Archive for the 'Renewable Energy' Category

Biodiesel Fuel

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on August 15, 2008
in Alternative Fuels, Bio-Diesel and Renewable Energy
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Biodiesel has been used as a fuel increasingly over the past years on account of oil crisis and high prices of the conventional fuel. Blends of Biodiesel and conventional hydrocarbon-based diesel are products most commonly distributed for use in the retail diesel fuel marketplace. A labeling convention involving “B” factor is used to state the amount of Biodiesel in any fuel mix.

For instance, fuel containing 30% Biodiesel is labeled B30, while the pure Biodiesel is always referred to as B100. B99 is commonly seen, because 1% petrodiesel is sufficiently toxic to retard mold. Blends of 20 percent Biodiesel with 80 percent petroleum diesel can generally be used in unmodified diesel engines. Biodiesel can also be used in its pure form, but may require certain engine modifications to avoid maintenance and performance problems.

Mixing of pure Biodiesel with petrodiesel may be accomplished by in-line mixing wherein two components arrive at tanker truck simultaneously or by mixing in tanks at manufacturing point prior to delivery to tanker truck.

The Biodiesel has calorific value of about 33 MJ/L which is 9% lower than regular petrodiesel. Moreover the variations in Biodiesel energy density are more dependent on the feedstock used than the production process. It has been claimed Biodiesel gives better lubricity and more complete combustion thus increasing the engine energy output and partially compensating for the higher energy density of petrodiesel.

The color of Biodiesel varies between golden and dark brown, depending on the production feedstock. It is immiscible with water, having a high boiling point and low vapor pressure.

Biodiesel is known to have better lubricating properties than the other currently available low viscosity diesel fuels. Addition of Biodiesel reduces engine wear increasing the life of the fuel injection equipment that relies on the fuel for its lubrication, such as high pressure injection pumps, pump injectors and fuel injectors.

Biodiesel can also be used as a heating fuel in domestic and commercial boilers, sometimes known as bioheat. Older furnaces may contain rubber parts that would be affected by Biodiesel’s solvent properties, but can otherwise burn Biodiesel without any conversion required.

The usage and production of Biodiesel are increasing rapidly. Fueling stations make Biodiesel readily available to consumers across UK, Europe, and increasingly in the USA and Canada. A growing number of transport fleets use it as an additive in their fuel and surprisingly in some countries; Biodiesel is less expensive than conventional diesel.

Approximately 85% of Biodiesel production comes from the European Union as the Global Biodiesel production reached 3.8 million tons in the year 2005.
It is suggested that waste vegetable oil is the best source of oil to produce Biodiesel, but the available supply is drastically less than the amount of petroleum-based fuel that is burned for transportation and home heating in the world.

Biodiesel has been popularly used in running the older models of Mercedes Benz and in due course usage of Biodiesel as a regular replacement to the conventional fossil fuels would most certainly revolutionize the world.

Biodiesel Kit

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on August 15, 2008
in Alternative Fuels, Bio-Diesel and Renewable Energy
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Bio-fuels are the latest alternatives to the conventional fossil fuels. Everyone is aware of the problems associated with the traditional petroleum based fuels and we all know about how expensive it is. Biodiesel is an alternative that can save your money big time and also help in keeping the environment unpolluted.

It’s about time you change the habit of spending all your money on filling gas for your car. Biodiesel can be made by using a Biodiesel kit.

Biodiesel kit is the required equipment for Bio-diesel production so as to use Biodiesel as an alternative source of energy for home consumption. You can use the kit to make your own Biodiesel, by means of an easy, safe and non-harmful process, or buy the full Bio diesel kit as well.

With fuel prices all over the place and your wallet getting emptier with every fill up, no wonder how quickly Biodiesel is getting incredibly famous. Moreover it gives you the capability to make it at home, which just makes the idea even better, no longer leaving you at the mercy of the big oil companies.

Biodiesel kit processor comes in several sizes and scales and therefore has wide price range. Before you think of buying a Biodiesel processor kit, you should check your needs, your required quantity and the frequency of usage.

For making Biodiesel on your own, you would need the Biodiesel kit, water, methanol and vegetable oil. Your can set up your kit anywhere anytime. Mostly people prefer to do it outside in a covered spot like a garage.

There are different choices in a Biodiesel kit. You should look for the one that will suit your needs in the best possible manner. These Biodiesel kits are absolute fun, although one of the main factors is the obnoxious odour it produces. A closed system will give off no odours but will cost more to purchase.

Biodiesel kits are becoming very popular, especially with people who are just using Biodiesel exclusively for all the purposes. People who have large amounts of used vegetable oil at their disposal take deeper interests in purchasing these kits. It takes longer to make Biodiesel using used oil rather than fresh oil. However it can be done either way without affecting the outcome.

The major reason that many people consider for buying a Biodiesel kit is its safety. The built in safety elements in a Bio-diesel kit are very handy. But make no mistakes in understanding that, it is a valid option to build the kit yourself.

Although while doing so, do ensure that you follow the detailed instructions from a reliable resource and avoid any accidents which could result in any disasters.

So try to keep the process of making Biodiesel safe and have fun making it with your hands sitting lavishly at home and it doesn’t really matter whichever way may you opt to do so. Save good bye to all your gas expenses and say hello to the greener world with the highly economic and green Biodiesel!

Fuel Gas

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on August 15, 2008
in Alternative Fuels and Renewable Energy
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Fuel gas is a common term which refers to any of several gases such as methane ethane propane butane and the higher compounds, which are burnt to produce thermal energy.

Methane popularly known as natural gas is the most common fuel gas, while others also include Town gas, Syngas, liquified petroleum gas, Wood gas, Producer gas and Water gas.

In scientific terms, fuel gas is defined as a gaseous substance that burns in air and releases enough heat so as to be used as a fuel, while also remaining sufficiently stable at ordinary temperatures to permit long-term storage without deterioration or any hazards.
These fuel gases are good alternatives for domestic purposes such as cooking, while the other possible alternative options include the use of biogas.

Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal, which is popularly known as ‘Town gas’ referring to the manufactured gaseous fuels produced for sale to consumers and municipalities.

Depending upon the processes used for its creation, coal gas may be a mixture of many combustible gases such as hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane and volatile hydrocarbons, along with small amounts of non-calorific gases like carbon dioxide and nitrogen, as impurities.

Coal gas has been extensively exploited in the 19th and early 20th Centuries for lighting, cooking and heating. Originally this is a by-product of the coking process. As development of fuel gas spread across all horizons, its byproducts, coal tars and ammonia, were considered an important chemical feedstock for the dye and chemical industry.

In past the coal gas plants were commonly referred to as the Manufactured Gas Plants or MGP’s by the environmental professionals.

Coal gas may be any of a variety of gases produced by heating coal in the absence of air and driving off the volatile constituents. But it is not as high in fuel value as other gases and often contains tars, light oils, ammonia, and hydrogen sulfide

It is also known as manufactured gas, hygas, producer gas, and syngas (SNG), in few countries, which is supplied via a piped distribution system to the user.

Natural gas occurs alone and in conjunction with petroleum deposits, which is an excellent fuel gas in wide commercial use.

Liquefied petroleum gas is a manufactured mixture of flammable gases that is easily stored in its liquefied condition. This is processed and filled up inside the gas cylinders which are used by millions around the world as cooking gas.

Oil gas is a type of fuel gas manufactured by applying heat to various petroleum distillates. Its principal use is as a supplement to natural gas during periods of heavy demand.

The fuel gas finds many other applications in the industry too; for instance a whole rainbow of artificial dye colours can be made from coal gas and coal tar.

It is advantageous if a fuel gas is readily transportable through pipes and is easily liquefied. Practically all fuel gases meet the first condition, and some meet the second as well. Hydrogen may also be considered as a fuel gas in the future.

Solar Cells

Published
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on August 13, 2008
in Go Green, Green Living, Green Products, Renewable Energy and Solar Power
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Solar Cells Close UpA solar cell is a device that has the capability to convert solar energy into electrical energy by the phenomenon of photovoltaic effect, and hence is also often known as photovoltaic cell.
However, usually the term solar cell is commonly used in context of devices designed specifically to capture energy from sunlight, while the term photovoltaic cell is used otherwise.
One sun is a measurement equal to the solar power incident at noon on a clear summer day, signifying that in a 1000 sun system; approximately 100 watts per square centimeter are concentrated onto the cell system.
Solar Cells are categorised into three generations indicating their chronological order of prominence. Currently researches into all three generations are going on while the first generation are most highly represented in commercial production, accounting for 89% of turn over last year, second generation technologies are most likely expected to gain market share in the year 2009.
The first generation solar cells comprise of large areas, high quality and single junction devices, involving high energy and labour inputs which prevent any significant progress in reducing production costs. Theoretically having limited efficiency of about 33% they are unlikely to achieve cost parity with fossil fuel energy generation.
The Second generation solar cell materials have been developed to address energy requirements and production costs of solar cells. Although major manufacturers have inclination towards the second generation technologies, but commercialisation of these technologies has proven difficult.
Third generation solar cell technologies aim to enhance poor electrical performance of second generation thin film technologies while maintaining very low production costs. The present research is targeted at achieving conversion efficiencies of 30-60% while retaining low cost materials and manufacturing techniques.
Solar cells find wide varieties of applications. Individual cells may be utilized for powering up small devices such as electronic calculators. Assemblies of cells form solar modules, which may in turn be linked as the photovoltaic arrays.
The photovoltaic arrays usually produce a renewable form of electricity, particularly useful in situations where electrical power from the grid is unavailable such as in remote area power systems, Earth-orbiting satellites and similar applications. Photovoltaic electricity is also increasingly being deployed in grid-tied electrical systems.
Solar Panels Home
The electricity is often fed into the electricity grid using inverters in stand alone systems in order to make practical use of the solar-generated energy. A solar cell must be capable of producing electricity for at least twenty years, without a significant decrease in efficiency. Presently the dye-sensitized solar cell is considered to be the smallest solar cell.
Nano-crystalline solar cell structures make use of some of the same thin-film light absorbing materials but are overlain as an extremely thin absorber on a supporting matrix of conductive polymer or meso-porous metal oxide having a very high surface area to increase internal reflections, representing a brand new architecture for solar cells and potentially high efficiency.

Although the silicon photocells have been utilized at different places, but the technology is limited, nevertheless these powerful solar cells have a great potential.

Solar Cars

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on August 13, 2008
in Green Products, Renewable Energy and Solar Power
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Solar CarA solar car is an electric vehicle that is powered by the solar energy obtained from solar panels on the surface of the vehicle. These solar cars are not the practical transportation devices for daily usage presently, but are primarily demonstration vehicles and engineering exercises, often sponsored by the government agencies.
Inside these solar cars the photovoltaic cells convert the sun’s energy directly into electrical energy. Solar cars use the combination of a variety of technologies typically used in the aerospace, bicycle, alternative energy and automotive industries. The design of a solar vehicle is usually severely limited by the energy input into the car as it has the batteries and receives plenty of power from the sun. Most of the solar cars ever built have been for the purpose of solar car races
Solar cars are often fitted with gauges as in case of the conventional cars. Apart from keeping the car on the road, the driver’s main priority should be to keep an eye on these gauges to spot possible problems. Cars without gauges available for the driver will almost always feature wireless telemetry. Wireless telemetry allows the driver’s team to monitor the car’s energy consumption, solar energy capture and other parameters and free the driver to concentrate on just driving.
The most important part of the solar car’s systems is its electrical system as it controls all of the power that comes into and leaves the system. The battery pack plays the same role in a solar car that a petrol tank plays in a normal car in storing power for future use.
Solar cars use a range of batteries including lead-acid batteries, nickel-metal hydride batteries and the Nickel-Cadmium batteries. Many solar racing cars have complex data acquisition systems that monitor the whole electrical system while even the most basic cars have systems that provide information on battery voltage and current to the driver.
The mechanical systems of a solar car are designed to keep friction and weight to a minimum while maintaining strength. Designers normally use titanium and composites to ensure a good strength-to-weight ratio.Gasoline-car-converted-to-run-on-solar-power
The initial solar cars were actually tricycles or quadricycles built with bicycle technology. Presently the solar cars usually have three wheels, but few have even four. Three wheelers usually have two front wheels and one rear wheel: the front wheels steer and the rear wheel follows. Four wheel vehicles are set up like normal cars or similarly to three wheeled vehicles with the two rear wheels close together.
The two most notable solar car races are the World Solar Challenge and the North American Solar Challenge, overland road rally-style competitions contested by a variety of university and corporate teams.
The popular North American Solar Challenge, previously known as the ‘American Solar Challenge’ features mostly collegiate teams racing in timed intervals in the United States and Canada. The latest North American Solar Challenge took place from June 13th to June 22nd, 2008, from Dallas, Texas to Calgary, Alberta.
A practical application for solar powered vehicles is possibly golf carts, some of which are used relatively little but spend most of their time parked in the sun. Some solar cars have also been employed for free standing or integrated sails to harness wind energy
Many countries across the world are in the quest of building better solar cars and the recent developments include a Swiss project, Solar taxi, seeking to build a road-worthy solar car featuring a trailer carrying a 6 m² sized solar array.

Wind Electricity

Published
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on August 12, 2008
in Energy Saving, Renewable Energy, Wind Electricity and Wind Power
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Wind ElectricityOne of the useful sources of renewable energy is the wind power. The energy of the wind can be harnessed to obtain useful electricity which can serve as alternative to the conventional forms.

The tiny wind-electric systems can provide electricity on remote, off-grid sites, or right in town connected to the utility grid. The wind generator’s rotating blades convert the wind’s kinetic energy into rotational momentum in a shaft. The rotating shaft turns an alternator, which makes electricity. This electricity is transmitted through wiring down the tower to its end use.

So investing up front in good equipment, design, and installation, wind-electric systems, makes economic and environmental sense, despite the fact that these wind systems would require more maintenance and need more attention than solar-electric or micro hydro-electric systems,.

In a wind generator, the blades use engineered airfoils, matched to the alternator, that capture the wind’s energy. Most of the modern wind generators use three blades, the best compromise between the highest efficiency possible (one blade) and the balance that comes with multiple blades. These blades and the hub they are attached together and termed as the rotor collectively, which is the collector of the system, intercepting winds that pass by.

Most turbines on the market today are upwind machines meaning that their blades are on the windward side of the tower. A few downwind machines are also available, but neither of the configurations has a clear performance advantage over the other.

Predominantly in most of the small-scale designs, the rotor is connected directly to the shaft of a permanent magnet alternator, which creates wild, three-phase AC. Wild, three-phase electricity means that the voltage and frequency vary continuously with the wind speed.

The blades must turn to face the wind, so a yaw bearing is needed, allowing the wind turbine to track the winds as they shift direction. The tail directs the rotor into the wind. Some sort of governing system limits the rotor rpm as well as generator output to protect the turbine from high winds. A shutdown mechanism is also useful to stop the machine when necessary, such as during an extreme storm, when you do not need the energy, or when you want to service the system.

These fascinating wind machines bring a great deal of satisfaction as there’s nothing better than watching your wind generator convert a summer breeze or a winter storm into electrical energy.

Although trying to keep an inexpensive wind generator running can be a never ending battle that you are ultimately most likely to loose. But don’t loose heart and expect to pay more for a better machine as it’s a tough job to design and manufacture a long-lasting, small-scale wind generator. Moreover you should always consider buying a turbine that has a very good track record and a good warranty in the small wind industry.

The incredibly powerful wind energy has great potential for future and is surely capable of replacing the conventional form of electricity providing a cost effective solution to the global crisis of shortage of the non-renewable resources worldwide