hydricity

Solarkraftwerk Waldpolenz, the first Solar 40-MW CdTe PV Array installed by JUWI Group in Brandis, Germany. Credit: JUWI Group

Researchers are proposing a new "hydricity" concept aimed at creating a sustainable economy by not only generating electricity with solar energy but also producing and storing hydrogen from superheated water for round-the-clock power production.

"The proposed hydricity concept represents a potential breakthrough solution for continuous and efficient power generation," said Rakesh Agrawal, Purdue University's Winthrop E. Stone Distinguished Professor in the School of Chemical Engineering, who worked with chemical engineering doctoral student Emre Gençer and other researchers. "The concept provides an exciting opportunity to envision and create a sustainable economy to meet all the human needs including food, chemicals, transportation, heating and electricity."

Hydrogen can be combined with carbon from agricultural biomass to produce fuel, fertilizer and other products.

"If you can borrow carbon from sustainably available biomass you can produce anything: electricity, chemicals, heating, food and fuel," Agrawal said.

Findings are detailed in a research paper appearing this week (Dec. 14) in the online early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Hydricity uses solar concentrators to focus sunlight, producing high temperatures and superheating water to operate a series of electricity-generating steam turbines and reactors for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen would be stored for use overnight to superheat water and run the steam turbines, or it could be used for other applications, producing zero greenhouse-gas emissions.

"Traditionally electricity production and hydrogen production have been studied in isolation, and what we have done is synergistically integrate these processes while also improving them," Agrawal said.

The PNAS paper was authored by Gençer; former chemical engineering graduate student Dharik S. Mallapragada; François Maréchal, a professor and chemical process engineer from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland; Mohit Tawarmalani, a professor and Allison and Nancy Schleicher Chair of Management at Purdue's Krannert School of Management; and Agrawal.

In superheating, water is heated well beyond its boiling point – in this case from 1,000 to 1,300 degrees Celsius - producing high-temperature steam to run turbines and also to operate solar reactors to split the water into hydrogen and oxygen.

"In the round-the-clock process we produce hydrogen and electricity during daylight, store hydrogen and oxygen, and then when solar energy is not available we use hydrogen to produce electricity using a turbine-based hydrogen-power cycle," Tawarmalani said. "Because we could operate around the clock, the steam turbines run continuously and shutdowns and restarts are not required. Furthermore, our combined process is more efficient than the standalone process that produces electricity and the one that produces and stores hydrogen."

The system has been simulated using models, but there has been no experimental component to the research.

"The overall sun-to-electricity efficiency of the hydricity process, averaged over a 24-hour cycle, is shown to approach 35 percent, which is nearly the efficiency attained by using the best photovoltaic cells along with batteries," Gençer said. "In comparison, our proposed process stores energy thermo-chemically more efficiently than conventional energy-storage systems, the coproduced hydrogen has alternate uses in the transportation-chemical-petrochemical industries, and unlike batteries, the stored energy does not discharge over time and the storage medium does not degrade with repeated uses."

Agrawal said, "The concept combines processes already developed by other researchers while also improving on these existing processes. The daytime and night-time systems would use much of the same equipment, allowing them to segue seamlessly, representing an advantage over other battery-based solar technologies."

DC Motor Speed and direction control over GSM Mobile/Modem

This is a DC Motor Control Device which controls the stepper motor through messages received as SMS or GPRS Packets and also sends acknowledgment of task. These devices are designed to remotely control the DC Motor from anywhere and anytime. This remote control DC motor control device is possible through embedded systems. The toolkit receives the SMS, validates the sending Mobile Identification Number (MIN) and performs the desired operation after necessary code conversion. The system is made efficient by SIMs so that the SMS can be received by number of devices boards in a locality using techniques of time division multiple access. With this in mind, we have designed the project to work with sim300 technology.

The speed of the motor is measured using contact-less speed measurement technique. Speed control is done using PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) method. User can send SMS messages to control the motor speed and direction. A GSM modem attached to the control unit handles automatic SMS sending and receiving process. As this monitoring and controlling can be done by any mobile phone, we provided a security feature by implementing password-based protection. User has to send the password along with the commands to be controlled.

The purpose of this project is to control the speed and direction of DC Motor using Microcontroller and GSM Modem with password protection. This uses a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) technique to control the speed of motor from 0% to 100%.

The SMS can be sent to any mobile user of any service provider with no or minimum charge. This system is designed using a GSM modem. The GSM modem is configured as a receiver. The SMS sent by the user is written in a particular format. The controller receives the message and decodes it and identifies the task to be done and the SMS received by the controller is decoded, and the proper message is displayed on the LCD by the microcontroller.

GSM Modem connected to microcontroller unit is used to control the motor and know the motor live speed. Microcontroller automatically reads the SMS messages stored in the SIM card and takes necessary action like speed control, direction control etc. There will be a particular code that needs to be sent through SMS to set the speed and get the speed from the DC motor.

Components

• GSM Module – SIM 300

                                                                       

This GSM Modem can accept any GSM network operator SIM card and act just like a mobile phone with its own unique phone number. Advantage of using this modem will be that you can use its RS232 port to communicate and develop embedded applications. Applications like SMS Control, data transfer, remote control and logging can be developed easily.The modem can either be connected to PC serial port directly or to any microcontroller. It can be used to send and receive SMS or make/receive voice calls. It can also be used in GPRS mode to connect to internet and do many applications for data logging and control. In GPRS mode you can also connect to any remote FTP server and upload files for data logging.

This GSM modem is a highly flexible plug and play quad band GSM modem for direct and easy integration to RS232 applications. Supports features like Voice, SMS, Data/Fax, GPRS and integrated TCP/IP stack.

• PIC 16F887

The PIC16F887 is one of the latest products from Microchip. It features all the components which modern microcontrollers normally have. For its low price, wide range of application, high quality and easy availability, it is an ideal solution in applications such as: the control of different processes in industry, machine control devices, measurement of different values etc. Some of the features are as follows:-

                                                             

·        RISC Architecture

·        Oscillator Support 0-20 MHz

·        In Circuit Serial Programming Option (ICSP)

·        Watch-Dog Timer

·        Brown-out Reset (BOR) with software control option

·        Power saving sleep mode

·        Enhanced UART Module

·        256 bytes EEPROM

·        PWM output steering control

• Motor Driver IC – L293D

The L293 and L293D are quadruple high-current half-H drivers. The L293 is designed to provide bidirectional drive currents of up to 1 A at voltages from 4.5 V to 36 V. The L293D is designed to provide bidirectional drive currents of up to 600-mA at voltages from 4.5 V to 36 V. Both devices are designed to drive inductive loads such as relays, solenoids, dc and bipolar stepping motors, as well as other high-current/high-voltage loads in positive-supply applications. All inputs are TTL compatible. Each output is a complete totem-pole drive circuit, with a Darlington transistor sink and a pseudo-Darlington source. Drivers are enabled in pairs, with drivers 1 and 2 enabled by 1,2EN and drivers 3 and 4 enabled by 3,4EN. 

                                                               

When an enable input is high, the associated drivers are enabled and their outputs are active and in phase with their inputs. When the enable input is low, those drivers are disabled and their outputs are off and in the high-impedance state. With the proper data inputs, each pair of drivers forms a full-H (or bridge) reversible drive suitable for solenoid or motor applications.

Block Diagram

                                                                   

Circuit Diagram

                                                                  

GSM technology capable solution has proved to be controlled remotely, provide industrial security has achieved the target to control different industrial appliances remotely using the SMS-based system satisfying user needs and requirements GSM technology capable solution has proved to be controlled remotely, provide industrial security and is cost effective as compared to the previously existing systems.

Clean Solar Power to Replace Fossil Fuel

s

India has recently stepped it up in terms of the government’s support of renewable energy through its efforts in moving from coal powered railways to clean solar panels for electricity and fuel consumption.

The Indian Railways is one of the largest railway systems in the world,  requires massive energy expenditures – specifically 17.5 kWh of electricity per year, and over 90,000 liters of diesel.

Fuel bills are actually the 2nd largest expense of the Indian Railways. With rising prices of fuel imports, the Indian government has began focusing on other forms of energy to power the coaches, specifically solar energy.

Recently, the first solar powered coach was tested, which is a non-airconditioned coach with solar panels installed on its rooftop. The Rewari-Sitapur passenger train was able to generate 17 kWh for an entire day, which was enough to cover only the lighting load of the coach.

Two other coaches have been fitted with solar panels, but are yet to begin their testing stage. These said coaches belong to 2 narrow-gauge trains for the Pathankot-Jogindernagar route in the Kangra Valley and the Kalka-Shimla section.

This massive project and potential move to clean energy is touted to solve two major problems faced by the IR today: rising energy prices and the threats to environment caused by the massive use of fossil fuels. Ideally, the trains will still be powered by traditional diesel-run engines, but the lighting of the passenger coaches will utilize solar energy.

According to a Northern Railway official, there is a total of 40 square meter of space on a typical coach rooftop. The said coach was fitted with 12 solar panels over 24 square meters, but the remaining 16 square meters can still accommodate 6 more panels for more energy production.

Officials say that India has a huge potential for solar power, and that the installation of solar panels are not limited to the train’s rooftops, but can also include those of the railway’s buildings to provide renewable energy for its infrastructure.

The typical cost for fitting panels on one coach is Rs 3.90 lakh, and its return on investment per year is Rs 1.24 lakh. The potential savings of millions of dollars can also include that of foreign exchange reserves in terms of diesel imports. Aside from solar power’s obvious economic benefits for the IR, the use of clean solar power also reduces their emission of carbon dioxide by over 200 tonnes in a year.

Currently, the Indian government is planning to create a solar policy that would lead the way to the production of 1000 megawatts of solar power in the next 5 years. The main aim of the said policy states that by the year 2020, the IR’s renewable energy production will be able to provide at least 10% of the entire enterprise’s energy consumption need.

Today, the project is aimed at a few rooftops lighting up a few non-airconditioned coaches. Future testing is still needed to understand the economics of the proposal before it is implemented on a larger scale. So far, results have been promising and further positive data might just lead the Indian Railways to utilize the use of clean solar energy for all of its coaches.

Wireless energy transmission

Wireless energy generation in space is one step closer to becoming a feasible delivery source of power following a new experiment that transmitted electricity through microwaves.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) conducted the research, which sent 1.8 kilowatts of electricity 170 feet through the air, in the form of microwave radiation. The beam was transmitted with a great degree of accuracy, showing the technique may be used on a larger scale.

Solar energy might, one day, be collected by massive solar panels in space, and the energy generated from the systems could be sent to Earth in the form of microwaves. Such networks for generating electricity in space would have some advantages over ground-based systems. Solar collectors in space would not be subject to the cycles of day or night, or cloudy conditions.

"This was the first time anyone has managed to send a high output of nearly 2 kilowatts of electric power via microwaves to a small target, using a delicate directivity control device," a Jaxa spokesman said.

Engineers at Jaxa have spent years researching new technologies to deliver energy from space-based solar collectors down to our home planet. Solar cells commonly power satellites, space probes, and the International Space Station. However, delivering that power to Earth in an economical manner is still a challenge facing developers.

Current plans to develop an orbiting energy generation system involve sending satellites into geostationary orbits more than 22,000 miles above the Earth. The satellites would require large solar panels. Challenges facing engineers include launching these massive solar collectors that high above the Earth, and maintaining them once they are in space. Because of these issues, Jaxa engineers believe that a full network to generate electricity in space will not be available until sometime in the 2040's.

Japan is dependent on imports for near all of its energy needs, feeding a desire to develop their own systems. The nation had utilized nuclear reactors to generate electricity, but those plants shut down in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries recently announced its researchers have successfully transmitted around 10 kilowatts of electricity to a receiver located more than 1,600 feet.

The idea of producing energy in space and sending it to Earth for use has been studied by American researchers for more than 50 years.

Additional uses for the transmitters could include charging electric cars, or sending electricity to remote regions in the wake of natural and man made disasters. Future development of the current system could produce a device capable of transmitting and receiving energy from ocean platforms, far from the nearest coast.

(Organic Photovoltaics)OPV Cell

This is a model of a generator being developed by the Georgia Institute of Technology that looks to take advantage of natural air movements in hot areas. When the sun’s heat hits the ground, a layer of hot air forms at ground level. If that ground-level air is hotter than the air above, it can create upwardly moving whirlwind. In nature, this columnar vortex phenomenon creates “dust devils,” or spinning whirlwinds that lift dirt off the ground. In the device, hot air rises through the turbine, generating electricity.

Features of OPV cell
The most unique aspect of the OPV cell devise is the transparent conductive electrode. This allows the light to react with the active materials inside and create the electricity. Now graphene/polymer sheets are used to create thick arrays of flexible OPV cells and they are used to convert solar radiation into electricity providing cheap solar power.
New OPV design:
Now a research team under the guidance of Chongwu Zhou, Professor of Electrical Engineering, USC Viterbi School of Engineering has put forward the theory that the graphene – in its form as atom-thick carbon atom sheets and then attached to very flexible polymer sheets with thermo-plastic layer protection will be incorporated into the OPV cells. By chemical vapour deposition, quality graphene can now be produced in sufficient quantities also.
Differences between silicon cells and graphene OPV cells:
The traditional silicon solar cells are more efficient as 14 watts of power will be generated from 1000 watts of sunlight where as only 1.3 watts of power can be generated from a graphene OPV cell. But these OPV cells more than compensate by having more advantages like physical flexibility and costing less.
More economical in the long run:
According to a team member, it may be one day possible to run printing presses with these economically priced OPVs covering extensive areas very much like printing newspapers. In Gomez’ words – “They could be hung as curtains in homes or even made into fabric and be worn as power generating clothing…. imagine people powering their cellular phone or music/video device while jogging in the sun.”
Advantages of OPVs:

The flexibility of OPVs gives these cells additional advantage by being operational after repeated bending unlike the Indium-Tin-Oxide cells. Low cost, conductivity, stability, electrode/organic film compatibility, and easy availability along with flexibility give graphene OPV cell a decidedly added advantage over other solar cells.

This is a model of a generator being developed by the Georgia Institute of Technology that looks to take advantage of natural air movements in hot areas. When the sun’s heat hits the ground, a layer of hot air forms at ground level. If that ground-level air is hotter than the air above, it can create upwardly moving whirlwind. In nature, this columnar vortex phenomenon creates “dust devils,” or spinning whirlwinds that lift dirt off the ground. In the device, hot air rises through the turbine, generating electricity.

TOP 10 POWER GENERATING STATION IN THE WORLD

 

 

1.