoPhillips hopes to drill in the Texas basin, those small sensors could lead to "billions and billions of dollars" in savings (Ref 5).
LIQUID METAL BATTERIESMAY REVOLUTIONIZE ENERGY STORAGE
“The market opportunity for grid-scale energy storage is large, growing, and global,” says Phil Giudice, CEO and president of AMBRI, a start-up company in Massachusetts that is developing an innovative battery system that relies on molten metal for storing energy. The battery is based on research conducted by co-founder Donald Sadoway at MIT. The system is differentfrom other storage options on the market because it is the only battery where all three active components are inliquid formwhen the battery operates. Two liquid electrodes (magnesium and antimony) are separated by a molten salt electrolyte; the liquid layers float on top of each other based on density differences and immiscibility.
The system operates at an elevated temperature maintained by self-heating during charging and discharging, resulting in a low-cost and long-lasting storage system.Extensive laboratory testing on over 2,500 cells with a cumulative test time of 600,000 hours and 100,000 cycles shows that the all-liquid cell design avoids the main failure mechanisms experienced by solid components in other battery technologies. “This enables our systems to have a projected lifespan of over 15 years with no degradation in performance,” states AMBRI. (Ref 6)
SYNTHETIC GENOMICS AND EXXONMOBIL DOUBLE BIOFUEL YIELD FROM ALGAE
La Jolla’s Synthetic Genomics and oil giant ExxonMobil said Monday that they have created an oil-rich strain of algae that represents a major research advance toward commercializing algae-based biofuels.Researchers have doubled lipid content in a genetically engineered strain ofalgae. The level has been increased from about 20 percent in the natural strain to 40 to 55 percent in the engineered strain.Moreover, this increase comes without significantly reducing the algae’s growth rate, the study said. And the oil-like lipids from may potentially be processed in existing refineries and used like diesel. (Ref 7)
CHINA TAPS INTO COOL FUTURE FOR GLOBAL ENERGY
China has succeeded in extracting methane gas from solid deposits under the sea in an experiment that could eventually lead to the commercial production of what is being touted as an abundant new source of energy.In a first for the country, engineers extracted the gas from the so-called “flammable ice” – methane hydrate, where the gas is trapped in ice crystals – and converted it to natural gas in a single, continuous operation on a floating production platform in
the Shenhu area of the South China Sea, about 300km southeast of Hong Kong, the Ministry of Land and Resources said on Thursday.Methane hydrate is formed in such abundance that the US Department of Energy has estimated the total amount could exceed the combined energy content of all other fossil fuels, sparking interest in the resource worldwide. (Ref 8)
NASA & airlines are trying to put all-electric jets in the air
NASA hasfunded a battery projectto power a regional, nine-passenger all-electric aircraft. It has pulled together a team including researchers from IBM, Cal Berkeley and Carnegie Mellon University to resolve problemsthat have dogged lithium-air, a battery concept that, if figured out, could deliver energy density close to that of gasoline. The venture arms of Jet Blue and Airbus are also pushing the universities to figure out electric jets. NASA says a lithium-air propelled electric plane could reduce airliners' operating costs by 30%, plus reduce emissions. In addition, a lithium-air battery — if finally figured out — could eventually revolutionize cars, since they could travel 500 miles on a single charge. (Ref 9)
TESLA IS BUILDING THE WORLD'S BIGGEST BATTERY IN AUSTRALIA
In September 2016, a massive storm ravaged South Australia, disrupting the state's electricity grid and leaving some 1.7 million people without power. In March 2017, the state government announced plans to "take charge of thestate's energy future", and build a large battery storage system. Tesla was awarded the contract for this key component, which will use a scaled up version of the company's commercial Powerpack energy storage system.
In fact, it'll be the largest lithium-ion battery storage facility in the world, boasting a capacity of 129 MWh and an output of up to 100 MW.The Powerpack system will be hooked up to the Hornsdale Wind Farm under construction nearby - storing energy for on-demand delivery to some 30,000 homes. The hopes are that the system will help alleviate power shortages and make the grid better able to handle on-peak demands.Elon Musk himself bragged that the system would be up and running within 100 days or it's free, and Tesla is aiming to make good on that promise, setting the project's completion date for December 2017. (Ref 10)
FORMIC ACID JOINS THE LIST OF ALTERNATIVE FUELS
Hydrogen-powered vehicles promise no local emission motoring, but face significant problems in the refueling and storage of the hydrogen fuel. Students at the Technical University of Eindhoven in The Netherlands have avoided these problems, albeit at the expense of energy density, by developing a self-contained system that helps power an electric bus using hydrogen produced from formic acid.The formic acid system is designed to act as a range extender for the electric-powered bus. It's towed behind the bus in a compact trailer, and converts a fuel called hydrozine – made up of 99 percent formic acid and 1 percent of a performance enhancing agent – into hydrogen and CO2. In turn, that hydrogen is used to generate electricity in a conventional fuel cell.According to the students, there are a few benefits of using hydrozine to create hydrogen on the fly instead of just fueling the vehicle with hydrogen in the first place. For one, pure hydrogen needs to be pressurized in big tanks, something that adds weight and complexity to the vehicle as well as refueling stations. The University of Eindhoven team says the fuel has four times the energy density of a conventional battery, too, for big range in small packages. (Ref 11)
BATTERY TRAIN TO TRANSFORM TRAVEL
A new energy train powered by both a battery pack and power grid is having its trial run in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region by its manufacturer CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co.The train is the first prototype that can switch its power source freely between the power grid and batteries and has a maximum speed of 160 km/h. It can run for 200 kilometers when the power grid is cut off, and it is able to operate under extreme weather and geographical conditions. The core technologies are in the train's battery system and it can be used on both high-speed train tracks and light railway tracks in future integrated railroads.
As the train can run solely powered by its battery packs, it will eliminate damage to the local environment caused by the construction of a power grid, leaving the environment and landscape largely intact.The new train, designed both for inter-city and inner-city use, can also travel through ecologically fragile areas, tourist spots and farmland, as well as developing countries that lack power infrastructure, in particular developing countries and regions related to the Belt and Road Initiative. (Ref 12)
ANCIENT CONCRETE: LEARNING TO DO AS THE ROMANS DID
A team of researchers working at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) used X-rays to study samples of Roman concrete -- from an ancient pier and breakwater sites -- at microscopic scales to learn more about the makeup of their mineral cements.The team's earlier work at Berkeley Lab's Advanced Light Source (ALS), an X-ray research center known as a synchrotron, found that crystals of aluminous tobermorite, a layered mineral, played a key role in strengthening the concrete as they grew in relict lime particles. The new study, published today inAmerican Mineralogist, is helping researchers to piece together how and where this mineral formed during the long history of the concrete structures.
The work ultimately could lead to a wider adoption of concrete manufacturing techniques with less environmental impact than modern Portland cement manufacturing processes, which require high-temperature kilns. These are a significant contributor to industrial carbon dioxide emissions, which add to the buildup of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere.Also, researchers suggest that a reformulated recipe for Roman concrete could be tested for applications such as seawalls and other ocean-facing structures, and may be useful for safeguarding hazardous wastes. (Ref 13)
CUTTING THE COST OF ETHANOL,BIOFUELS AND GASOLINE
Biofuels like the ethanol in U.S. gasoline could get cheaper thanks to experts at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and Michigan State University.They've demonstrated how to design and genetically engineer enzyme surfaces so they bind less to corn stalks and other cellulosic biomass, reducing enzyme costs in biofuels production. Typically, the enzymes tapped to help turn switchgrass, corn stover (corn stalks, leaves and other leftovers) and poplar into biofuels amount to about 20 percent of production costs. Enzymes cost about 50 cents per gallon of ethanol, so recycling or using fewer enzymes would make biofuels more inexpensive.
In the United States, gasoline typically contains up to 10 percent ethanol and corn grain is the primary feedstock of ethanol, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Bio-refineries produce about 15 billion gallons of ethanol a year.The challenge is breaking down cellulose (plant) material, using enzymes, into sugars that can be fermented into ethanol.
Any advances on making the enzyme-processing step cheaper will make the cost of biofuel cheaper. Biomass contains lignin, an organic polymer that binds to and strengthens plant fibers. But lignin inactivates enzymes that bind to it, hampering efforts to reduce enzyme use and costs.The Rutgers and Michigan State University researchers showed how specially designed enzymes (proteins) can limit their binding to and inactivation by lignin. That would ultimately lower enzyme use and make enzyme recycling feasible for bio-refineries in the future. (Ref 14)
MIT ROBOT SWIMS THROUGH PIPES LOOKING FOR LEAKS
An MIT robot - called PipeGuard - resembles a large shuttlecock. Attached to the robot's rubber body is a soft rubber skirt that expands to fill the diameter of a pipe. This then detects variations in pressure caused by a leak, by continually sensing the degree of pull at its edges.This robot can be inserted into the pipe system through any fire hydrant, where the flow of water carries it along its merry way as it logs its position in the pipe and detects small variations in pressure, thanks to its sensitive rubber skirt. Then at the end of its journey, it can be retrieved with a net through another fire hydrant and its data can be retrieved.
An MIT team carried out field tests of PipeGuardin Saudi Arabia earlier this year, using a mile long (1.6 km) piece of two-inch thick (5 cm) rusty pipe. The researchers created an artificial leak for the robot to find as its made its way through bends, T-joints and connections. The team reports that the robot was able to detect the leak successfully, and was able to tell it apart from false alarms resulting from changes in the pipe size, orientation or pressure variations.