Investigatory project ideas : Land Fill gas to energy

Landfills are continuously producing and recovering landfill gas (LFG). Energy recovered from methane generated at a landfill displaces energy that is produced from fossil fuels, among other conventional sources of electricity.

Simplified diagram of Methane mass balance

Here is the detail study document prepared by University of Columbia,

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Five important breakthrough Solar technologies -2011

This was supposed to be a big year for energy-related technology. Here are the five most important breakthrough in solar energy research in a year 2011.

1. A new discovery from a chemist at the University of Texas at Austin may allow photovoltaic solar cells to double their efficiency, thus providing loads more electrical power from regular sunlight.

2. A new prototype solar cell has been designed by researchers at the University of Florida. They claim that it sees new levels of efficiency and could be made using a roll-to-roll process, a spokesman said, "Imagine making solar panels by a process that looks like printing newspaper roll to roll," said Franky So, a UF professor in the department of materials science and engineering.

3. Optical Furnace Could Cut in Half the Energy Required to Make Solar Cells
The new furnace reduce the energy required to make a solar cell and to make the solar cell itself more efficient is to use an optical furnace to heat up the silicon substrate with which the panel is made.

4. The UF team has crossed the critical threshold of 8 percent efficiency in laboratory prototype solar cells, a milestone with implications for future marketability, by using a specially treated zinc oxide polymer blend as the electron charge transporting material.

5. Researchers have reduced the preparation time of quantum dot solar cells to less than an hour by changing the form to a one-coat quantum dot solar paint.


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The Year in Energy - Technology Review

The Year in Energy - Technology Review

Waste plastics into petroleum fuel made in Ethiopia

I recently watched a video showing how one Ethiopian is using ordinay equipments to make petroleum feul out of waste plastics.(in this video. ) Just a month ago the government was planning on banning the import plastic bags for environmental issues. I would like to point out five things that must be done to make it better!

Possible ideas for further study as final project could be;

1. As you might have noticed he is using very basic equipments to make it in a way that wastes heat for temperature ranges of 140-350 degree C. 
2. There is also a possibility of blending it with the conventional diesel even though direct use of it in cars ( as seen on the video) might not be so good environmentally and car safety. 
3.  Efficient cleaning and per-processing of the plastics should be studied to improve the process
4. The biodiesel from waste cooking oil model should be used to upgrade the process so that small scale business opportunities are created
5. Waste heat in process recovery should be considered. He might use it to heat up water that will be used in cleaning or per-processing the raw plastics

The industrial standard production facility is developed in USA that also turns plastic into fuel.  In a similar but alternative application an American student, using pyrolysis, converted the waste plastic into gas that is burned in combustion chamber producing steam that ultimately drives a generator to produces electricity. Click here

Optimizing water use efficiency in water treatment plant

Water-use systems impact nearly all plant operations either directly or indirectly. The need for optimization emanates from high water use demands, water utility cost or strict environmental regulations. 

Industrial water demand may increase for reasons such as strict product specification requiring more washing , new or improved units requiring more water or most commonly failing equipments such as leaking heat exchangers and clogged tubes can lead to more water needs( cooling for eg.).As the demand for water increases the cost of water use increases proportionally. 

Here are some solutions that could be applied;