inserted on 1 August 2008
Now we have the mess! I announced it. It was promoted as safe nuclear waste storage aces never sure! All knew it! But have remained silent. Now, the radioactive liquor runs into Ground water! No one knows exactly what they've thrown everything in there. Each gives a different fault!
your criminal nuclear lobbyists and political rogue belongs in prison! No, you should be locked up lying scoundrel in the aces! There you can then count the ailing barrels.
Were you not then environment minister, Chancellor Merkel oxygen?
November 1996
A word to the technical progress
I am not a Luddite.
But in science and technology, must be exercised even reason.
example, when the first giant Airbus A-380 with 600-800 Passengers flying in 2005. He must have down again. Some will also rudely come down! Some maybe not at all, but end up in American skyscrapers!
Or if a state in construction Cargolifter, a sort of Zeppelin, 300t loses its charge, it has once again no one wanted. (That's my opinion anyway, not at all physically possible, what those are only for engineers, since the count?)
And they come down! You may take my word for it.
Added on 18 January 2005
Now it's done!
Airbus presents A380 Riesenjet
Toulouse (dpa) - With a multimedia show of the European aircraft maker Airbus in Toulouse has presented its new flagship A380. More than 5,000 guests attended the spectacle. It should arouse loud Airbus' emotions and pride "on the first aircraft for 555 passengers.
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder took Germany as one of the four Airbus countries, the ten-billion-euro project had encouraged A380 with 3.2 billion euros in loans. The French President Jacques Chirac and the Government of Spain and Great Britain attended the ceremony.
The A380 is designed to help manage the expected rush for intercontinental traffic in the coming decades and the Airbus Dominance in commercial aircraft back. The first airliner to enter service in 2006. With 149 orders, Airbus has reached its mid-2005 interim target of 150 sales already fast. Airbus chief Noel Forgeard expected soon a first order from China and reaching the break-even point of 250 orders in three years. This full-bodied announcements can be heard at grand openings and over again. Again and again, it turned out, however, that nothing can be met and everything is much more expensive! Guess who has to bear the extra cost then! Well, yes!
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inserted on 19 October 2006
I guessed it!
Airbus can not meet the delivery commitments for the giant A380 aircraft by 2010 and must absorb a charge of at least five billion euros. In addition, the break even point is reached much later than previously expected: instead of 250 aircraft, EADS must now sell 420 A 380, the development cost of twelve billion € recoup. So far, however, only around 160 orders. Moreover, the decline of the dollar puts pressure on revenues. Enders and EADS co-CEO Louis Gallois, currently attending the Airbus sites in order to discuss the recovery plan "Power 8". The plan provides for massive intervention in the Airbus production structure before, which also works sales and layoffs could result. As an immediate measure, Airbus had already denounced on Monday the 1000 temporary workers contracts. The Labour is once again the fool! Sorry folks! But these big mouths all previously known! Their share packages have sold quickly because they know the price falls quickly to the bottom. Again and again the old principle: "After us the deluge!"
Here, too, stand in the tax payer again. But our leaders shrug their shoulders peeved!
This includes the highly acclaimed Transrapid. Granted, a good technique. But only for use where long distances must be bridged. For our residential density in any case, economic, and in our short-haul traffic also only marginally faster.
Similarly one would have to rethink long in the power supply. You know it too! But as long as we are dependent on the power plant multinationals, profit is in the foreground! We must bridge the vast distances with the expensive transmission lines. Now we globalize these morons even with grids in the East to come to Bilig nuclear power, we credited the nuclear power plants. Because we are still dependent on copper as a conductor, and keep the cross-sections in tolerable must go the course only at very high voltages (up to 400 000 volts). Of the human, animal and plant malicious force fields in line near I still talk at all.
Added on 25 November 2005 shows
Now the despicable supply policy of multinationals against us consumers.
thousands of people without electricity in Münsterland
have Schee After the chaos of the weekend in Münsterland people still have to get the fourth night in a row without electricity. The heavy snowfalls of the badly affected city Ochtropwird provisionally treated with emergency generators. It must also make our organizations. The outer regions with the farms are the worst affected.
in Münsterland had temporarily sat several hundred thousand people in the dark because had held after the winter break on Friday not in much of the region's power poles to the high burden of ice and snow.
This decades old scrap book could hold not at all! As will be saved, but is earned on the transit fees!
In Bavaria, Austria and Switzerland is much more snow, and mountainous regions, it is always colder than here. Since the poles hold but because they are of much better quality.
is now lamented and more lies. Here in Germany is always only made provision, if the problem is there.
This has reduced the utility industry in the past, their investment in the power grid each year, so they currently amount to only 10% of net revenues. Since 1998, the utilities their reinvestment rate of 2.5% to some less than 1% of the replacement value in the year have decreased. The maintenance had preventive measures differ. True to the motto: ". There is nothing going to happen, the customer pays anyway!"
billion they earned and distributed to the shareholders, but the electricity-intensive aluminum industry will not help. Thousands of jobs lost.
As they are now back to press claims for compensation? The political hands are tied because the boards of the power supply multinationals former politicians sit even former economy minister!
For me, are you greedy scoundrel. All know it too, but no one is doing something!
Shame on you!
But the losses are much too large. The production of coal, oil or gas gets, not our environment. Nuclear power off once I leave here, the management problems we have long grown over his head. The efficiency of conventional power plants are still in the steam machine age, because they are tied to physical limitations. Then there are the losses of the transfers and transformations. And we finally at the outlet is 220V, powering on with the transform, as almost every unit stocked with semiconductors, (eg TV, radio, computer, and also halogen spotlights or lamps) are working with 5-12 Volt. In all these devices must be transformed from 220V to 12V 5-down. What a nonsense! What a waste!
Since the introduction of semiconductor technology, one would have to rethink. I see the solution in the decentralization of power plants. Cogeneration in conjunction with the waste problems, is my proposed solution. Given as a supplement, solar, wind and hydropower. Near the coast and tidal power plants. Industrial power and domestic power needs to be separated at last. Three-phase 380V power ports so current, with 5 x 25 ² copper conductors, have no business being in the household.
220V light and the house is all you. If man would use the copper waste, insert any standard house connection box a decent power supply, which a long overdue, and finally accurate digital power meter can be integrated. I care as a charging station for 12-24V. Finally, one could dispense with all the power transformers for halogen lamps, computers, radios, televisions, etc.. To come to that yet, that all these devices of radio and television broadcasting, could constructively do without the costly and failure-prone screen and Entbrummschaltungen.
The future will belong to the wireless devices anyway. Science and Industry has simply failed to develop reasonable and timely standardized batteries! As slow as the beginning of a rethink.
Similar to the data transmission is also available in the energy supply so slow a trend away from cable and socket. In the future it will even go without charging cable. Portable fuel cell with methanol cartridges are probably in the development and release from batteries and other Sromspeicher. This type of electricity supply would be available everywhere.
washing machines, electric stoves and boilers could still continue to be operated with 220V. But please be interconnected with standard error and power circuits. The 220V outlet must disappear at last! It is not ecological, deadly dangerous, and too expensive! All appliances, whether vacuum cleaner, electric drill or kitchen blender can be designed and built for 12-24V, or running on battery.
It's very strange? No worker would now give up its wireless drills. No trade or insurance agent on his laptop. But a wife must still using the cable provided Vacuum cleaner bother. A consistent reorientation of the energy supply and the resulting innovative new designs and simpler devices sogarl would trigger an increase in employment, and energy consumption would fall substantially for the benefit of the environment. When a courageous government is finally defeated the ausschlieslich profit-oriented multinationals. These lies barons and political spinners have put literally billions upon billions in the sand. Here are just a few examples:
German nuclear power plants start off a tragedy
S-breeder nuclear power plant Kalkar never cost X billion? Ruin, sold for one mark
KMK nuclear power plant Mülheim-Kärlich 1986 2001 Scrap / ruin
KNK nuclear power plant in Karlsruhe, 1977 1991 Scrap / ruin
KRB nuclear power plant Gundremmingen A 1966 1977 Scrap / ruin
KWL nuclear power plant Lingen 1968 1977 Scrap / ruin
HTR HT reactor, Hamm-Uentrop 1983 1988 Scrap / ruin
None of the above power plants has been ever paid. The radiation risk remains even in the ruins. The disposal costs, not at all in the planning phase, calculated, go to the immeasurable. So far no one has been brought to justice. No, they still stop chatting rubbish, his pockets and muddle on as before. Password: Now we live after us the deluge!
Berlin 1996
Horst Kröpke
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There are alternatives in all areas
introduced on 1 March 2006 Well it will soon come!
The first fuel cell for laptops
The company AVC in Thailand, introduces at the CeBit. Battery and battery are unnecessary.
What Is Fuel Cell
A fuel cell is a device that converts a fuel's chemical energy into electrical energy. In fuel cell, a fuel (typically hydrogen) is combined with an oxidant (typically oxygen) to electrochemically produce electricity. Different from Which store batteries then release energy, fuel cells can produce energy as long as reactants are continuously supplied. And different from internal combustion engines, fuel cells generate electricity without a combustion process, Thus no pollution, or at intermediate conversion into mechanical power, Thus higher efficiency.
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energy sources of tomorrow
the desert at Manzanares in Spain is a of the most inhospitable spots in Europe. People live here not only now and then projects a twisted shrub from the parched ground. And yet reached this dreary region, where the fox and desert horned viper good night, say in the 80s to prominence. 1981 here is a 195 meter high tower was set in the sand. The unusual system was one of the first solar power plants in the world. For eight years, it supplied electricity. Then, in a single night, a hurricane tore down the slender tower - and buried the hopes of all those who had seen in renewable energy sources, the future seemed, literally in the sand.
Today, more than 20 years later there is widespread consensus that the energy revolution has come. Wen the climatic effects of CO2 emissions is not yet convincing, but the bow must be the certainty that coal, oil and natural gas sooner rather than later End will go. In recent years there has been so repeatedly initiatives, electricity from solar, wind, geothermal and biomass - producing - the renewable and climate-safe energy sources. However, not every system that taps into renewable energy, sense from an economic and ecological aspects. Which projects have the potential of our hunger for energy in the next decade to meet? The 15 Best and Worst on its way to energy systems.
sun: Energy From?
The storm collapsed power plant in Manzanares, Spain was a child his age. As a result of the oil crisis in the seventies, they were looking for alternatives for energy. In particular, the solar energy seemed to have a way out of trouble. First, no one is the sun, political conflicts are therefore unlikely. Second, its energy potential de facto be considered unlimited, at least 4.5 billion years the central star still shine. But above all they can come up with an impressive energy balance: the world consumption of about 15000fache come every day in the form of radiation on the Earth.
concept: wind power plant in Manzanares
1981 it was decided to use some of that potential through a so-called solar chimney power plant. This type of system boasts a simple operation: In a flat glass roof, which is open at the sides, is by air incident Sunbeam heated as in a greenhouse. In the middle of the gently rising glass roof is a tall tower, escaping through the warm air. This known effect from the home fireplace draws the air up to 12 meters per second up. She drives a wind turbine at the power generation. Slack 50 kW provided the test power plant before it collapsed after 7 years of operation. "At least the functionality of such a system is thus confirmed, however," says Wolfgang Schiel by the engineering firm Schlaich, Bergmann and Partners, the developers of the world's only today chimney power plant. With the help of the Enviro Mission Stuttgart are planning in the Australian desert, a solar chimney power plant of superlatives: With a height of 1000 meters, the tower will be visible even in the schedule to 100 kilometers away. The costs should lower to about 440 million euros. Of a concrete construction is still the question.
Conclusion: The smart principle could not convince potential donors in 20 years. Therefore: Flop.
Concept: Solar Farm
A cost-effective way to use the incoming solar radiation, provide solar farms. This focus parabolic trough collectors or focusing mirrors, the light onto an absorber pipe, the thermal oil. The heated to 400 degrees liquid is used via a heat exchanger to water to evaporate and to drive a steam turbine and connected generator. In California's Mojave Desert, 1983-1991 collector nine power plants were built with a total capacity of 354 MW. With production costs of around 10 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity are solar farms today the most economical method of solar power generation.
Bottom Line: Great performance on a relatively small area. Top
concept: solar tower
alternative to the concentration of sunlight on the floor all the parabolic mirrors can also be directed to a central point at the top of a tower. On so-called solar towers can reach temperatures up to 1000 degrees. The largest power plant this design is, as the largest solar farm in California, the desert. The 104-meter Solar Two has an output of 10 MW. Experts believe that a return on assets for the first tower from 30 MW. Already Solar Two required an area the size of several football fields. Consequently, the plant was shut down years ago.
Conclusion: Unfavorable ratio of surface area to power. Flop.
concept: Photovoltaic power plant
Unlike solar chimney or solar photovoltaic power plant uses the right is a very strong light. It is based on the 1839 by Alexander Becquerel discovered the photoelectric effect: sunlight that strikes a semiconductor, electron triggers out. By skillfully combining differently doped semiconductors can be selectively generate electrical power. The enforcement capacity of photovoltaic stand or fall with the cost of the cells. 95 percent of all solar cells are manufactured from silicon. However, the achievable efficiency of silicon cells are already largely exhausted. "Not much more than 20 percent efficiency is there," says Tim Meyer of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems.
One of the largest photovoltaic power plants is near Leipzig, covers an area of 16 hectares. Around 33,500 solar modules provide on a former landfill site for 5 megawatts of solar power. Especially in Germany is booming solar cell market. In our neighboring country this year were already installed 300 MW of new capacity. This is due to the EEG (Renewable Energy Act) that allows to get all producers of solar power per kilowatt hour fed into the grid 45.7 cents on the hand.
Conclusion: This extraction form will be very limited. Flop.
concept: photovoltaic roof on the house
But the photovoltaic total write off would be wrong. The relatively lower current efficiency than in the concave mirror technology plays mainly in small use a smaller role. Above all, solar-equipped building roofs can be used without much waste of space. The strengths of photovoltaics are therefore everywhere where there may be a little smaller: "For higher performance, the solar thermal energy currently economic benefits," says Fraunhofer expert Tim Meyer. In addition, new materials such as gallium arsenide in the foreseeable future, the potential efficiencies of up to 35 percent have achieved.
Conclusion: On the roofs of houses are photovoltaics top
Water: The old master
The sun is also the driving force of the water power, the oldest renewable source of energy. It is through their centuries of use, it has a distinct advantage over solar, biomass and Co: Their technology is perfected, efficiencies thus tasted. In this way it is today with three to four cents per kilowatt-hour is considerably cheaper than other green power alternatives. However, not every country has the makings of a run-of-mecca.
concept: wave power plant
, competition is about the sea. The greatest potential among the maritime energy will have expected the waves. The purpose of their power, around 15 percent of the world can meet electricity demand, the International World Energy forecasts in London. In Europe in particular is blowing on the coasts of Ireland and Scotland regularly a stiff breeze. There, the waves pile up so high that they hit with up to 75 kilowatts per meter. However, a rough sea the systems strongly enforce. "The big problem of wave energy is that the burden can rise to the structure in an extreme storm up to 50 times the normal value, "Wilfried Knapp, Head of the experimental flow studies says the chair of fluid mechanics at the Technical University of Munich.
An international research team in Aalborg, Denmark already installed a prototype of a new wave power station. The Wave Dragon is on the sea surface and is anchored to the ground with steel ropes. With his arms he reflector focuses the waves and transmits it via a ramp into a reservoir above the water table. From here the water flows through turbines back into the sea. The actual Wave Dragon, which is scheduled for 2007, about seven megawatts to be strong. A whole energy park, so Knapp, who is responsible for the development of the turbines could push the price per kilowatt hour to about four cents.
Conclusion: Despite setbacks in the series - The potential of wave energy is given, the projects are promising. Top
concept: tidal power plant
leave instead of the continuous wave motion can also use the tidal forces. In a simple approach, the water is dammed up in a power plant at high tide and low tide again drained to power the flow movement turbines. In this case, however, large amounts of water are moved, which can have adverse effects on the flora and fauna in the sea. In addition, such power plants are relatively expensive. The first tidal power plant in the world, which has been almost 40 years on the French Atlantic coast near St. Malo in use, produces a kilowatt-hour for about 12 cents. In addition, are only about 50 locations around the world to operate such plants economically.
Conclusion: The enthusiasm in the technology is gone. Flop.
concept: current power plant
But now there are already far better ideas. At the British west coast last June caused an international furore research team. They installed a power plant that functions like a windmill - only under water. In "Seaflow" use the rotors from the flow of the tides. If such underwater windmills built in large numbers, is likely to cost the current 5:00 to 10:00 Cent. "That's not unbeatable cheap, but not as expensive as the technology is promising," says Jochen Bard, of the University of Kassel, who worked on the project. For the Seaflow technology are particularly long stretch of coastline with strong current. How many locations are used worldwide in question, can not currently quantify exactly. Still missing maps, which show how much the ocean currents at a depth of about twenty to thirty meters, applicable to such facilities to be optimal. Worldwide, the future could, Bard roughly estimated, about ten percent of current electricity demand is met with the ocean current.
Conclusion: More simple than reinvent the wheel for the flow of energy from scratch. Top
Wind: A heavenly child
concept mills to country
over the experimental stage, the mills in the country for a long time out. Especially in Europe the wind as an energy source on the rise. Worldwide, according to estimates, can be up to 2020 some 12 percent of electricity needs from wind power. The plants use the kinetic energy of the wind caused by different air pressure in the vicinity the earth's surface is formed. From an average wind speed of seven meters per second, the rule of thumb, can compete with windmills gas power plants, currently one of the cheapest electricity production sites. In Europe there are many suitable sites, especially in coastal areas. But even there, from there, and to lull the mills and bring not even a light bulb to illuminate. As a key pillar of the system, the extraction form, however, is all. In Germany, rotate - thanks to a funding regime with fixed feed-in tariffs - now around 15 800 Three-winger and generate at least a third of the world's installed wind power capacity.
Conclusion: Although there are more reliable than wind power technologies. On good sites, however, cost-effective. Top
concept: wind power to water
is new, the idea of wind power to water but not. As a pioneer of Denmark, with "Horns Rev", the world's Park 20 miles off the coast. For two years, turning around 80 mills. apply In Europe, the North Sea and waters with excellent wind conditions. Experts have calculated that could be generated by windmills in the countries around 1,900 terawatt hours per year. And this potential might be met with significantly less than on land mills. Because the wind is blowing on the North Sea twice as strong as in the inland. And this brings, the physical rules, the same eight times as much energy. Not yet at the same price. Wind turbines at sea are currently about 60 percent more expensive than on land. Above all, the foundation and the wiring on the ocean floor, the drive up costs. "The aim is therefore to get as much power to a mast," says energy expert from Greenpeace Germany, Sven Teske. Currently ranked the plant sizes between two and 2.5 megawatts. Already the next generation that is now being tested in Germany on the green lawn is to make it in roughly twice the power. If these multi-megawatt turbines also in large numbers installed, the cost of maritime wind power falling in the long run - to the maximum to the level of good locations inland, so Teske. To be prepared for use on a large scale, has yet to "maritimisiert" the technology further. Because the climate is aggressive - and the dangers so great.
Conclusion: The wind at sea brings much more energy than on land. The cost is expected to decrease significantly in the coming years. Top
biomass: Useful waste
War in this country in recent years, wind the biggest beneficiary of legal backing, so in recent times increasingly mixed with biomass to their limited funds. saved items biomass means the entire renewable plant materials, the solar energy in the form of carbon. Biomass energy can be useful in many ways. The oldest form is certainly the combustion to generate heat. In general, the calorific value of biomass is slightly below that of fossil fuel sources. This is the supply in forest-rich countries such as Austria safely in times of crisis. Limited the profitable use of biomass due to their low energy density. Since you need relatively large quantities, the cost of fuel efficiency in transport routes from 30 km can be increasingly . Fall
concept of biomass gasification power plant
technically demanding recycling of biomass gasification offers. Competence in this respect there is no shortage in this country. And it is extended: In April 1999, was established by Austria Renet a joint environment, whose goal is to promote the use of biomass content. Thus, in Güssing built an electricity-heat power plant, which employs a unique gasification. "The basic idea of this system is to separate the gasification reaction and the combustion reaction in space," says the scientific director of the project, Hermann Hofbauer. Hot steam as gasification agent is used. In this way, virtually free of nitrogen gas can be generated, the calorific value is 2.5 times as high as it reached air gasification. About gas engine and generator power is generated. The power plant into electricity Güssinger 25 percent of the biomass, the overall efficiency is an impressive 80 percent. With production costs 10-15 cents per kilowatt hour needs the facility to the economic comparison is not to be afraid. Guessing the model should catch on: The city covers 100 percent of Burgenland's primary energy needs from biomass.
Conclusion: Biomass scores with the eco-bonus. In addition, says the security of supply for increased use: Top
concept: biomass fermentation plant
In addition to the gasification of the raw material, the fermentation of biomass has proven to be a sensible method. This results in the absence of oxygen and bacterial activity of biogas with a methane content of 50 to 70 percent. The energy value is directly dependent on the methane content. At 60 percent, a cubic meter of biogas an energy value of 6 kWh. This corresponds to the average heating value of 0.6 liters of fuel oil. The fermentation process is essentially on its own when the ground is warm enough. As a matrix, for example, food waste or fast-growing energy grasses are used. But waste can be transformed: can be obtained up to 10 cubic meters of landfill gas from 1 ton of waste. In the agricultural Area provides good opportunities on the other hand by the fermentation of manure. Shall supply a 500-pound cow daily output of 1.5 cubic meters of gas. Biogas is mainly converted into electricity today than gas engines. Future applications could lie in the use in fuel cells.
Conclusion: The use of biogas uses the propellant gas methane, which rises unused into the atmosphere. Especially as agricultural production branch top.
Geothermal: Global underfloor heating
stinks in Iceland clean energy like rotten eggs. In the southwest of the country such as in Haukadalur, sulphurous water shoots more than 20 meters into the sky. Geysers are the symbol of the Arctic sea-island - and an important energy source. "There, you only need to put your finger into the soil and it comes out hot," says Werner Bussmann, CEO of Geothermal Association in Germany. Not only in Iceland stores as much steam and hot water under the earth, that it can generate electricity on a large scale. Such deposits are, for example, in New Zealand and the United States.
concept: Geothermal power plant for low temperatures
In Central Europe, however, the conditions less than ideal. Here, although there are large deposits such as the Molasse Basin between the Danube and the Alps. However, the sources are not as bad as in California. In a power plant in the Upper Austrian Altheim is a method in use, which copes with the geological conditions in this country. The equipment is supplied with 104 degree hot water from more than 2,000 meters deep. Once the water reaches the surface, it releases its energy through an evaporator to the turbine cycle. As hundreds of degrees for power generation are a relatively low temperature, is used an organic substance by the vapor is then the turbine. However, the efficiency is low: The Altheimer brings power to narrow it eight percent. It is also not yet been researched adequately, where suitable sources are in Europe.
Conclusion: Low efficiency and uncertain sources. Flop.
concept: Hot dry rock geothermal process
order to use virtually anywhere, must penetrate the drill 5,000 meters deep in the earth. The method is applicable for "Hot Dry Rock (HDR). It uses the underground rock as a kind of water heater: Water is warming pressed deep into the earth and then again brought to the surface, in order to drive a turbine. Underground steam and water sources are unnecessary. "The potential is that the process is bound to a specific location," says Werner Bussmann from the Geothermal Association in Germany.
Even in Central Europe, only ten percent of all possible places - So zones over 200 degrees in five miles deep - would be tapped, could thus gain about 900 terawatt hours per year. Until 2005, a first pilot plant with 1.5 MW in Soultz near the German border are at the Rhine Graben. Until then, have to be overcome, especially some technical hurdles. For example, the deep drilling in granite is not the art. Also would work against each HDR-conditioning their expiration date. Because of cooling down after a good 15 years the rock in the depth and need a rest. And that can take up to half a century.
Conclusion: The prospect of being able to produce anywhere in the world power, convinced, despite all the uncertainties. Top
Hydrogen: Only for bleaching?
hydrogen is considered the oil of the future. The most frequent with 92.7% of element in the universe has the potential concerns of all energy to overcome a world for all. The optimum use of hydrogen fusion. Two hydrogen atoms are fused into a helium atom. "The energy released during this process is about a million times greater than in the simple combustion of hydrogen," says Isabella milk from the Max-Planck-Institute for Plasma Physics. This is not just theory: that nuclear fusion is possible is shown by the sun that burns in every second of four million tons of mass at that incredible amount of energy achieved by only a Zweimilliardstel radiation as the Earth.
concept: hydrogen fusion reactor
The controlled fusion of hydrogen into helium is still a utopia. As part of the research project JET succeeded in 1991 for two seconds a fusion power to generate 1.8 megawatts. A description of the relevant property resembles science fiction literature: The heated hydrogen isotopes in the form of plasma to 100 million degrees. Only then is the desired reaction. The main problem is to slow the rapid heat loss. "For that one needs much larger reactors, as they exist currently," said Isabella milk. The next step in the international Fusion research will be the ITER project. The partners in Europe, Japan, Russia, the United States, China and South Korea are trying to present a site for a test facility to some. Construction will take 10 years. "Then you see if it is at all economically feasible to establish a real fusion power station." If one scientists, the crucial question of when nuclear fusion is mutated to everyday technology, you always get the famous "today plus 50 years" response.
Conclusion: Even the best idea is only as good as the incalculable benefit that it offers. For the foreseeable future, the merger is therefore a flop.
From the technical potential, renewable energy the world's electricity needs to cover many times over. However, some promising technologies are still in their infancy, and for some others, such as in nuclear fusion, not even the shoe size clarified. Others, such as wind power are already highly developed, but it is not suitable for primary care. Because just like the sun, the wind is dependent on the vagaries of the weather god. Therefore suitable for renewable energy, not as soloists. They must work together in the concert of energy supply. Some technologies such as solar tower in Spain Manzanares have missed their chance, however.
By R. Lang and V. Voss
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09/28/2005 zinc, fuel from the solar furnace?
crisis? What crisis?
Mag climb in oil prices but immeasurably: the sun shines from a year up to 2500 kilowatt hours per square meter of energy to the Earth's surface. That should be enough. But at the moment remain relatively high cost of solar systems is joined by another, more fundamental problem: It is not easy to store solar energy efficiently and to transport.
A possible solution lies in the so-called solar chemistry. In this, solar radiation is the process heat for a chemical reactor in which, for example, a fuel synthesized. While so far mainly produced in this way hydrogen as fuel of the future has been quoted, Swiss researchers another suggestion: Ordinary zinc, it should be, which could be produced by using solar power and then transported to any location. For the vision of the hydrogen economy may politician delight around the world skeptics criticize, however, that in particular the problem of storage is still not satisfactorily resolved: one must first of all spend a lot of energy to liquefy the gas for transportation and storage purposes.
zinc completely different: the metal is at temperatures up to 420 degrees Celsius before in solid form. Not only it can in an exothermic reaction - split at around 350 degrees Celsius water and provide high purity hydrogen for hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell - that is giving off heat. Thomas Alva Edison already knew that from zinc and oxygen, electricity can be obtained directly. And zinc-air fuel cells have over conventional energy sources much higher energy content. You are ten times as high as a lead system and about three times as high as a lithium system.
In Solar Technology Laboratory at the Swiss Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) over ten years research in the field of solar chemistry - including defuse the Swiss in their hazardous waste, such as the Solar box with toxic heavy metal oxides contaminated electric arc furnace dust. And since 2001 they also deal with the question of whether zinc is obtained via solar power as an energy source. The EU was baptized SOLZINC project support budget of 1.3 million € worth - invested a total of six partners from five countries, three million euros.
In a typical laboratory experiment, a "Two Cavity" (bicameral) reactor with a zinc oxide powder-carbon mixture fed. The reactor was closed, purged with nitrogen and brought to heat up in the focus of a so-called "beam down" look. After the experiment, the reaction bed is practically disappeared, as the products are zinc and carbon monoxide in the prevailing Temperatures in gaseous form. The gaseous zinc condenses nearly a hundred percent in the cooler downstream to a fine dust.
have successful tests with smaller bodies, the scientists took at the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) in Israel, a 300-kW pilot plant in operation. The Institute has a solar field with 64 computer-controlled mirrors, each 56 square feet, the sunlight regardless of the change in the position of the sun in the sky can always draw on the same point.
Christian Wieckert from PSI, Scientific Coordinator of the project, expressed his satisfaction with the pilot plant: "In initial experiments, we have about 30 percent of the incident Solar energy for the chemical reaction used and thus produces 45 pounds of zinc per hour. "This had the desired goals for throughput and efficiency have been achieved already almost complete. Large industrial plants are later to achieve a light of up to 60 percent.
photovoltaic plants use about 20 percent of the sun into electrical energy, however, has things even a small flaw:.. The thermal dissociation of zinc oxide into zinc and oxygen actually requires temperatures of over 1750 degrees Celsius, this value can be achieved by the addition of carbonaceous materials 1000 to 1400 degrees Celsius lower - but the fact carbon dioxide is released again. Would then use this zinc in zinc-air cells for power generation, would have a CO2 emissions per kilowatt-hour half as high as that of modern coal power plants. The researchers are therefore planning to supply the carbon in the form of biomass - currently used with beech wood charcoal - which would make the entire process virtually CO2-neutral.
If confirmed in further experiments, zinc its potential, would the future energy landscape to enrich another option. Even from a cost point of view, the approach to PSI solar chemical Chef Aldo Steinfeld's interesting - at least when calculated into the calculation of the cost of a further reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
text taken from Technology Review No. 10/2005
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inserted at 23.11. 05 For decades, we know the oil is running out, suddenly you wake up.
power plant in the basement
Uli Seitz is on eco. The managing director of Sunmachine sales company in Kempten wants to sell micro-CHP plants - not run on diesel, gas or solar energy, but with wood pellets. In view of rising oil prices and high government subsidies for fuel from renewable raw materials, a pretty clever idea. From January 2006 will Sunmachine the devices over the plumbing and distribute heating and crafts. "In the first year we want to sell 3000 copies," says Seitz. The prospect of establishing an efficient combined heat and power in homes added to the industry founder in mood. In industrial or commercial enterprises are combined heat and power (CHP) for many years used. Now, the manufacturers hope to move into private home ownership. Seven products that will open the mass market lists, the Association of combined heat and power in his recent overview. Just over half of the devices can be bought already, the rest will come in the next two years on the market.
Unlike large power plants, the average two-thirds of primary energy lost as waste heat to the environment, combine CHP boiler and power generator directly to consumers and increase the efficiency to over 90 percent. About three-quarters of the energy produced is a CHP thermal ready for the heating or hot water, the rest as electricity. For single-family homes, an electrical power of five kilowatts is sufficient. And many so-called "micro-CHP" are no bigger than a refrigerator. The manufacturers are working on various technological concepts. Diesel and gasoline engines as a producer of electricity and heat have long been in use. But closing the motor concepts, where the combustion is not in the piston chamber, but outside takes place, for such plants are particularly geeignt. Some of the Stirling engine was invented in 1816 by a Scotsman, Robert Stirling. Through a heat exchanger, the gas is heated in the piston chamber so that it expands and moves a piston that in turn drives a generator. Once the gas cools, the piston oscillates back. Then the cycle begins again. Although the Stirling engine works very wearing, he could not prevail against the competition a long time.
For where the waste heat from the engines is unused, for example in motor vehicles, Stirling units are too expensive. Since CHP but also includes the heat output, the Stirling engines are celebrating this application field comeback. In the devices of wood pellets are burned Sunmachine on a ceramic grill at 850 degrees Celsius and directed the powerful flame on the heater head of a Stirling engine. Its robustness comes in very handy for the commercial requirements. "80 000 hours system runs smoothly," says CEO Seitz, equivalent to more than nine years of continuous operation. The Otag Olsberg, Sauerland GmbH, has thrown her hat into the ring. The manufacturer urges since 2005 with his "Lineator" concept into the private home. The heart of this micro-CHP is a piston that oscillates freely in a tube. To move the piston, a gas burner water evaporates at 300 degrees Celsius. The steam is alternately left and right in the chambers of the piston and headed down there again. Approximately 3,000 times per minute, the flask shaking due to change of expansion and compression by a magnetic coil and induces an electric current. The excess heat is dissipated through a heat exchanger to an external pipe system for space heating or hot water of a home made available.
The Berlin-based start-up companies Enginion will again revive the classic piston steam engine again, the operating principle similar to the drives of the old steam locomotives. At the company's inception in late 2000 and has engaged in the former engineers belonging to VWKonzern IAV GmbH, one of the world's largest engineering service provider in the automotive industry. In its "steam cell" hot steam is used to power the motor. 2007 is the first machine of this type come onto the market.
addition to direct competition, particularly the developments observed in Eon Enginion a hawk. The energy company is not involved in a venture capital subsidiary in the Startup and adheres so open a door to the growing market for decentralized energy supply.
In England, the company has even set out to revamp the energy supply market completely. In October 2004, announced the Eon's subsidiary Powergen that in the next five years 80 000 micro-CHP brand would distribute "WhisperGen" on the British island. The devices come from the New Zealand manufacturer WhisperTech and work with a gas-fired Stirling engine. About a year ago Eon visited 550 households in East Manchester with those facilities.
seems Twelve months later, the enthusiasm faded, however. Powergen may not comment on the progress of the project. Market observers are reporting technical difficulties. Open talks Joachim Berg, head of fuel cell development program at Vaillant, the teething problems of small power plants. The Remscheid company - partially supported by the European Union - since 2001, several field tests with methanol-powered Fuel cell CHP started. A total of 60 devices were installed transversely through Germany in apartment buildings, small commercial properties and public facilities. But even with this technique, the results were sobering. After almost one million hours of operation, show significant problems with the technology, but also economically. The cost of preparing the developers headaches: The price of the prototypes correspond to that of a "hand-made Ferrari," says the company. To be competitive, one must be less than the price of 20 000 € clearly. Head of Development Berg considers a series production before 2010 the question.
But first well the competition is the growing market among themselves. 750 000 boilers are replaced annually in Germany. To reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, pushing the federal government to develop and market advanced micro-CHP by appropriate legislation. The supply of Micro-CHP electricity to the grid is remunerated as such as the use of renewable resources as fuel materials. Shall allow Sunmachine from potential customers that they are for each euro they burn in the form of pellets, received compensation of 1.30 euros State. appear An investment aid, despite an acquisition of such machines a price of more than 23 000 € can be attractive.
Golbach Adi, CEO of the Association of Combined Heat and Power believes firmly report a change of era. "In many German cellars it will look very different in a few years," he says. With the micro-CHP plants not only environmentally friendly technology gains in importance. "At the same time for the craft an economic stimulus program that is just fine."
text taken from Technology Review No. 12/2005
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methanol instead of hydrogen
By Kevin Bullis
The Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1994, George Olah, holds the so-called "hydrogen economy" ("Hydrogen Economy"), in the future zero emission hydrogen-based fuel cells will replace gasoline and diesel engines, for a crazy idea.
Olah was known for his research in the field of hydrocarbon chemistry, from which resulted, among other things octane fuels and more easily degradable hydrocarbons. He is now director of the Loker Research Institute of Hydrocarbon Chemistry at the University of Southern California. His argument: energy reserves in the form of methanol could end our dependence on fossil fuels and make the greenhouse gas CO2 to the base material for a new methanol-based economy. His idea, he puts in a new book called "Beyond Oil and Gas: The Mathanol Economy" (Wiley-VCH) dar. Technology Review spoke with Olah.
George Olah: Methanol is in itself an excellent fuel. You can mix it with gasoline and it has substantially better properties than ethanol. Also have been developed methanol fuel cells.
methanol has a very simple chemical structure that can be produced very efficiently. It consists of an oxygen atom that is inserted into a methane group, methane is the main component of natural gas. Methanol can be stored and transported as a liquid but lighter, and use.
TR: But what's wrong with hydrogen fuel cells?
GO: Even today, it would be possible offer at any gas station methanol fuel dispensers. You could make it easily and without building new infrastructure. When hydrogen is needed, however, a completely new technology. Its construction would be enormously expensive or even impossible. Hydrogen is a highly volatile gas and without much pressure, it can be used in large quantities as well as not handle.
TR: Methanol is only one way to save energy, no separate form of energy in itself, such as gasoline. Where should come here because the energy?
GO: The beauty of methanol, you could use any energy source. No matter whether one uses fossil fuels or nuclear power plants, wind and solar energy. It makes much more sense, convert energy in a convenient-to-use liquid, as they can transport as a volatile hydrogen gas. There is also an added advantage: It could also reduce the CO2 in the atmosphere.
TR: How is Methanol?
GO: One approach would be to the existing large reserves of natural gas to convert, but to do so in completely new ways. Today, methanol is made exclusively from natural gas. It is partially burned and converted into synthesis gas, which can then be converted to methanol. But there are methods of how to produce methanol without this synthesis gas.
The second approach has to do with CO2. My group is the co-inventors of the direct methanol fuel cell. It uses methanol and produces CO2 and water. We noticed that you could possibly reverse this process. That is absolutely true: You take CO2 and water plus electricity and reduced both chemically to methanol.
The second leg of our methanol economy would, therefore, CO2 recycled immediately to the places where it is produced in large quantities, such as the exhaust ducts of gas-fired power plants. Later, one could take the CO2 from the air, but that will not happen overnight.
TR: Would that reduce the risk of CO2 as a greenhouse gas?
Olah: The government wants to CO2 rather lock up. One hears, for example, that CO2 is buried in the ground or could get rid of the lake bottom. But how long it would stay down there? CO2 is a very volatile material. Even under the best conditions it will be free someday. Our approach is very different: If we want to get rid of CO2, we need to catch it. And why should not it be recycled as a new starting material?
TR: Lately we hear a lot about how useful it would be to replace gasoline with ethanol from biological sources, while developing better batteries for high-efficiency hybrid vehicles. Has both a place in your model of the methanol economy?
Olah: I think that we should pursue all options. There is no single solution to this problem. I believe however, that if we look at the figures without bias, will come to the conclusion that biological sources are not alone solve the problem. The U.S. president recently mentioned the idea of producing ethanol from cellulosic material. In principle this is possible, but it is a very serious, hardly developed and, in my opinion, unrealistic technology. Better batteries we should develop naturally. But fuel cells are considered to be realistic now much more convenient than any battery.
TR: What steps should we take to us in the direction of methanol economy to move?
Olah: I am among those who believe strongly that these technological developments must be carried out by the big companies. The energy company ExxonMobil would certainly have the means. So far they have not yet come to reasonable solutions, which is obviously bad. I think they like the idea of a methanol economy is not special. If you are sitting on huge oil and gas volumes and makes huge profits, or just an Arab country, is the large deposits and therefore has great wealth, one will respond to a crazy guy is not just positive, the bit about it, that the the ultimate solution for humanity the energy problem has, without depending on what is in the ground. If they work
methanol economy (and this I think) that there is no monopoly on the oil companies more. Big chemical companies could do the same - or even better. Now it needs but the politicians and a public that says we will pursue reasonable solutions at all.
TR: How much we need a solution?
GO: Man uses coal since the Industrial Revolution on a grand scale, which now dates back some 250 years. Today we have already consumed a large part of what nature has given us. I say but not that we do not happen overnight, more energy, but we should now make us think how we want to avoid in the future.
The United States imports today much liquefied natural gas. There are many sources - Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates, North Sea and so on. The energy content of a single gas tanker is equivalent to a medium-sized hydrogen bomb. Terrorists are trying for some time to blow up refineries in the air and a large tanker would be for them a very worthy goal. Who can guarantee that not happening? A realistic solution would be here, natural gas as efficiently as possible to transform into a safe liquid product such as methanol.
Each researcher says he accomplish important work, but I believe that this research in the methanol sector the most important thing I've done in my career. You could have a major impact on society.
translation: Ben Schwan.Technology Review energy energy-renewable methanol instead of hydrogen
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