Tag Archives: News

What Sapphire Energy needs to convert algae to gasoline.

After reading this article at EcoGeek.com about Sapphire Energy, I did a little research on algae-to-oil and what I found was that the industry had two problems to tackle:

1) Competitive algae.  When using open tanks, naturally occurring algae competes for resources and space.

2) Getting the oil out of the algae.  It has to be heated and dried to extract the oil.

Sapphire will be creating gasoline directly, so it should be possible to extract the gasoline through distillation with solar energy using a solar thermal water heater followed by counterflow heat exchanger.

The solar thermal water heater would heat fresh water entering the system, to kill off anything in it, giving the engineered algae a head start.

The counterflow heat exchanger would serve two purposes.  First, it would cool the fresh water before it enters production.  Second, it would heat the algae that is done, to distill the gasoline.

A counterflow heat exchanger is a pipe within a pipe.  Hot liquid flows one direction through the inner pipe, and cooling liquid flows the other direction, through the outer pipe.  When the flow rates are adjusted properly, the liquid that needs cooling exits the system at about the same temprature as the cooling liquid that is entering the system and the cooling fluid exits the system at about the temperature of the hot liquid that is entering the system

Using the finished algae as a cooling liquid, the hot algae exiting the counterflow heat exchanger should be hot enough to distill the gasoline directly out of it.

Alternative power brainstorming

Brain-storming is where you list any idea that comes to mind, no matter how wild or insane it appears.

Here are a few alternative power ideas that we came up with, that now do not appear to be quite that far off:

1. Store lightning. Two problems, you’d have to control the lightning strike and then have somewhere to store it.

I just read on Gizmodo, “Scientists Use Lasers to Create Lightning“. Essentially, they strike a cloud with a laser beam, ionize the air, which initiates a lightning strike.

EEstor, a Texas company, is building capacitors that are claimed to have nearly twice the energy density of Lithium-Ion batteries. They could drive a car for 300miles on a 5 minute charge. The EEStor’s only disadvantage is that today’s household wiring is unable to supply the needed current. I bet a bolt of lightening just might do the job.

2. Use solar power to create a chemical fuel similar to gasoline, rather than electricity.

This isn’t quite the same, but interesting none the less. Ecogeek.org has this article, “Could Chemical Solar Power beat Photovoltaics?“. Professor Chaurasia of the University of Birmingham, UK, is developing a process in which propanol is dehydrogenated, the hydrogen then generates electricity using a Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cell. The byproducts then recombine and begin the process again. I don’t know if this is as efficient as photovoltaics, but it might be another way to generate electricity.

3. Windpower. Most of the home-built wind turbines use permanent magnet DC generators, because they are cheap and easy to acquire. This is not the best way to generate electricity, especially as the current increases.

This company, Swift Wind Turbines, has a 1.5kW, 240 VAC, wind turbine that uses parts made locally. I’m very interested in this, except that it connects to the power grid, which indicates that it is most likely and asynchronous induction type, which can’t supply power unless the grid has power.

It occurred to me that you could use a wind turbine to drive both a permanent magnet DC generator and a moving field coil AC generator (Alternator). The current from the DC generator would only power the field coil of the AC generator, so the DC generator wouldn’t have to supply that much current and wouldn’t have to be that big . The AC generator would supply the usable current and could be direct wired (no sparks, no arcs). This arrangement should allow a low wind speed startup, with increased output power as RPM increased, because the power from the DC generator would increase, increasing the power in the field. The increased field would increase the output power. Also, as the field power increases, so would the back torque from the AC generator, slowing the rotor speed. Essentially, the RPM would be self regulating, while the power increases.

The Danish Wind Industry has a fantastic website related to wind generation, windpower.org. They should know, they produce a higher percentage of their power from wind than any other nation. Currently, 20%.

It will be interesting to see how these turn in a few years.

The price of eating healty






Getting more while reading less




So my current list is:







Why Living a Life of Gratitude Can Make You Happy

A Guide to Escaping Materialism and Finding Happiness


There isn’t always better than here

Is being right really worth it?





I’ve also begun working on sorting and organizing other drawers.




This is what you want, this is what you need…

According to Dr. Colleen Huber, Naturopathic Medical Doctor, on her website, www.naturopathyworks.com, if you are craving chocolate, then you need Magnesium. She suggests you eat more raw nuts and seeds, legumes and fruit. She also says that if you are craving bread or toast, you need Nitrogen and suggests high protein foods like fish, meat, nuts and beans. If you crave sweets, well read the site…

via Lifehacker.com

Study relates educational DVDs to reduced vocabulary

According to this article on NewScientist.com

Educational DVDs may hinder rather than help a young child’s learning. Infants who watch DVDs such as Brainy Baby and Baby Einstein know fewer words than those who do not watch such programmes, a new study suggests.

For the study, a lengthy (45 minute) telephone interview was conducted with about 500 families that had a child born in the previous 16 months.

After controlling for other factors, such as parents’ educational status and the number of children per household, the analysis revealed that for every hour per day spent watching baby DVDs, toddlers understood an average of six to eight words fewer than those who did not view them.

The study did not indicate weather the reduced vocabulary was a direct result of DVD watching or simply a result of less parent-child interaction.

Read the article here.

Red Orbit: 6 Superfoods That Prevent Disease

Lisa Turner, of Red Orbit writes:

Simplify your life-and boost your health-with these basic foods that really work You can nibble on goji berries, whip up noni juice smoothies and stock your shelves with antioxidants. But if you’re looking for what really works for optimal health and disease prevention, the best approach is to focus on foods that are rich in disease-fighting phytochemicals.

Read the article here.

Wired.com: Lake Superior Changes Mystify Scientists

On  AP Photo/John FlesherWired.com, John Flesher, an AP Environmental Writer, writes,

MARQUETTE, Mich. (AP) — Deep enough to hold the combined water in all the other Great Lakes and with a surface area as large as South Carolina, Lake Superior’s size has lent it an aura of invulnerability. But the mighty Superior is losing water and getting warmer, worrying those who live near its shores, scientists and companies that rely on the lake for business.

The changes to the lake could be signs of climate change, although scientists aren’t sure.

Click here to read the article for more.

Photo: AP Photo/John Flesher