Bio-fuels and Skimming the Problem
Biofuels are a promising solution to the problem of dwindling oil reserves. Biofuels are made from biological waste which can potentially replace crude oil for the production of gasoline or other limited resources for energy production. Biofuels are created by reducing complex biological chains to the simpler ones that make gasoline, and other fuels. This could potentially knock off our dependency on oil, and reduce a ton of societal problems that our dependence on that resource forces. However, we are neglecting the fact that gasolines, or anything that follows a combustion reaction will emit, carbon dioxides into the air. The video never addressed this problem and that worried me, especially considering the effects these gases have had on climate change throughout the years.
Hydrogen Energy
Hydrogen Energy is an option for clean and sustainable energy for cars, homes, and businesses; the one problem is like most things, the price tag. Hydrogen Energy is rooted in the use and the science behind hydrogen fuel cells. Hydrogen fuel cells work by taking in hydrogen gas and propelling it through an anode that has a catalyst that will knock off the electrons from the hydrogen atom making it a hydrogen ion. The free electrons are now forced to move through the route of least resistance, the wire since they are blocked by a membrane separating the anode and a cathode that is selectively permeable to only ions. The electron movement through the wire creates a current and thus provides energy to an outside object. Once the electrons have crossed over they meet again with the hydrogen ions and oxygen coming in from the cathode to form one of the waste products of this energy source water.
This form of energy is indeed an interesting one, in that it creates no harmful waste products and requires little to start, however, the issue of needing an outside source of energy to form pure hydrogen to start and continually make the pure hydrogen poses the biggest problem. An improvement or experiment that I’d like to see tested is creating a system or device that utilizes a clean energy like solar/wind/water to propel the process of electrolysis. Also, on a smaller scale, I know that these hydrogen fuel cell systems usually separate the wastewater and the water used for electrolysis; however, I think it would be interesting to see a closed system that somehow uses some of the energy harnessed by the hydrogen to facilitate electrolysis and create a chain system where the waste water becomes the same fuel source water. This would only require an outside starting energy source to start the cycle and would take away the need for hydrogen fueling stations and capsules.
In a process of conversion, cow manure, cellulose, algae etc is converted into usable forms of energy like methane and liquid fuels. By adding heat and chemicals to the biomass, a fuel is produced that can be burned to be used. There is a complex mechanism for the conversion to occur, however. An example would be with biomass’ including such as wood, can be burned directly to produce heat. Solid biomass, such as wood
and garbage, can be burned directly to produce heat. Biomass can also be converted into a gas called biogasor into liquid biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. These fuels can then be burned for energy.Biogas forms when paper, food scraps, and yard waste decompose in landfills, and it can be produced by processing sewage and animal manure in special vessels called digesters. Ethanol is made from crops such as corn and sugar cane that are fermented to produce fuel ethanol for use in vehicles. Biodiesel is produced from vegetable oils and animal fats and can be used in vehicles and as heating oil.
The future of biomass energy continues to be hotly debated even as new towers are being built throughout the world. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, fewer amounts of pollutants, toxic mercury, carbon dioxide, and acid rain are expelled than one would find with coal, but this energy source has not, as yet, been embraced by consumers. Due to unawareness and economic issues( costlier harvesting machinery, transportation cost), farmers fail to provide biomass to the existing fossil fuel fired power plant. Though only a few crops like sugarcane have been widely used in co-generation units. Biomass Gasification is a promising solution to handle agriculture waste. It’s been used for centuries. During world war II when gulf countries banned exporting crude oil this technology got momentum. But after the war efficient petroleum left those cars operated on the product of biomass-gasification in the pit.
Biomass to energy
The topic that I explored was biomass, and how it can be utilized to create fuel for our transportation vehicles. Due to the ever increasing waste created from industries and through the modern lifestyle matched with the ever growing demand for fuel, the accumulation of energy from biomass is very beneficial. For biomass, using direct combustion of biomass material, such as agricultural waste and woody biomass such as wood chips to electricity is generated. This video encompasses the different types of biomass that is actually converted or has the potential to be converted to forms that can be easily used. For example, algae can be separated into oil that acts as a biofuel in the same manner that gasoline does. Although biomass conversion to fuels is highly necessary to ensure a “greener” future, increased efficiency and speed is needed to produce the fuels and electricity on a large scale. However, there is hope that a few decades into the future, the remnants from sawmill will be able to light up our homes.
Hydrogen as a Source of Energy
With the advent of solar energy here and more people switching their roofs from plain shingles to solar panels, it seems we’ve found a clean energy source to settle on for good. However, our efforts in optimizing our energy usage and making it as clean and efficient as possible might not yet be fulfilled. A new technique of energy conversion will take advantage of the fact that electrolysis can be used to separate the oxygen and hydrogen ions in water, which in turn releases energy and water as a byproduct. Theoretically, a house could be transformed into an electrolytic power station if part of the solar energy was devoted to electrolysis in power cells filled with water that are dispersed all around the house. Both these energy sources working in tandem could potentially optimize the process of energy production in a home.
Solar Power
Solar power is a method of taking the natural light that comes from the sun and converting it into a useable source of electricity. We currently do this through the use of solar panels and solar farms, which harness the sun’s energy and use it as a form of electrical power. However, there is a natural process of solar energy-use already in existence: photosynthesis. Plants use photosynthesis in order to turn the sun’s energy into energy that can be used for their own benefit and sustainability. By mimicking the “solar cells” that exist in plants which are responsible for the photosynthesis process, we can create portable forms of solar energy and permanently change the way that it is used. Just as it is possible to gain access to solar-powered electricity from your home, it can also be possible to do so while doing something such as taking a walk or riding a bike. The greater solar panels that are used for buildings can also benefit from this, as they can also be changed to mimic “solar cells”, thus maximizing solar power efficiency overall.
Solar Energy
The topic of my video revolves around solar power and our ongoing developing usage of it in today’s society. The Sun, which provides a great deal amount of energy through light, is being optimized bigger and better ways of harnessing its energy are being devised as time goes on. Light is spread out from the sun throughout the Earth, so one goal is to collect all this energy and concentrate it for our own use. The video dives into the physics of converting heat energy that the sun provides into electricity through the use of mirrors and solar panels/cells. Taking notes from plants, research has also been focusing on flexible solar cells that move along with people. Currently, most solar cells are made from layers of silicon that have been sandwiched together, but research has been aiming to make thinner and more optimal forms of solar cells. In regards to the future of solar energy, it is a possibility that the world will run on solar power, but as with all kinds of science, we still need to find the most efficient way to make use of such a rampant form of energy. As mentioned, the main issue is knowing how to harness all this light into a concentrated form in contrast with other energy sources such as fossil fuels, which are not sustainable in the slightest. But I do believe with the future comes better developments and innovations, and that we will come to greatly depend on solar energy.
Solar Panels
Solar panels are one of the more recent discoveries have made in order to cut down on the usage of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels pose major damage to the environment and they provide finite energy, unlike solar panels which provide a renewable and sustainable source of energy. Solar panels work by harvesting photons of light directly from the sun. When these photons hit the solar panel, they are absorbed and interact with molecules. During this absorption process, photons share their energy with molecules and create an exeton. This eventually breaks apart into a negative and positive part, with the negatively charged electrons leaving the solar panel and working as energy. Researchers are concerned with finding a way for energy to not be wasted in solar panels. A possible experiment would be trying to keep negatively charged and positively charged parts from canceling one another out.
Wind Power
As stated in my title, the video I researched about was Wind Power. We often take wind for granted, some people even complaining about how the wind messes up their outfit and hair. However, we fail to realize that wind is a fantastic renewable energy. What piqued my interest was the idea of turbines in the form of kites. This was a new to me as I’ve never realized that such turbines existed; people are mostly aware of the typical white turbines with three blades in a middle of a plain. I also never realized turbines produced power with a magnet spinning within structures. Improvements with wind power can be seen by establishing a more efficient way to spread out the energy when there is little to no wind. Also, turbines can be engineered to create more power per spin.
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