Nanowerk December 12, 2019 Researchers at the Argonne National Laboratory created cell-like hollow capsule structures through the spontaneous self-assembly of hybrid gold-silver nanorods held together by weak interactions. By wrapping these capsules’ walls with a light-sensitive membrane protein called bacteriorhodopsin, the researchers were able to unidirectionally channel protons from the interior of the artificial cells to the external environment. The key to the research came from coupling the group of artificial cells that were generating protons to a second, distinct group of artificial cells. These cells contain molecular motor machinery that uses the proton gradient to generate ATP which is […]
Category Archives: Energy
Using mountains for long-term energy storage
Science Daily November 11, 2019 To close the gap between existing short- and long-term storage technologies an international team of researchers (Austria, Denmark, Italy) proposes Mountain Gravity Energy Storage (MGES) and hydropower which moves sand or gravel from a lower storage site to an upper elevation. The higher the height difference the greater the amount of stored energy as this technology is constrained to the topography of the location. MGES cost varies from 50 to 100 $/MWh of stored energy and 1–2 M$/MW of installed capacity. It could be a feasible option for micro-grids, for example, small islands and isolated areas, […]
System provides cooling with no electricity
MIT News October 30, 2019 An international team of researchers (USA – MIT, Chile) has developed polyethylene aerogel (PEA)—a solar-reflecting (92.2% solar weighted reflectance at 6 mm thick), infrared-transparent (79.9% transmittance between 8 and 13 μm at 6 mm thick), and low-thermal-conductivity (kPEA = 28 mW/mK) material that can be integrated with existing emitters to address these challenges. Using an experimental setup that includes the custom-fabricated PEA, they demonstrated a daytime ambient temperature cooling power of 96 W/m2 and passive cooling up to 13°C below ambient temperature around solar noon. This work could greatly improve the performance of existing passive […]
Nano bulb lights novel path
Eurekalert September 19, 2019 Researchers at Rice University made an incandescent light source by breaking down a one-element system into two or more subunits. They put sub-elements together in such a fashion that they interact with each other. The idea is to rely upon collective behavior, not just a single element. Breaking the filament into many pieces provides more degrees of freedom to design the functionality. The resonator’s output can be controlled by damping the lossy resonator or by controlling the level of coupling through a third element between the resonators. The ability to tune the oscillator phase provides new […]
Liquid Air Could Store Renewable Energy and Reduce Emissions
IEEE Spectrum September 18, 2019 Refrigerated food warehouses and factories consume immense amounts of energy. A team of researchers and companies in Europe working under the CryoHub project sponsored by EU are now developing a cryogenic energy storage system that could reduce carbon emissions from the food sector while providing a convenient way to store wind and solar power. The system will use extra wind and solar electricity to freeze air to cryogenic temperatures, where it becomes liquid, and in the process shrinks by 700 times in volume. The liquid air is stored in insulated low-pressure tanks similar to the […]
Device generates light from the cold night sky
EurekAlert September 12, 2019 A team of researchers in the US (UCLA, Stanford University) built a thermoelectric generator that sidesteps the limitations of solar power by taking advantage of radiative cooling, in which a sky-facing surface passes its heat to the atmosphere as thermal radiation, losing some heat to space and reaching a cooler temperature than the surrounding air harnessing temperature differences to generate electricity. The device consists of a polystyrene enclosure covered in aluminized mylar to minimize thermal radiation and protected by an infrared-transparent wind cover. In tests the device generated 25 milliwatts of energy per square meter in […]
Chip converts waste heat into electricity
Nanowerk July 10, 2019 It is estimated that as much as two-thirds of energy consumed in the U.S. each year is wasted as heat. Researchers at the University of Utah have demonstrated that they can go well beyond the theoretical “blackbody limit”. They produced a 5mm-by-5mm chip of two silicon wafers with a nanoscopic gap between them. While the chip was in a vacuum, they heated one surface and cooled another surface, which created a heat flux that can generate electricity. The technology could be used to not only cool down portable devices like laptops and smartphones but also to […]
Assessing battery performance: Compared to what?
Eurekalert May 9, 2019 Industrial engineers and researchers from governmental and academic labs often devise their own procedures for characterizing lithium-ion batteries based on the battery technology’s intended application. According to an international team of researchers (UK, USA – University of Hawaii, Argonne National Laboratory) the appropriateness of a test depends on what the investigator is studying. Their comprehensive review analyses and discusses the various international standards and regulations characterisation and electrical testing of lithium-ion cells, specifically for high-power automotive and grid applications. They produced an easy-to-use table comparing eight test methods, including the main equipment needed, the information generated, and […]
Flexible, transparent monolayer graphene device for power generation and storage
Nanowerk May 8, 2019 Researchers in North Korea adapted a single-layer graphene (SLG) as an electrode for the supercapacitor, touch sensor, and a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), thus making an electronic system that is ultrathin, lightweight, transparent, and flexible. Capacitive-type transparent and flexible electronic devices can be simultaneously used as an electrochemical double-layer capacitance-based supercapacitor and as a sensitive, fast-responding touch sensor in a single-device architecture by inserting a separator of polyvinyl alcohol–lithium chloride-soaked polyacrylonitrile electrospun mat on polyethylene naphthalate between two symmetric SLG film electrodes. They successfully demonstrated the device…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Wave device could deliver clean energy to thousands of homes
Science Daily February 12, 2019 An international team of researchers (Italy, UK) developed a device, known as a Dielectric Elastomer Generator (DEG), using flexible rubber membranes. It is designed to fit on top of a vertical tube which, when placed in the sea, partially fills with water that rises and falls with wave motion. As waves pass the tube, the water inside pushes trapped air above to inflate and deflate the generator on top of the device. As the membrane inflates, a voltage is generated. This increases as the membrane deflates, and electricity is produced. In a commercial device, this […]