RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ALTERNATIVE FUELS

The cost of power generation is increasing and depletion of non-renewable sources is of great concern. We must continue efforts to improve technologies of renewable power to reduce the cost of infrastructure and delivery.

Cielotech Online

There is absolutely no doubt the entire world is dependent upon the generation and transmission of electricity.  Those countries without electrical power are considered third world countries with no immediate hope of improving lives and living conditions and yet there just may be alternatives to generally held methods for generating electricity.

If we look at the definition for renewable energy, we see the following:

Renewable energy is derived from natural processes that are replenished constantly. In its various forms, it derives directly from the sun, or from heat generated deep within the earth. Included in the definition is electricity and heat generated from solar, wind, ocean, hydropower, biomass, geothermal resources, and biofuels and hydrogen derived from renewable resources.

POWER GENERATION:

We are all familiar with current methodologies for power generation.  These are 1.) Hydroelectric, 2.) Nuclear, 3.) Coal-Powered, 4.) Oil-Fired, and 5.) Generation using Natural gas.  The graphic below…

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From Hand to Land – Thoughts from the Landfill

Each trash heap represents the contents of one municipal trash truck. A compaction tractor then drives over the mounds, again and again, gradually flattening them. Finally, the flattened mounds are covered with a layer of dirt. Neither cement, nor plastic liners are used to protect the surrounding ground and water table, at this particular landfill.

I decided to take a short drive to the local landfill, this morning; with the intention of exploring my town’s waste management strategy.  I’d like to develop my understanding of what landfilled waste disposal actually looks like.  I want to create and maintain a visual reference point, of the ultimate destination for trash; so that I can truly comprehend the scope of what I/We are up against, in the War Against Waste. (#waragainstwaste)

When I think about trash, and what its’ life cycle looks like, (yes, believe it or not, trash has a life cycle), I imagine something like one of those connect the dots pictures, popular with children.

It is not that I desire to oversimplify the issue, because the topic of waste production and management is one of great complexity, and seemingly endless tendrils of cause and effect.

However, what we really need to do, if we want…

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AIESEC India – Lucknow’s Waste Management Crisis

Equally important to a top down approach required by the government to put the correct municipal infrastructure in place, is a bottom up approach from the people of India. Having spoken to different generations of people from Lucknow, a range of attitudes was made apparent.

Global Interactions

During my time at the University of Sheffield I became involved with AIESEC, a global student run organisation facilitating youth leadership through international internships. My interest in environmental issues arising from human impact took me half way round the world to Lucknow – a city in the north west of India where fellow AIESEC members were involved in a project called Conserve. The project was tackling a huge range of environmental issues affecting the city, however our given role (along with members from many other countries) was to provide a fresh outlook – to focus on the most pressing environmental issue and develop a strategy to best tackle it.

One of the most tangible and obvious problems suggesting itself to us in Lucknow was the issue of waste management – a problem not just unique to Lucknow, but affecting India as a whole. It was clear from walking down any…

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Do you purchase bottled water? Buy a water bottle instead

What is a good alternative to bottled water? Buying reusable water bottles made of either glass, metal or even plastic. The plastic for reusable water bottles is different than the one time use bottled water because it is durable (lasts longer), dishwasher safe, and in many cases it is BPA free. Reusable water bottles are also a one-time payment, whereas bottled water has a price for every bottle purchased.

What are the differences between Biofuel, Bioethanol, Biodiesel, and Biogas?

Large-scale commercial biogas projects are proving viable globally. Nordic countries such as Norway and Finland are on board with 1/3 of Oslo city buses powered by biogas from sewage.

The Sustainability Co-Op

By Lauren DeMates.

Put simply, biofuel is energy made from living matter, usually plants. Bioethanol, biodiesel, and biogas are types of biofuels. Biofuels are considered renewable energies, emit less than fossil fuels, and have received increasing attention in the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Bioethanol (aka ethanol) is the most well know biofuel and is an alcohol produced from corn, sorghum, potatoes, wheat, sugar cane, even cornstalks and vegetable waste. It is commonly blended with gasoline. However, plants grown specifically for any type of biofuel are not ideal due to the energy required, environmental impacts, and emissions associated with harvest and transport; not to mention the subsequent increase in global food prices. However, bioethanol production in the U.S. (mostly corn) has been increasing since the 1990s. Almost all gasoline currently sold in the U.S. is 10% ethanol due to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which dictates the amount of renewable fuel that refiners…

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Food Waste Wasted in Landfills

By the time your food waste gets to the landfill, it’s already begun to decompose as the microbes all around us begin to eat away at it. This process releases carbon dioxide and methane, both greenhouse gases. Inside the landfill, the process continues and the gas eventually escapes from the landfill.

FUELward Thinking

In the United States, most of the food waste we produce is sent to landfills. This is more than just the uneaten food you scrape off your plate at home, or the spoiling produce you forgot about in the fridge. Huge amounts of food are thrown away at restaurants, grocery stores, and institutions every day. Why do we still do this? Why is it O.K. to entomb this stuff in the ground together with all the other things we throw away that don’t readily degrade, many of which we know will not degrade for thousands of years? Food waste is readily degraded, but when it happens in a landfill mixed with all this other stuff, it causes some problems.

By the time your food waste gets to the landfill, it’s already begun to decompose as the microbes all around us begin to eat away at it. This process releases carbon…

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Inside a Biogas Digester

Strathclyde Energy for Development

Hot, some may say steamy: the inside of a biogas digester is not a comfortable place to stay.  Even worse I would suppose when actually in operation.  Luckily I got a chance yesterday to see the inside during construction and speak with the team who have been contracted to build the digester at the Tithandizane Orphan Care Centre near Mchinji, Malawi.  We were out viewing one of the MREAP Strategic Projects with Mzuni university who are delivering 10+ biogas plants nearby Mchinji.

These biogas digester work, in short, through the decay of dung in a controlled environment, i.e. in a three cubic-metre tank buried in the ground. If managed properly produces methane.  The dung comes from a minimum of 5 cows.  A constant cycle of feeding is required with a 1:1 ratio of dung to water.  Once a sufficient initial feed stock (several tons of dung!) is built up the…

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From Waste to Riches

garbagology

At the confluence of greed and excess lie waste – lots and lots of waste. Over 3.5 million tonnes of garbage are produced every day, the majority of which comes from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) members. That’s enough garbage to fill more football stadiums and Olympic size swimming pools than anyone should ever care to calculate, and this number is only expected to grow. ‘Business as usual’ projections show that by the year 2100 “solid-waste generation rates will exceed 11 million tonnes per day — more than three times today’s rate” – and this isn’t estimated to be peak garbage. The growth in garbage production will be driven by population growth, economic development and urbanization which are commonly linked with increased consumption and energy use.

Trash is essentially a by-product of affluence; the wealthy OECD countries on average produce 2.2 kg/capita/day whereas a region like South…

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Global garbage crisis looming, say experts

Landfills such as Bordo Poniente in Mexico City, Mexico, Laogang in Shanghai, China, and Jardim Gramacho in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, each receives more than 10,000 tonnes of waste per day.

Landfill waste, to burn or bury?

The next time you throw a dead battery or your old DVD player into the dumpster, think about how it will end up in a landfill somewhere. To burn or bury our waste should not be the real question. The question should be: to recycle or to compost?

Eco Business and Clean Energy. Biomass or no Biomass.

India is blessed with huge amounts of surplus of agricultural residues and livestock waste. As per the Government of India’s data for 2002-04, the annual availability of surplus crop residue biomass stood at around 145026.6 kilo tonnes per year. Much of this residue is criminally allowed to burn in open fields.

ToungTwisted

 

Biomass has always been the source of energy for man. Wood has been the source of energy and the fuel that powered many activities meant to nourish us, provide us heat and light as well as power and run our industries even today[1]. However, as The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) noted in 2010, 70% of the population in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) still depends on biomass for cooking and heating purposes. This disaggregated utilization of biomass poses three major problems.

• Huge amounts of energy go to waste due to this inefficient utilization, a result of technical inadequacy and difficulty to adopt
• Another major concern are the associated health problems, as reported from nearly all the developing countries. Smoke from cooking fuels accounts for nearly 2 million deaths annually, more than the deaths from malaria or tuberculosis[2].
• Black carbon, which results from…

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Two sleepy little european towns have set an example for the entire world to follow

Lower energy costs and a minimized environmental footprint aren’t the only benefits for Feldheim’s residents; The unemployment rate in Feldheim is zero, with local residents employed at the biogas factory, or in the wind and solar plants.

thebarefootedblogger

Germany has taken the bold step of putting in place measures that will dramatically increasing its use of renewable energy resources in the coming decades. The world’s fourth largest economy is committed to generating a third of its energy from renewable sources within the next decade, and 80% of its power by 2050. The success of Germany’s energy strategy is vital for the success of renewable energy adoption in the future; Other powerhouse economies such as Japan and the United States are watching intently to see if renewable energy can not only meet the energy requirements for a powerhouse western economy, but be financially feasible and provide an adequate return on investment.

Feldheim is a rural town located approximately 60 kilometres from Berlin in northeastern Germany. What makes this town so remarkable is its decision to invest in its own electricity grid that delivers all its energy requirements from renewable…

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