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Glad to report a great turnout at the World Energy Engineering Conference (WEEC) for my talk on "Energy Breakthroughs that will have a Public Impact" (slides posted on our website) Also worth noting, our Amazon Smile banner is now posted on the IRI homepage so the reminder to shop at Amazon through the Smile program will help IRI. Here is the link:
so you can program your Amazon shopping experience with IRI in mind!
The first story of this month follows up on our July lead article from the EPFL discovery of the right nanopore-sized osmotic electricity generation reported in Nature magazine. Now, the news sources are speculating about the type of energy future this represents when every mouth of a fresh water river going into the salty ionized sea represents an easy-to-use osmotic pressure to generate clean electricity. The four-minute video is excellent by the way and I used it in my WEEC presentation to explain osmosis an the EPFL method of electrical generation.
Our second story is a great review of our last Conference on Future Energy (COFE8). For those who did not attend, this provides a summary of the presentations. IRI is now currently working with COFE presenter Mike Gamble on his replication of the Boeing control moment gyro (CMG) which is used to keep satellites and the ISS aloft. We also look forward to helping Bob DeBiase fabricate his Casimir force producer with the nanotechnology abilities of another COFE presenter, Dr. Thorsten Ludwig, who has volunteered to assist in the project. Both of these are projected to establish new methods of transportation or propulsion that use either electricity or zero point energy. Therefore, they represent revolutionary breakthroughs in propulsion methodology.
The third story is an unlikely energy source: fish scales. This is the first demonstration that they are piezoelectric, just like human bones are, so they generate electricity with pressure. It is another possible avenue for nanogeneration of electricity under mechanical simuli.
Our fourth story is huge because it solves a big environmental problem: how to trap CO2 and convert it into something useful. With 30 billion tons of CO2 going into the atmosphere every year, it is a growing menace and this breakthrough converts it into energy-rich fuel using a nanosilicon hydride with a carbon neutral cycle. The Nature Communications article is very promising.
The last story is a great one for those of us who get excited by "wearables" and especially electric clothes. Combining solar and wind power (triboelectric generation), a bracelet has been designed by the father of energy harvesting, Dr. Zhong Lin Wang. Dr. Wang is an amazing genius and his homepage is mind-boggling. He also has a great eight page colorful intro to energy harvesting available for free online which is highly recommended for those students and professionals who need to learn more about this billion dollar market. Check out his #8 "Fiber-based nanogenerators for power shirt" from this 2008 report. The bracelet is just a spinoff from his original ZnO nanowired power shirt.
Onward and upward,
Thomas Valone, Editor
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1) Are Fresh Water Boundaries The Future of Energy Harvesting?
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By Donald Krambeck, All About Circuits, September 2016
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A rendering of the molybdemun sulfide membrane with nanopore being used as a filter to create fresh water. Credit: University of Illinois.
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Researchers have developed a nano-sized membrane that can capture energy from osmosis. Is this the dawn of "blue energy"?
Capturing Energy in Estuaries
There are quite a number of renewable energy sources as of today. The "green" movement has seen the rise of energy harvesting from sources like solar, geothermal, and
hydro-power.
However, some days, the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow, causing a limit on how much power some of these sources can produce. So what harm could one more source of clean energy do?
Researchers at the Ècole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) might have found a way around the limitations set on some renewable sources of energy.
Their new energy source? The boundaries between seawater and fresh water.
On July 13th, 2016, the research team's discoveries were published in the journal,
Nature. The team developed a unique way to produce a large amount of energy at any fresh-seawater boundary.
The energy is produced through osmosis, which occurs when water with a high salt content comes in contact with fresh water through a permeable membrane. When seawater enters fresh water, salt ions are passed through, which have an electrical charge. The ions continue to pass through until the salinity of each body of water is at equilibrium.
So what does all of this have to do with renewable energy? If one can create a layer of material and place it at the crossing point the bodies of water, the electrical energy passed through the salt ions could potentially be harnessed for use.
This is exactly what the researchers at EPFL's Laboratory of Nanoscale Biology have done. They created a membrane that is comprised of only three atoms-yes, only three. This semipermeable membrane, which is made of MoS
2 (molybdenum disulfide), is used to separate the two fluids with different salt concentrations.
Designing a Nano-Scale Membrane
Knowledge about the process of ions transferring between fresh and seawater isn't new, but rather it is EPFL's membrane that is cutting-edge. By producing such a small membrane, a greater current can be obtained due to the decrease of resistivity.
Molybdenum disulfide is rather cheap as a material, which is a huge plus if the membrane were to be scaled across hundreds of miles. The membrane is composed of a vast amount of pores (of the nanometer scale) which allows the salt ions to pass through the membrane and harnesses the ions charge to generate electricity. Essentially, the ions pass through the nanopores and their electrons are transferred into electrodes.
Fortunately, the researchers' choice of material in the membrane allows for the positively charged ions to pass through whilst repelling most of the negatively charged ions. This creates a potential difference and effectively a voltage difference between the two liquids as the positive ions and negative ions build up. It is this voltage that allows the generated current to flow readily.
Jiandong Feng, the lead author of the research, has expressed that one of the challenges his team faced was determining the size of the openings in the membrane that the molecules can pass through. These openings are called nanopores.
According to Feng, making the nanopores too large would allow negative ions to pass through. Those electrons carried through the membrane would essentially be wasted and the voltage gathered by the membrane would be low as a result. On the other hand, if the nanopores are too small, potentially fewer ions could pass through the membrane at all leaving the current ultimately too weak.
Potential for Renewable Energy
The use of such a small membrane could lead to an astonishing amount of energy harnessed from a simple chemical reaction.
According to the researchers' analysis and calculations, from a 1 m
2 MoS
2 membrane with only 30% of its surface coated by the nanopores, 1 MW of electricity can be produced. That's enough to provide power to 50,000 energy saving light bulbs!
The molybdenum disulfide compound is naturally found and can also be created by a process known as chemical vapor deposition. With this material being so readily available, the membrane can be scaled for a larger amount of energy production. However, scaling is still a challenge because creating uniform pores throughout the membrane is proving difficult.
Nevertheless, this is a problem that can be eventually solved. The research team ran a nanotransistor from the current that was generated through a single nanopore and found that it demonstrated itself to be a self-powered nanosystem.
Nano-Membranes in Creating Potable Water
EPFL is not the only one researching this topic. They have been working in tandem with a group of researchers led by Professor Narayana Aluru at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The US-based team has aided the EPFL team with molecular dynamic simulations to help predict molecule behavior and better design the membranes and nanopores.
Aluru's interest in working with molybdenum disulfide membranes, however, does not focus on the potential for harvestable energy. Instead, his team has been looking at these membranes as a way to
convert salt water into
potable fresh water.
In short, this membrane technology could leverage the basic process of osmosis to not only produce sustainable energy but also provide drinkable water.
Blue energy is a growing trend which could gain massive traction in the upcoming years as the technology advances.
Once their engineering model and calculations become more efficient, we could see a future where blue energy is widely available. The simplistic process known as osmosis could play a tremendous part in generating renewable energy and beyond.
RELATED ARTICLES
Journal Paper in NATURE
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2) Our COFE8 Conference Showcased Many Breakthroughs
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Integrity Research Institute Press Release
September 2016
Integrity Research Institute (IRI) has the tradition of presenting the best and latest energy discoveries whether in the technical, environmental, space and human health areas. These are the hallmark of our conferences and all of us at IRI were very happy to host our Eighth International Conference on Future Energy (COFE8) which provided the latest developments on Energy, Propulsion and Bioenergetics with superb speakers together who traveled far and wide to attend.
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President Valone, speaking at COFE8.
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Our Venue was the Conference Center at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The speakers included an impressive list from many disciplines and areas such as: Propulsion and Space scientists, Wellness Experts, an Award Winning Journalist, University professors, Enviromental specialists, and private entrepreneurs.
This year in addition to our amazing speakers on energy, bioenergy and propulsion, we had two stellar, internationally known speakers: Miss Linda Moulton Howe, award winning journalists and Neurosurgeon Dr Norman Shealy, inventor of the TENS unit and Fouder of HOLOS University.
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Linda Moulton Howe with Dr Valone. |
Ms Moulton Howe is an Emmy Award-winning TV producer, investigative reporter for radio and internet and author who goes directly to the men and women at the forefront of science and environmental breakthroughs and to firsthand eyewitnesses of high strangeness. Howe has received two dozen TV production and journalism awards for excellence. Earthfiles.com received the 2006 W3 Silver Award for excellence in news category; the 2003 Web Award for Standard of Excellence; and the 2000 Encyclopaedia Britannica Award honoring internet excellence.
Her Friday evening presentation was amazing, with a standing room only attendance. For 2 hours, she spoke about the Electrogravitics metal pieces recovered at the Roswell crash and which have been analyzed and authenticated . She showed reports and pictures of the parts and their effects. She also had film clips of military personnel who shared their experiences and encounters with electrogravitic and Exo technology. After the talk was over, many still surrounded her for another hour, asking questions. It was a memorable evening indeed.
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Linda Moulton Howe during her COFE8 presentation
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Dr. Norman Shealy, is a neurosurgeon and one of the world's leading experts in stress and pain management as well as energy medicine. A true innovator in the field, he holds 10 patents for ground-breaking discoveries and has published over 300 articles and 25 books. He founded the Shealy Institute in 1971, for therapy and research of chronic pain. It was the first comprehensive holistic center in the country, resulting in many pioneering treatments. He has helped bridge the gap between holistic and traditional western medicine.
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Norm Shealy, explaining the Ring of Fire.
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Dr Shealy's presentation was a breakthrough on the Biochemistry and Physics of Longevity. He demonstrated how DHEA levels are significant indicators of aging, atherosclerosis and reduced immune competency. He showed how using his methods and various "Rings" including the Ring of Fire, we can increase DHEA and calcitonin production naturally. He also showed how he can increase regeneration of the DNA's telomeres using Transcutaneous acupuncture on the Rings of Fire and Crystal. Also using specific blends of essential oils applied to acupuncture points can increase telomere length. Standing ovation from the crowd followed.
Our President Tom Valone, presented on the Applications of Electrogravitics for Advanced Propulsion. The global prospective toward space propulsion will aggressively continue moving forward to develop supremacy in space-oriented technologies creating a more competitive international environment allowing far-term ideas to develop within a more near term focus. He presented on the innovative theories and concepts in electrogravitics and electrokinetics that could yield tremendous technological and economic dividends in both investments dollars and potential applications for future generations.
Another groundbreaking presentation was by long time IRI Supporter and Board Member, Dr. Elliott Maynard. His presentation entitled " Brave New Mind: Future Science for a New Biosphere was introduced by his colleague Ms. Karen Reider and his video presentation was amazing.
His book on the topic is also available and we encourage all who are interested in the future of our planet to get one!
Mike Gamble, last year disclosed the use of Gyros and Inertial Propulsion by BOEING, in all their Space Satellites. This year he presented another amazing finding, that of the famous Tesla Electric Pierce Arrow Car. The web has many stories about it, some real, some false about how it operated. Slide after slides Mike provided specifications and measurements that proved Tesla could have accomplished this by reverse engineering it. He even produced a small working model!. All his work is also included in our latest book:
Nikola Tesla Electricity Unplugged: Wireless Transmission of Power as the Master of lightning intended".
Tim Wilson, another long time IRI supported presented his astounding slide presentation on the Dumbbell Atom: Building Blocks of Matter replicated. He has built and replicated more free energy devices and magnetic motor than perhaps any other person we know!
His presentation showed how magnetic structures resemble the cells structure and that there seems to be some kind of an "atomic glue" that holds all matter together.
His slides show all his replications and measurements he has performed for years.
He even gave a demonstration and you can see it on the recorded talk
Dr Robert DeBiase had an excellent presentation on his Quantum Fire Project related to Casimir forces. He proposed many convincing equations and is working on a prototype model which shows intriguing effects.
Dr. Thorsten Ludwig, from Germany presenting his latest findings on the "Energy Extraction and Detection with Zero Point Energy, Magnetism and Consciousness, a breakthrough presentation indeed!
Moray King gave his amazing presention on Nanobubbles and Nanocavity Plasma, including many videos on breakthroughs taking place in Japan.
Donald Reed, presented his scholarly paper on the Stueckelberg Off-Mass Shell Model for Particle interaction and how it supports Low energy nuclear reactions.
William Alek gave two excellent presentation on Antigravity and Faster than Light modifications and the second on how to construct Free Energy devices.
Stephen Weingandt presented on a the technology that helps with car mileage and water irrigation, for a healthy environment.
All who attended COFE8 carried back with them the latest and most invaluable information on Energy, Propulsion and Bioenergetics. IF you would like to order the any of the presentations, please order them on our website
Specify in comment field, speakers you want to order.
- Thomas Valone PhD - Electrogravitics & Electrokinetics Propulsion
- Mike Gamble - The Real Tesla Car Motor, Batteries not Required
- William Alek - Inertial/Gravitational Mass Modification
- Thorsten Ludwig PhD - Energy Extraction with ZPE and Magnetism
- Steven Weigandt MS - New Solutions for you!
- Moray King - Nanobubble Revolution and Nanocavity Plasma
- Robert DeBiase - Quantum Fire Project
- Tim Wilson - Monopole Magnet Dumbbell
- David Froning - Faster than Light Experiments Simulations
- Don Reed - Stueckelberg Off Mass Shell Model
- Linda Moulton Howe - Electrogravitics Potential of Laminated Metals (2 Hrs)
- Norman Shealy MD - The Basis for Longevity
- Norman Shealy MD - Biochemistry and Physics of Longevity
- Bob Boyce - Battery Smacker & Water Smacker
- William Alek - Constructing Free Energy Devices
If you would like to watch a free sample on Vimeo of COFE7 from 2015
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3) Fish Piezoelectric Generators
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By Energy Harvesting Journal, September
Large quantities of fish are consumed in India on a daily basis, which generates a huge amount of fish "biowaste" materials. In an attempt to do something positive with this biowaste, a team of researchers at Jadavpur University in Koltata, India explored recycling the fish byproducts into an energy harvester for self-powered electronics.
The basic premise behind the researchers' work is simple: Fish scales contain collagen fibers that possess a piezoelectric property, which means that an electric charge is generated in response to applying a mechanical stress. As the team reports this week in Applied Physics Letters, from AIP Publishing, they were able to harness this property to fabricate a bio-piezoelectric nanogenerator.
To do this, the researchers first "collected biowaste in the form of hard, raw fish scales from a fish processing market, and then used a demineralization process to make them transparent and flexible," explained Dipankar Mandal, assistant professor, Organic Nano-Piezoelectric Device Laboratory, Department of Physics, at Jadavpur University.
The collagens within the processed fish scales serve as an active piezoelectric element. "We were able to make a bio-piezoelectric nanogenerator -- a.k.a. energy harvester -- with electrodes on both sides, and then laminated it," Mandal said.
While it's well known that a single collagen nanofiber exhibits piezoelectricity, until now no one had attempted to focus on hierarchically organizing the collagen nanofibrils within the natural fish scales.
"We wanted to explore what happens to the piezoelectric yield when a bunch of collagen nanofibrils are hierarchically well aligned and self-assembled in the fish scales," he added. "And we discovered that the piezoelectricity of the fish scale collagen is quite large (~5 pC/N), which we were able to confirm via direct measurement."
Beyond that, the polarization-electric field hysteresis loop and resulting strain-electric field hysteresis loop -- proof of a converse piezoelectric effect -- caused by the "nonlinear" electrostriction effect backed up their findings. The team's work is the first known demonstration of the direct piezoelectric effect of fish scales from electricity generated by a bio-piezoelectric nanogenerator under mechanical stimuli -- without the need for any post-electrical poling treatments.
"We're well aware of the disadvantages of the post-processing treatments of piezoelectric materials," Mandal noted. To explore the fish scale collagen's self-alignment phenomena, the researchers used near-edge X-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy, measured at the Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology in Indore, India.
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4) Scientists Solve Puzzle of Converting Gaseous Carbon Dioxide to Fuel
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By Phys.org September 2016
Converting greenhouse gas emissions into energy-rich fuel using nano silicon (Si) in a carbon-neutral carbon-cycle is illustrated. Credit: Chenxi Qian
Every year, humans advance climate change and global warming - and quite likely our own eventual extinction - by injecting about 30 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
A team of scientists from the University of Toronto (U of T) believes they've found a way to convert all these emissions into energy-rich fuel in a carbon-neutral cycle that uses a very abundant natural resource: silicon. Silicon, readily available in sand, is the seventh most-abundant element in the universe and the second most-abundant element in the earth's crust.
The idea of converting carbon dioxide emissions to energy isn't new: there's been a global race to discover a material that can efficiently convert sunlight, carbon dioxide and water or hydrogen to fuel for decades. However, the chemical stability of carbon dioxide has made it difficult to find a practical solution.
"A chemistry solution to climate change requires a material that is a highly active and selective catalyst to enable the conversion of carbon dioxide to fuel. It also needs to be made of elements that are low cost, non-toxic and readily available," said Geoffrey Ozin, a chemistry professor in U of T's Faculty of Arts & Science, the Canada Research Chair in Materials Chemistry and lead of U of T's Solar Fuels Research Cluster.
In an article in Nature Communications published August 23, Ozin and colleagues report silicon nanocrystals that meet all the criteria. The hydride-terminated silicon nanocrystals - nanostructured hydrides for short - have an average diameter of 3.5 nanometres and feature a surface area and optical absorption strength sufficient to efficiently harvest the near-infrared, visible and ultraviolet wavelengths of light from the sun together with a powerful chemical-reducing agent on the surface that efficiently and selectively converts gaseous carbon dioxide to gaseous carbon monoxide.
The potential result: energy without harmful emissions.
"Making use of the reducing power of nanostructured hydrides is a conceptually distinct and commercially interesting strategy for making fuels directly from sunlight," said Ozin.
The U of T Solar Fuels Research Cluster is working to find ways and means to increase the activity, enhance the scale, and boost the rate of production. Their goal is a laboratory demonstration unit and, if successful, a pilot solar refinery.
RELATED ARTICLES
Published Article in Science
Wei Sun et al, Heterogeneous reduction of carbon dioxide by hydride-terminated silicon nanocrystals, Nature Communications
(2016).
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12553
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5) New Fabric Uses Sun and Wind to Power Devices
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ByMark Dansie, Revolution Green September 2016
Fabrics that can generate electricity from physical movement have been in the works for a few years. Now researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology have taken the next step, developing a fabric that can simultaneously harvest energy from both sunshine and motion.
Combining two types of electricity generation into one textile paves the way for developing garments that could provide their own source of energy to power devices such as smart phones or global positioning systems.
"This hybrid power textile presents a novel solution to charging devices in the field from something as simple as the wind blowing on a sunny day," said Zhong Lin Wang, a Regents professor in the Georgia Tech School of Materials Science and Engineering.
The research was reported September 12 in the Nature Energy.
To make the fabric, Wang's team used a commercial textile machine to weave together solar cells constructed from lightweight polymer fibers with fiber-based triboelectric nanogenerators.
Triboelectric nanogenerators use a combination of the triboelectric effect and electrostatic induction to generate small amount of electrical power from mechanical motion such as rotation, sliding or vibration.
TENTS, CURTAINS OR WEARABLE GARMENTS.
Wang envisions that the new fabric, which is 320 micrometers thick woven together with strands of wool, could be integrated into tents, curtains or wearable garments.
"The fabric is highly flexible, breathable, light weight and adaptable to a range of uses," Wang said.
Fiber-based triboelectric nanogenerators capture the energy created when certain materials become electrically charged after they come into moving contact with a different material. For the sunlight-harvesting part of the fabric, Wang's team used photoanodes made in a wire-shaped fashion that could be woven together with other fibers.
"The backbone of the textile is made of commonly-used polymer materials that are inexpensive to make and environmentally friendly," Wang said. "The electrodes are also made through a low cost process, which makes it possible to use large-scale manufacturing."
In one of their experiments, Wang's team used a fabric only about the size of a sheet of office paper and attached it to rod like a small colorful flag. Rolling down the windows in a car and letting the flag blow in the wind, the researchers were able to generate significant power from a moving car on a cloudy day. The researchers also measured the output by a 4 by 5 centimeter piece, which charged up a 2 mF commercial capacitor to 2 volts in one minute under sunlight and movement.
"That indicates it has a decent capability of working even in a harsh environment," Wang said.
While early tests indicate the fabric can withstand repeated and rigorous use, researches will be looking into its long-term durability. Next steps also include further optimizing the fabric for industrial uses, including developing proper encapsulation to protect the electrical components from rain and moisture.
REFERENCE
This work was supported by the Hightower Chair foundation, KAUST and the "thousands talents" program for pioneer researcher and his innovation team, National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities. Any conclusions or recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring organizations.
CITATION: Jun Chen, Yi Huang, Haiyang Zou, Ruiyuan Liu, Changyuan Tao, Xing Fan, and Zhong Lin Wang, "Micro-cable structured textile for simultaneously harvesting solar and mechanical energy," (Nature Energy, September 12, 2016).
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