Aerated showerhead cuts water use by 30 per cent - gizmag Article: "November 17, 2006 With man’s mismanagement of the environment now firmly on the global agenda thanks to the growing evidence of global warming, water conservation is now an issue for everyone. Water, like money, is a very finite resource and if we don’t stop splashing it against the wall, we’re going to have serious long terms problems – all of us – not just the poor nations of the world but the rich nations too. So it was good news this week when we found that Australia’s national research agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), has found a way to use a third less water when you shower, without diminishing the experience in any way. CSIRO scientists have developed a simple ‘air shower’ device which, when retrofitted to existing showerheads, fills the water droplets with a tiny bubble of air. The result is the shower feels just as wet and just as strong as before, but now uses much less water. The device is expected to retail for less than AUD$20 and be installed by householders. CSIRO is now seeking a suitable commercial partner to manufacture and market the technology globally. The CSIRO invention uses venturi technology.
The researchers, from CSIRO Manufacturing Materials Technology in Melbourne, say the device increases the volume of the shower stream while reducing the amount of water used by about 30 per cent. Given the average household uses about 200,000 litres of water a year, and showers account for nearly a third of this, the ‘air shower’ could help the average household save about 15,000-20,000 litres a year. If you extend this across the Australian population, that is an annual saving of more than 45,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Across the world, well, it’s a lot more and it might mean that the severe water restrictions being imposed in Australia’s major cities right now might not come to your town.
The Aerated Showerhead creates the sensation of having a full and steady stream of water even though the water is now more like a wet shell around a bubble of air.
Developed by a team led by Dr Jie Wu, the aeration device is a small nozzle that fits inside a standard showerhead. The nozzle uses a small Venturi tube – a tube for which the diameter varies, creating a difference in pressure and fluid speed. Air is sucked into the Venturi tube as a result of the partial vacuum created, causing air and water to mix, forming tiny bubbles within the water stream.
“The nozzle creates a vacuum that sucks in air and forces it into the water stream,” Dr Wu says.
“We make the water droplets in the stream hollow and the bubbles expand the volume of the shower stream.”
Small-scale experiments using the aeration device found that people detected no difference in water pressure, sensation, or overall perception of showering.
He expects the nozzle would cost less than AUD$20 and could be installed by householders.
While the general concept of using an aerated showerhead to save water is not new, the technology behind the CSIRO’s device is the result of almost two years of research and development, and CSIRO is ready to take the aerated shower head technology to the commercialisation stage.
“We have proven the concept of 30% water saving and we are now in search of a suitable commercial partner to manufacturer and market the technology globally, said Dr Dilip Manuel, the Business Development Manager of CSIRO’s Manufacturing & Materials Technology Section. “The technology still needs to be validated by larger sample of human trials plus developed as a marketable product.”
Interested parties should email Dr Manuel."
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Honda Soltec established to sell Thin Film Solar Cells - gizmag Article
Honda Soltec established to sell Thin Film Solar Cells - gizmag Article: "December 4, 2006 Honda is getting into the solar cell business following an announcement on Friday that it plans to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary, Honda Soltec Co., Ltd., which will produce and sell the next-generation thin film solar cell independently developed by Honda. The new company will lead Honda to make a full-scale entry into the solar cell business.
By using thin film made from a compound of copper, indium, gallium and selenium (CIGS), Honda’s next-generation solar cell achieves a major reduction in the amount of energy consumed during the manufacturing process by approximately 50% compared to that required to produce conventional crystal silicon solar cells. This makes the new solar cell more environmentally-friendly by reducing the amount of CO2 generated even from the production stage.
The next-generation solar cell to be produced and sold by Honda Soltec was developed by Honda Engineering, the production engineering subsidiary of Honda. At the end of September 2006, Honda began construction of a plant to mass produce solar cells within the current site of Honda’s Kumamoto factory, and the new facility will become operational in fall 2007 with an annual capacity of 27.5 megawatts. Prior to the start-up of the new plant, Honda Soltec will begin sales in limited areas in March 2007, of CIGS thin film compound solar cells produced by Honda Engineering. Once mass production begins at the new plant in Kumamoto in fall 2007, Honda Soltec will expand sales throughout Japan.
In addition to its effort to reduce CO2 emissions through development of clean automobile engines, Honda is committed to develop environmentally-friendly and sustainable energy technologies. Honda will contribute to the effort to prevent global warming through production and sales of a clean energy source which does not use fossil fuels.
About Honda Soltec Co., Ltd.
Establishment: December 1, 2006 Headquarters location: 1500 Hirakawa, Ozu-machi, Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto (within the current site of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Kumamoto factory) Sales office location: Wako, Saitama (plan) Capital investment:: 4 billion yen Capitalization ratio: 100% Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Representative: President: Akio Kazusa Employment:: Approximately 150 associates (plan) Business: Production and sale of solar cells
About the New plant
Lot area: 25,000 square meters(m2) Facility size: 11,080 square meters(m2) Investment: Approximately 7 billion yen Start of operation: Fall 2007 (plan) Production capacity: Approximately 27.5 megawatts annually"
By using thin film made from a compound of copper, indium, gallium and selenium (CIGS), Honda’s next-generation solar cell achieves a major reduction in the amount of energy consumed during the manufacturing process by approximately 50% compared to that required to produce conventional crystal silicon solar cells. This makes the new solar cell more environmentally-friendly by reducing the amount of CO2 generated even from the production stage.
The next-generation solar cell to be produced and sold by Honda Soltec was developed by Honda Engineering, the production engineering subsidiary of Honda. At the end of September 2006, Honda began construction of a plant to mass produce solar cells within the current site of Honda’s Kumamoto factory, and the new facility will become operational in fall 2007 with an annual capacity of 27.5 megawatts. Prior to the start-up of the new plant, Honda Soltec will begin sales in limited areas in March 2007, of CIGS thin film compound solar cells produced by Honda Engineering. Once mass production begins at the new plant in Kumamoto in fall 2007, Honda Soltec will expand sales throughout Japan.
In addition to its effort to reduce CO2 emissions through development of clean automobile engines, Honda is committed to develop environmentally-friendly and sustainable energy technologies. Honda will contribute to the effort to prevent global warming through production and sales of a clean energy source which does not use fossil fuels.
About Honda Soltec Co., Ltd.
Establishment: December 1, 2006 Headquarters location: 1500 Hirakawa, Ozu-machi, Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto (within the current site of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Kumamoto factory) Sales office location: Wako, Saitama (plan) Capital investment:: 4 billion yen Capitalization ratio: 100% Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Representative: President: Akio Kazusa Employment:: Approximately 150 associates (plan) Business: Production and sale of solar cells
About the New plant
Lot area: 25,000 square meters(m2) Facility size: 11,080 square meters(m2) Investment: Approximately 7 billion yen Start of operation: Fall 2007 (plan) Production capacity: Approximately 27.5 megawatts annually"
Safe Hydrogen storage at room temperature - gizmag Article
Safe Hydrogen storage at room temperature - gizmag Article: "main problem holding back the technology. Whilst hydrogen is thought to be an ideal fuel for vehicles, producing only water on combustion, its widespread use has been limited by the lack of a safe, efficient system for onboard storage. Scientists have experimented with ways of storing hydrogen by locking the gas into metal lattices, but metal hydrides only work at temperatures above 300°C and metal organic framework materials only work at liquid nitrogen temperatures (-198°C). Now scientists at the University of Bath have invented a material which stores and releases hydrogen at room temperature, at the flick of a switch, and promises to help make hydrogen power a viable clean technology for the future.
Although its fuel to weight ratio is insufficient to make an entire hydrogen tank from it, the material could be used in combination with metal hydride sources to store and release energy instantaneously whilst the main tank reaches sufficient temperature, 300°C, to work.
They hope to have the fully-working prototype ready within two to three years.
“The problem of how to store hydrogen has been a major bottleneck in the development of the hydrogen power technology,” said Dr Andrew Weller from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Bath (UK).
“Hydrogen has a low density and it only condenses into liquid form at -252°C so it is difficult to use conventional storage systems such as high-pressure gas containers which would need steel walls at least three inches thick, making them too heavy and too large for cars.
“The US Department of the Energy has said that it wants six per cent of the weight of hydrogen storage systems to be hydrogen in order to give new hydrogen powered cars the same kind of mileage per tank of fuel as petrol-based systems.
The University of Bath researchers made the discovery whilst investigating the effect that hydrogen has on metals. Having constructed an organo-metallic compound containing six rhodium (a type of metal that is also currently found in catalytic converters in cars) atoms and 12 hydrogen atoms, they began studying the chemical properties of the complex with researchers in Oxford (UK) and Victoria (Canada).
They soon realised that the material would absorb two molecules of hydrogen at room temperature and atmospheric pressure – and would release the molecules when a small electric current was applied to the material.
This kind of take up and release at the atomic scale makes the material an ideal candidate for solving the hydrogen storage problem.
The researchers are now looking at ways of printing the material onto sheets that could be stacked together and encased to form a storage tank.
Potentially this tank could sit alongside a metal hydride tank and would kick into action as soon as the driver put their foot on the accelerator, giving the metal hydride store the time to heat up to 300°C - the temperature that normal petrol-powered engines run at.
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“With the growing concern over climate change and our over-reliance on fossil fuels, hydrogen provides us with a useful alternative,” said Dr Weller.
“We have been able to use hydrogen to power fuel cells, which combine hydrogen and oxygen to form electricity and energy, for a number of years.
“But whenever the fuel is considered for cars we hit the stumbling block of how to store hydrogen gas in everyday applications.
“The new material absorbs the hydrogen into its structure and literally bristles with molecules of the gas. At the flick of a switch it rejects the hydrogen, allowing us to turn the supply of the gas on and off as we wish.
“The fact that we discovered the material by chance is a fantastic advertisement for the benefits of curiosity driven research.
“In principle it should be possible to produce ready amounts of hydrogen using sea water and solar cells, giving the next generation of vehicles an inexhaustible supply of environmentally-friendly fuel.
“In fact other research in Bath’s Department of Chemistry is at the forefront of the solar cell research, new battery technologies and new fuel cell technologies which could help unlock what many people are calling the hydrogen economy.
The research was initially funded by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council.
The researchers are now working on the first stages of the prototype, which involves printing the material onto a glass substrate. A further £500,000 grant to the Department of Chemistry has enabled Weller along with other researchers in the Department to buy two mass spectrometers which allows them to examine the molecular structure of the material.
�"
Although its fuel to weight ratio is insufficient to make an entire hydrogen tank from it, the material could be used in combination with metal hydride sources to store and release energy instantaneously whilst the main tank reaches sufficient temperature, 300°C, to work.
They hope to have the fully-working prototype ready within two to three years.
“The problem of how to store hydrogen has been a major bottleneck in the development of the hydrogen power technology,” said Dr Andrew Weller from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Bath (UK).
“Hydrogen has a low density and it only condenses into liquid form at -252°C so it is difficult to use conventional storage systems such as high-pressure gas containers which would need steel walls at least three inches thick, making them too heavy and too large for cars.
“The US Department of the Energy has said that it wants six per cent of the weight of hydrogen storage systems to be hydrogen in order to give new hydrogen powered cars the same kind of mileage per tank of fuel as petrol-based systems.
The University of Bath researchers made the discovery whilst investigating the effect that hydrogen has on metals. Having constructed an organo-metallic compound containing six rhodium (a type of metal that is also currently found in catalytic converters in cars) atoms and 12 hydrogen atoms, they began studying the chemical properties of the complex with researchers in Oxford (UK) and Victoria (Canada).
They soon realised that the material would absorb two molecules of hydrogen at room temperature and atmospheric pressure – and would release the molecules when a small electric current was applied to the material.
This kind of take up and release at the atomic scale makes the material an ideal candidate for solving the hydrogen storage problem.
The researchers are now looking at ways of printing the material onto sheets that could be stacked together and encased to form a storage tank.
Potentially this tank could sit alongside a metal hydride tank and would kick into action as soon as the driver put their foot on the accelerator, giving the metal hydride store the time to heat up to 300°C - the temperature that normal petrol-powered engines run at.
show_ads('top');
“With the growing concern over climate change and our over-reliance on fossil fuels, hydrogen provides us with a useful alternative,” said Dr Weller.
“We have been able to use hydrogen to power fuel cells, which combine hydrogen and oxygen to form electricity and energy, for a number of years.
“But whenever the fuel is considered for cars we hit the stumbling block of how to store hydrogen gas in everyday applications.
“The new material absorbs the hydrogen into its structure and literally bristles with molecules of the gas. At the flick of a switch it rejects the hydrogen, allowing us to turn the supply of the gas on and off as we wish.
“The fact that we discovered the material by chance is a fantastic advertisement for the benefits of curiosity driven research.
“In principle it should be possible to produce ready amounts of hydrogen using sea water and solar cells, giving the next generation of vehicles an inexhaustible supply of environmentally-friendly fuel.
“In fact other research in Bath’s Department of Chemistry is at the forefront of the solar cell research, new battery technologies and new fuel cell technologies which could help unlock what many people are calling the hydrogen economy.
The research was initially funded by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council.
The researchers are now working on the first stages of the prototype, which involves printing the material onto a glass substrate. A further £500,000 grant to the Department of Chemistry has enabled Weller along with other researchers in the Department to buy two mass spectrometers which allows them to examine the molecular structure of the material.
�"
Google to build largest US Corporate Solar Installation - gizmag Article
Google to build largest US Corporate Solar Installation - gizmag Article: "Google to build largest US Corporate Solar Installation
from ecoGizmo (72 articles)
October 18, 2006 In a move sure to win it some brownie points on the corporate responsibility scale, Google is constructing a solar electricity system which will become the largest solar installation on any corporate campus in the United States. The 1.6 megawatt project will provide enough green energy to supply 1,000 average California homes using rooftop and parking-lot panels. The project will involve 9,212 solar panels provided by Sharp Electronics. A majority will be placed on the rooftops of some of the buildings in the Googleplex (pictured) and others will provide shaded parking as part of newly constructed solar panel support structures on existing Google parking lots. The solar energy will be used to power several of Google's Mountain View office facilities.
EI Solutions, the systems integration arm of Energy Innovations, has the job and will begin constructing the solar electricity system shortly. With a total capacity of 1.6 megawatts –– the Google system will be the largest solar installation on any corporate campus in the United States and one of the largest on any corporate site in the world.
“We are pleased to be working with EI Solutions to undertake this major initiative to bring green energy to the Google campus,” said David Radcliffe, vice president of real estate at Google. “When the project is completed this spring, Google employees, shareholders and the community around us will begin to enjoy the environmental as well as economic benefits of clean, renewable energy generated on-site.”
“It is a distinct pleasure to be involved with a company such as Google, which is committed to investing in alternatives to traditional fuel sources"
from ecoGizmo (72 articles)
October 18, 2006 In a move sure to win it some brownie points on the corporate responsibility scale, Google is constructing a solar electricity system which will become the largest solar installation on any corporate campus in the United States. The 1.6 megawatt project will provide enough green energy to supply 1,000 average California homes using rooftop and parking-lot panels. The project will involve 9,212 solar panels provided by Sharp Electronics. A majority will be placed on the rooftops of some of the buildings in the Googleplex (pictured) and others will provide shaded parking as part of newly constructed solar panel support structures on existing Google parking lots. The solar energy will be used to power several of Google's Mountain View office facilities.
EI Solutions, the systems integration arm of Energy Innovations, has the job and will begin constructing the solar electricity system shortly. With a total capacity of 1.6 megawatts –– the Google system will be the largest solar installation on any corporate campus in the United States and one of the largest on any corporate site in the world.
“We are pleased to be working with EI Solutions to undertake this major initiative to bring green energy to the Google campus,” said David Radcliffe, vice president of real estate at Google. “When the project is completed this spring, Google employees, shareholders and the community around us will begin to enjoy the environmental as well as economic benefits of clean, renewable energy generated on-site.”
“It is a distinct pleasure to be involved with a company such as Google, which is committed to investing in alternatives to traditional fuel sources"
Extracting Water from the Air
from ecoGizmo (72 articles)
Without water, humans cannot live. Since time began, we have lived by the water and vast tracts of waterless land have been abandoned as too difficult to inhabit. A new machine which extracts water from air could change that … One evening 20 years ago, James J Reidy checked on his new dehumidifier and as he poured the contents down the drain, he reflected on how pure it looked. Two decades on, the idea which was spawned from that moment could influence where and how people live on Planet Earth. Reidy’s idea was simple – it is possible to extract drinking water from the air and there is a market for machines which can do it.
Reidy’s technology is now becoming commercially available and the AirWater machines will be sold in many sizes, producing from 20 litres (AUD$1300 inc GST) to 5,000 litres per day (AUD$160,000 inc), with the option to run machines greater than 50 litres a day capacity from solar power. The 5,000 litre machine with solar power costs AUD$250,000 but the only things it requires are sun and air, and they are both free, so running costs amount to maintenance and capital expenses.
Obtaining water from the atmosphere is nothing new - since the beginning of time, nature’s continuous cycle of evaporation and condensation in the form of rain or snow (the Hydrologic Cycle) has been the sole source and means of regenerating wholesome water for all forms of life on earth.
At any given moment, the earth’s atmosphere contains 4,000 cubic miles of water, which is just .000012% of the 344 million cubic miles of water on earth. Nature maintains this ratio via evaporation and condensation, irrespective of the activities of man.
The availability of drinking water is a global problem - there is a global US$15 billion bottled water market, a US$100 billion point-of-use water treatment industry, and wherever practical, expensive desalination plants with huge infrastructures and severe geographical restrictions. All of these methods require traditional sources of water and each has inherent weaknesses and disadvantages.
In spite of the above there exists a pent-up, insatiable, world-wide need for new sources of drinking water. AirWater machines could be the answer as they offer an inexhaustible source of safe sterilized drinking water.
Basically, the AirWater System, regardless of the model size, sterilises each drop of water within 5-6 seconds of its formation by exposure to ultra-violet light. UV light waves fracture the DNA strands within bacteria, virus, and other micro-organisms which kills them instantly.
This sterilised water is then passed through a unique patented 1-micron activated carbon water filter. (The average size of bacteria is 5 microns). This filter removes any possible solid particles, toxic chemicals, volatile organics, and other contaminates as well as any odors, taste, or discoloration. This filtration is followed by a 2nd UV exposure and sterilization.
The same bulb bathes the exit port, also patented, in UV light creating a sterile exit. The AirWater System maintains an enclosed sterile environment throughout its water treatment, from the first drop in to the last drop out -- into a water tank or removable container.
The system is particularly effective in areas often regarded as arid, but where there is actually a lot of moisture in the air. In those climates the machine can charge all day in the sun, and produce water all night when the air is moist. The production of AirWater machines will initially be done in Brazil, Isreal and China with a distinct possibility that Australia could also become one of the manufacturing hubs.
For further information see Airwater.com.au
Brent Lobel brent@airwater.com.au Len MacElvey len@airwater.com.au 0415 585616 07 5529 3666
at: http://www.airwatercorp.com
Without water, humans cannot live. Since time began, we have lived by the water and vast tracts of waterless land have been abandoned as too difficult to inhabit. A new machine which extracts water from air could change that … One evening 20 years ago, James J Reidy checked on his new dehumidifier and as he poured the contents down the drain, he reflected on how pure it looked. Two decades on, the idea which was spawned from that moment could influence where and how people live on Planet Earth. Reidy’s idea was simple – it is possible to extract drinking water from the air and there is a market for machines which can do it.
Reidy’s technology is now becoming commercially available and the AirWater machines will be sold in many sizes, producing from 20 litres (AUD$1300 inc GST) to 5,000 litres per day (AUD$160,000 inc), with the option to run machines greater than 50 litres a day capacity from solar power. The 5,000 litre machine with solar power costs AUD$250,000 but the only things it requires are sun and air, and they are both free, so running costs amount to maintenance and capital expenses.
Obtaining water from the atmosphere is nothing new - since the beginning of time, nature’s continuous cycle of evaporation and condensation in the form of rain or snow (the Hydrologic Cycle) has been the sole source and means of regenerating wholesome water for all forms of life on earth.
At any given moment, the earth’s atmosphere contains 4,000 cubic miles of water, which is just .000012% of the 344 million cubic miles of water on earth. Nature maintains this ratio via evaporation and condensation, irrespective of the activities of man.
The availability of drinking water is a global problem - there is a global US$15 billion bottled water market, a US$100 billion point-of-use water treatment industry, and wherever practical, expensive desalination plants with huge infrastructures and severe geographical restrictions. All of these methods require traditional sources of water and each has inherent weaknesses and disadvantages.
In spite of the above there exists a pent-up, insatiable, world-wide need for new sources of drinking water. AirWater machines could be the answer as they offer an inexhaustible source of safe sterilized drinking water.
Basically, the AirWater System, regardless of the model size, sterilises each drop of water within 5-6 seconds of its formation by exposure to ultra-violet light. UV light waves fracture the DNA strands within bacteria, virus, and other micro-organisms which kills them instantly.
This sterilised water is then passed through a unique patented 1-micron activated carbon water filter. (The average size of bacteria is 5 microns). This filter removes any possible solid particles, toxic chemicals, volatile organics, and other contaminates as well as any odors, taste, or discoloration. This filtration is followed by a 2nd UV exposure and sterilization.
The same bulb bathes the exit port, also patented, in UV light creating a sterile exit. The AirWater System maintains an enclosed sterile environment throughout its water treatment, from the first drop in to the last drop out -- into a water tank or removable container.
The system is particularly effective in areas often regarded as arid, but where there is actually a lot of moisture in the air. In those climates the machine can charge all day in the sun, and produce water all night when the air is moist. The production of AirWater machines will initially be done in Brazil, Isreal and China with a distinct possibility that Australia could also become one of the manufacturing hubs.
For further information see Airwater.com.au
Brent Lobel brent@airwater.com.au Len MacElvey len@airwater.com.au 0415 585616 07 5529 3666
at: http://www.airwatercorp.com
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