COVID 19 Lockdown: The Death Knell Of Coal?

Given that the percentage of coal in the British energy mix fell to zero percent during the two month lockdown, does the COVID 19 pandemic spell the death knell for coal fired power plants?

By: Ringo Bones

As of April 10, 2020, the share of coal in Britain’s electrical mix fell to 0-percent according to data from Drax, an electrical power generation company, after the island’s coal fired power plants were shut down in response to lower demand for electricity. It was once thought that people staying at home and using more electricity would mean an overall demand across the country, but it didn’t turn out that way. It seems that commercial and industrial customers use electricity magnitudes more that folks staying at home plugged in on the internet.And Britain is now off coal for two months and counting. 

Power generating companies say that the cost of setting up wind turbines and solar are now at a tipping point that they are now making a better fiscal sense than good old coal. In Australia, an aging coal fired power plant was demolished – Hazelwood Power Station in Victoria - because wind and solar are now more cost effective. And private investments going into coal fired power plants are only growing in Mainland China and India. Could the COVID 19 lockdown be the best thing that ever happened to our environment?

Sulfur Hexafluoride: Clean Power Generation’s Dirty Little Secret?

Often used in science shows to lower the pitch of the human voice, is sulfur hexafluoride the clean power industry’s “dirty little secret” because it is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide?

By: Ringo Bones

Ever seen those science shows on TV – now mostly on You Tube – where the presenter uses a gas called sulfur hexafluoride to lower the pitch of their voices like the opposite of what helium does? Well, unfortunately, sulfur hexafluoride unbeknown to many of us, is a very dangerous greenhouse gas – as in it possesses 23,500 times the atmospheric warming power of carbon dioxide and could exacerbate the effects of global warming. Atmospheric scientists had found out that concentrations of sulfur hexafluoride in our atmosphere had been increasing during the past five years. But given it is a very potent greenhouse gas, why is sulfur hexafluoride relatively widely available that science show presenters can casually use it in a demonstration to lower the pitch of their voices?

Due to the recent rush to wean our reliance on fossil fuels in industrial electrical power generation – namely wind turbines, sulfur hexafluoride is a necessity when it comes as fire suppressant in large-scale electrical distribution systems – i.e. high capacity circuit breakers and relays. Given that the alternatives are more damaging to the ozone layer – like the chlorofluorocarbon based Halon –or prohibitively expensive when use in the scale we currently use – i.e. the inert gas argon, it seems that the electrical power industry must now find ways to minimize the leaking of large amounts of sulfur hexafluoride into the atmosphere. Worst still, like most petrochemical derived plastics, sulfur hexafluoride doesn’t break down easily in nature.

Given that the electrical power industry now has notice on the potential problems posed by unnecessary leaking into the atmosphere of sulfur hexafluoride, the due diligence doesn’t solely fall on them. Back in the 1990s, sulfur hexafluoride was used to fill the cushioning bubbles of running shoes and who knows what other consumer products, making a renewed regulation of sulfur hexafluoride throughout the various industries somewhat of an uphill battle. Maybe science show presenters must now find other more earth-friendly alternative gas to be used in demonstrations to lower the pitch of their voices. Maybe the argon gas production industry could pitch in?

Converting Gasoline Powered Classic Cars Into Electric Cars: The “Greenest” Move Ever?

It reduces carbon dioxide generation and minimizes the environmental impact of end-of-life disposal, does converting your classic car to an electric car the “greenest” upgrade you can make ever?

By: Ringo Bones

Back when Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth was still doing its run in the movie theaters, critics of the so-called electric car were very busy stating the fact that even though they don’t emit carbon dioxide during their commute, they do have the same carbon footprint as a gasoline or diesel powered car during their initial production. But what about converting a much-loved gasoline or petrol powered classic car to one that runs on electricity? Would it be the most environmentally move one can make ever? I mean it avoids the eventual disposal of a classic car to some scrap heap and also turns it into a driving machine that produces virtually zero carbon dioxide during its commute.

Matthew Quitter of London Electric Cars recently got press attention after one of the classic cars that he successfully converted to run on rechargeable batteries - a 1953 Morris Minor Series 2 – was admired not only for its beauty, but also of its true-blue “green credentials”. In his Vauxhall based company, Matthew Quitter had managed to convert various quintessentially British classic car models to run on rechargeable batteries, from classic Minis to Land Rovers.  

On average, it takes 3-months of shop work to convert the average petrol-powered car to one that runs on rechargeable batteries. And even the modifications made by Quitter’s London Electric Cars can easily reverted back to petrol I bet nobody would ever go back given the advantages one gains in the conversion. Zero carbon dioxide emissions aside, a classic car converted to run on rechargeable batteries and dedicated electric motor produces on average three times as much torque than its original petrol-powered engine version. And when it comes to running costs, such modified cars are currently exempt from London’s congestion tax, making them the ideal city car. Given such benefits, I wonder if Quitter’s London Electric Cars already has clients who want their Lancia Stratos, Alfa Romeo Carabo and other classic supercars converted to run on rechargeable batteries.

World’s Longest Electric Car Trip: Coming of Age For The Electric Car?

With an adventurous Dutchman’s 60,000-mile journey recent completion in Sydney, Australia, has the coming of age for the electric car finally arrived?

By: Ringo Bones

Dutchman Wiebe Wakker’s amazing feat of traveling 60,000 miles (95,000-kilometers) via electric car reminds me of those automotive pioneers during the early part of the 20^th Century who drove early production models of the Model T and similar early gasoline powered vehicles in trips that stretched thousands of miles to prove that the automobile is a reliable form of transportation. With the advent of climate change and “peak oil”, Wiebe Wakker doing his part in a bid to prove the viability of electric vehicles in tackling climate change, his name will undoubtedly be now associated with the early automobile pioneers.

The tree-year trip was done on a modified Volkswagen Golf that Wakker nicknamed “The Blue Bandit” across 33 countries in what he said was the longest-ever journey by electric car. But Wakker’s three-year electric car “odyssey” is also, so-far, the longest documented electric car trip. The three-year trip from the Netherlands to Australia was funded by public donations from around the world, including the electricity needed to charge the Blue Bandit as well as food and a place to sleep. Wakker drove across a variety of countries and climatic conditions that included Turkey, Iran, India, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia with the route determined by the prior offers he received on his website before the trip began.

Wiebe Wakker’s choice to opt for a modified Volkswagen Golf makes a lot of engineering sense because even in its original gasoline-powered form, the VW Golf is known for its excellent power-to-weight ratio and in its unmodified form was often known to beat 1970s and 1980s era Corvette supercars in a quarter-mile drag race when driven by a driver of sufficient drag-racing skills. According to Wakker, if the VW Golf remained unmodified, it would have consumed 6,785 liters or 1,800 US gallons of gasoline to complete the epic three-year journey.

Wakker’s modified VW Golf can travel 200 kilometers on a single charge, with Wakker saying that he spent just 300 US dollars on electricity, much of it in the remote desert Outback of Australia. Wakker’s raison d’être of his epic trip was to change people’s opinions and inspire people to start driving electric by showing the advantages of sustainable mobility. Wakker also said that “if one man can drive to the other side of the world in an electric car, then EVs (electric vehicles) should definitely be viable for daily use.”

The Tesla 100 Megawatt Lithium Ion Battery: The Future of Carbon Neutral Power Generation?

Completed in less than 100 days, does Elon Musk’s 100-megawatt Tesla Lithium ion battery the future of dispatchable renewable energy power generation?

By:  Ringo Bones

The Tesla 100-megawatt lithium ion battery located in Jamestown, South Australia is the world’s largest so far – m9ore than 3 times larger than the previous record holder in Mira Loma, California. Constructed in partnership with the French renewable energy firm Neoen, the Tesla 100-megaawatt capacity Lithium ion battery stores the energy generated from the neighboring Hornsdale Wind Farm which is owned by French renewable energy company Neoen.

Tesla’s Elon Musk promised to build the 100-megawatt Lithium Ion Battery within 100 days of the contracts being signed at the end of September 2017 or the company would hand it over to the South Australia state government for free. Completed way ahead of schedule, it went online at the end of November 2017 running at 70-megawatt capacity.  Given that the state of South Australia has been plagued by power cuts in recent years, South Australia Premier Jay Weatherill says “South Australia is now leading the world in dispatchable renewable energy, delivered to homes and businesses 24/7.”

With the relatively high initial cost and the initial carbon footprint in its manufacture the only glaring disadvantages, large-scale lithium ion battery energy storage systems seems to be the way forward in current carbon neutral energy generation as a solution to where to store the unused energy generated by a typical wind farm. With its all-electric truck being rolled off a month before, it looks like Elon Musk’s Tesla has established itself as the leading player in the global clean energy production and transport.

Coal and Crude Oil On the Way Out?

Given the revelations at the annual UN’s COP22 meeting in Marrakech, are coal and crude oil on the way out to be replaced by renewable energy sources?

By: Ringo Bones 

Maybe the American president-elect Donald J. Trump should pay close attention to the “revelations” of this year’s COP22 climate conference held in Marrakech which shows that renewable are increasingly getting more economically viable and coal is on the way out because more and more developing countries are rejecting its use due to the harm it can do to the environment offsets any profit gained. Maybe president-elect Trump should offer America’s coal industry alternative jobs instead. 

International Energy Agency representatives and industry analysts during this year’s COP22 Conference in Marrakech have shown figures that, if current trends continue, in the subsequent decades, renewable could become more economically viable than coal and crude oil due to China and scores of African states choosing to adopt renewable energy infrastructures for power generation. The only fossil fuel that could remain economically viable in the subsequent decades is natural gas – that is if the environmental downsides of fracking are solved. 

Ever since China has adopted renewable energy sources big time since 2005 and the country’s increased impetus to adopt renewable energy sources in the wake of the air pollution threatening to spoil the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the current economies of scale has driven coal and crude oil less economically viable in comparison to large-scale wind turbine and solar power installations. Look like environmentalists around the world could get the most of what they want and, sadly, America’s coal industry could die an ignominious death from an environmentalists’ perspective.

Coal Seam Gas: Not Environmentally Friendly?

Despite its scientifically proven low-carbon credentials, is coal seam gas extraction far from environmentally friendly due to its tendency to cause groundwater contamination? 

By: Ringo Bones 

The energy firm Santos in New South Wales, Australia was picketed back in January 28, 2016 by local farmers due to its coal seam gas extraction schemes contaminating the local farmland’s groundwater source, but the energy firm’s “environmental impact” was already a concern almost two years ago. Back in March 24, 2014, leaks of water containing high levels of radioactive uranium from coal seam gas wastewater pond operated by energy firm Santos in New South Wales put the spotlight yet again on an industry already wracked by controversy. Most concerns over coal seam gas have to date focused on “fracking” – fracturing deep rock strata to get gas in coal seams – but as the incident shows, waste produced by coal seam gas wells and brought to the surface is another major environmental issue. 

According to the New South Wales Environmental Protection Authority, the March 2014 incident resulted in the contamination of the groundwater aquifer downstream of the leak that tested 20 times the acceptable levels of uranium for drinking water. This is concerning given the long timescales and effort involved in groundwater clean-up and the fact that the region affected is an area of recharge for the Great Artesian Basin. 

The type of wastewater that resulted in groundwater contamination in this incident – called “produced” or “co-produced” water – is generated in large quantities by all coal seam gas wells and it is usually of poor quality, containing potentially harmful levels of salts, radionuclides, metals and other contaminants. It appears that in this case such water was inappropriately stored in a leaky dam, allowing it to infiltrate and migrate into the underlying aquifer. 

The only viable way to rectify this is to use reverse osmosis to remove the contaminants and release the treated water into local streams but the method can be potentially cost prohibitive in some situations. Some contaminants – such as boron – are harder to remove and are retained in the treated coal seam gas extraction produced water. In some cases, methane can also remain in the water after it leaves the treatment plant, adding concerns of “fugitive emissions” given that methane is 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas.  And this methane in the water has resulted in scores of sensational videos uploaded to You Tube where homeowners’ tap water catching fire after a lit match is brought close to a turned on faucet highlighting the environmental concerns of fracking. 

Are Diesel Engines More Efficient Than Gasoline Engines?

With the recent Volkswagen emissions measurement scandal, are diesel engines really more efficient than gasoline engines? 

By: Ringo Bones 

Ever since German engineer Rudolf Diesel patented his diesel engine, the industrial world was quick to embrace it with open arms given that your typical diesel engine burn about 25-percent less fuel in comparison to a gasoline engine of similar horsepower rating, not to mention that diesel fuel, as a byproduct of crude oil refinement, is around 4 to 5 times cheaper than gasoline when a barrel of crude oil produces 19 gallons of gasoline and 12 gallons of diesel fuel when it is refined. And given this “ energy utilization efficiency”, diesel engines by their very nature only produce a quarter of the carbon dioxide produced in a typical gasoline engine – which is now of paramount importance in our increasingly climate change conscious world. But sadly, diesel engines are inherently way dirtier than gasoline engines when it comes to oxides of nitrogen and particulate emissions. 

The row over whether diesel engines – as in diesel fueled cars and trucks – are really more environmentally friendly than their gasoline engine counterparts recently came to light in the form of the recent Volkswagen emissions measurement scandal where the famed German automaker was caught by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency back in September 21, 2015 when Emissions Analytics, an internal combustion engine / automotive emissions testing lab recently uncovered that the latest models of diesel fueled Volkswagen cars sold in the United States employ a “cheating software” on its electronic engine management system that automatically reduces the engine’s power output and thus the resulting emissions output when it detect that the car is mounted on a tachometer – a device used to statically test the power output and combustion byproducts of cars under test. The Volkswagen “cheating software” allowed their late-model diesel cars to produce up to 40 times less oxides of nitrogen and particulates in a lab testing setting when compared to being actually driven on the road. 

Whether the “cheating” is deliberate or not, from a scientific viewpoint, diesel engines still produce less carbon dioxide – a potent greenhouse gas and the primary cause of the ongoing climate change – than their gasoline counterparts, but the oxides of nitrogen and particulates produced by diesel engines also have a deleterious effect on our environment and of human health. The oxides of nitrogen produced by diesel engines can promote the formation of smog and increases the acidity of rain and can also do nasty things to our lungs due to its corrosive nature. Particulates that are the byproduct of diesel combustion can increase anyone with a compromised immune system to catch pneumonia. Diesel engines may be more fuel efficient and produce less carbon dioxide than gasoline engines, but clean they are not.  

Stanford University’s Advanced Aluminum Battery: The Future of Rechargeable Batteries?

With several competing “futuristic” ultrafast-charging rechargeable batteries, is Stanford University’s Advanced Aluminum Battery poised to be the future of rechargeable batteries?

By: Ringo Bones

Technology experts recently quipped that if the advances made in rechargeable battery technology during the past 60 years mirrored that of semiconductors, we would have today rechargeable batteries that could power a mobile phone for a million years on a single charge. Sadly, such technology is still beyond the reach of the current major consumer electronic manufacturers, but recently, prototypes of ultrafast-charging rechargeable batteries that with a minutes worth of charging could either power a mobile phone for a day or drive an electric car for 300 miles are now a prototypical reality.

Lithium ion batteries have been a boon for the modern world in that they’ve replaced the heavier single-use alkaline type batteries in everything from wristwatches to the power supplies of flight control systems in late-model jumbo jets. Unfortunately, these rechargeable cells are already struggling to keep up with our ever increasing energy needs. But a new type of aluminum-ion battery recently developed by graduate students and their professor at Stanford University is not only less prone to bursting into flames than current lithium-ion types but can also be built at a fraction of the price and recharges completely in just over a minute. Best of all, “our new battery won’t catch fire, even if you drill through it” says Stanford University chemistry professor Hongjie Dai.

According to its developers, the Stanford University’s Advanced Aluminum Battery uses a graphite cathode, an aluminum anode and an ionic liquid electrolyte inside a polymer-coated pouch. “The electrolyte is basically a salt that is liquid at room temperature, so it’s very safe” said Stanford University graduate student Ming Gong, co-author of the study recently published in the science journal Nature.

Unlike earlier rechargeable aluminum-ion battery prototypes which generally fails after only about 100 recharge cycles, Stanford’s prototype Advanced Aluminum Battery are composed of aluminum-ion cells that can cycle more than 7,500 times without any capacity loss – that’s 7.5 times longer than your average lithium-ion rechargeable battery in current production. Sadly, Stanford University’s aluminum-ion cell isn’t perfect, yet, as it can produce only about 2 volts per cell – far less than the 3.6 volts per cell that current lithium-ion cells can muster. Plus aluminum-ion cells, at the moment, can only carry 40-watts of electricity per kilogram compared to lithium-ion’s 100 to 206 watts per kilogram power density.

“Improving the cathode material could eventually increase the voltage output and energy density” says Dai. “Otherwise, our battery has everything else you’d dream that a battery should have: inexpensive electrodes, good safety, high-speed charging, flexibility and long cycle life. I see this as a new battery in its early days, It’s quite interesting.”

Unlike other competing prototypes, Stanford University’s Advanced Aluminum Battery that has the ability to be charged for 1 minute and yet could store enough charge to power a mobile phone for 24 hours was entirely made possible by a group of graduate students and their professor without a single cent of corporate backing whatsoever. Despite of this feat, Tesla electric car company founder Elon Musk is currently skeptical of the Stanford University’s Advanced Aluminum Battery on whether it will ever be as good – or become even better than – as those ultrafast-charging lithium ion types in current development. Hmm, if only Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk would put his money where his mouth is…

StoreDot’s Fast Charging FlashBatteries: The Future Of Rechargeable Batteries?

With the ability to recharge in 60 seconds to power a mobile phone or allow an electric vehicle to travel 300 miles with a 5 minute charge is StorDot’s FlashBattery represent the future of rechargeable battery technology?

By: Ringo Bones

During the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show – CES – in Las Vegas, Nevada, an Israeli firm called StoreDot demonstrated a newfangled battery technology that can power a mobile phone with just a 60-second charge and a bigger version that could drive an electric vehicle for 300 miles (480 kilometers) on a 5 minute charge. With such capability, StoreDot’s FlashBattery technology could represent the future of rechargeable battery technology where battery recharging of electric cars and other electric vehicles could be as fast as the time it takes to fill up with gasoline in your local gasoline filling station. According to StoreDot, their newfangled FlashBattery represents an evolutionary step forward of the current ubiquitous lithium ion batteries. 

Lithium ion batteries have been traditionally used for powering most portable devices and electric vehicles. While exhibiting relatively slow charging and discharging capabilities, over time, these chemical processes reduce the lithium battery’s ability to retain energy. Yet StoreDot has succeeded in isolating and maximizing the charge transfer rate and has enhanced it to heighten the superior characteristics of the FlashBattery.  

Lithium ion batteries contain inorganic compounds in the battery’s cathode, typically comprising metal oxides or polyanions which are continuously recharged by the insertion of lithium ions. This process limits ionic conductivity, thereby reducing the power density and shortening the battery’s life expectancy. Moreover, the electrolyte used in lithium ion batteries is highly volatile and flammable, posing a severe risk to consumers, critical especially in electric cars.

StoreDot’s groundbreaking solution for their FlashBattery design is a hybrid architecture using a unique hybrid multifunction electrode (MFE), StoreDot’s FlashBattery combine two types of energy storage solutions, incorporating the high-power rapid-charging capability of current super capacitor technology with the high energy storage ability and low self-discharge rate of current lithium ion batteries.

This optimized charging ability is achieved through an innovative electrode structure containing proprietary organic polymers with legacy lithium metal oxide components on the cathode end that trigger reduction-oxidation chemical reactions. This solution causes ions to flow from a modified anode to a modified cathode at a speed that could not be attained through existing lithium ion battery technologies. Together with a proprietary separator and electrolyte, this new architecture delivers a high current and low internal resistance with enhanced energy density and a prolonged battery life. 

While some battery manufacturers were able to improve only one of the following properties – either an increase in capacity, fast charging or extended battery life – StoreDot’s novel technology has optimized all three simultaneously, in addition to enhancing its safety. StoreDot’s organic compounds and newfangled proprietary battery architecture provide 4 times more charge / discharge cycles compared to any existing rechargeable battery, increasing the number of cycles from 500 to 2,000. Using compounds that are less likely to metalize during these cycles, StoreDot’s FlashBattery eliminates the risk of an internal electrical short almost entirely, which significantly prolongs battery life expectancy.

Specially designed for high current charging, StoreDot’s FlashBattery contains, in addition to lithium, non-flammable organic compounds encased in multi-layer safety-protection structure that prevents over voltage and heating and is therefore considerably safer than traditional lithium ion batteries. Containing their proprietary electrolyte which is an ecologically-friendly material, the FlashBattery meshes polymers and metal oxide together, resulting in an increased electrode stability and SEI performance at high temperatures.

Comprising carefully engineered organic molecules with high chemical stability, FlashBattery compounds can be tuned to match a variety of applications. The FlashBattery demonstrates rapid reduction-oxidation activity optimized compounds that increase the absorption of lithium ions and their counter-ions. In contrast to other batteries that contain toxic polluting heavy metals like cadmium, lead or mercury, StoreDot’s materials leave a minimal environmental footprint. And from a manufacturing engineer’s standpoint, StoreDot’s organic and polymer electrode’s raw materials are readily available thus reducing the overall cost of the battery.   

Anode-Less Rechargeable Batteries: The Future of Rechargeable Batteries?

Even though it is an integral part of a rechargeable batteries construction for proper operation, could eliminating the anode improve current rechargeable batteries performance by leaps and bounds?

By: Ringo Bones 

Though not quite anode-less yet but a rechargeable battery manufacturing company called Solid Energy Systems is currently developing a nearly anode-less lithium ion rechargeable battery and has recently exhibited a working prototype during the 2015 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Given the already widespread acceptance of the lithium ion rechargeable battery in mobile phone and hybrid / electric vehicle applications, Solid Energy System’s concept takes the strengths of the current technology much further by reducing the space taken up by the anode since it takes up most of the space in current lithium ion rechargeable battery configuration. 

Solid Energy System’s nearly anode-less rechargeable battery concept could last twice as long as current lithium ion rechargeable batteries, while offering a 1,200 watt-hour per liter energy density. Designed with an ultra-thin metal anode, this configuration improves the cell-level energy density by 50-percent over current designs using graphite anodes and 30-percent improvement over silicon-composite anodes. Once marketed and used on current mobile devices, it could make them operate twice as long between recharging times. 

According to Solid Energy Systems, the “secret” in boosting energy storage lies in swapping the conventional electrode material – graphite – for a thin sheet of lithium metal foil, which can store more lithium ions. Other battery manufacturers have been trying to use lithium-metal electrodes in rechargeable lithium ion batteries for decades with only a limited success. Solid Energy seems to have solved a couple of key problems which have caused such batteries to either stop working after a few charges or burst into flames. Current carbon anode cell energy density is at 600 watt-hour per liter while silicon anode cells offer energy densities of around 800 watt-hour per liter, while Solid Energy Systems’ near anode-less cell offer energy densities of around 1,200 watt-hour per liter. 

Solid Energy Systems’ solution to make nearly anode-less rechargeable batteries to be as reliable as current lithium ion rechargeable cells without dying only a few recharge cycles or suddenly bursting to flames is via the use of both solid electrolyte and a liquid one. The solid electrolyte is applied to the lithium-metal foil, the ions don’t have to travel through this thin material, so it doesn’t matter that they are moving relatively slowly.

Solid Energy Systems’ prototype nearly anode-less battery can be recharged 300 times while retaining 80 percent of its original storage capacity – closer to what you would need in portable electronics. It also works at room temperatures whereas competing lithium-metal battery prototypes operate at temperatures too hot to be practical. As of late, most other companies investing in Solid Energy Systems’ newfangled batteries to become an economically viable commercial product are electric car / hybrid car companies with plans to use the newfangled rechargeable battery design in their electric cars.