Natural Gas Storage with Material Derived from Corncob Waste
February 17th, 2007Via: Sietch Blog:
The National Science Foundation reports of a very interesting breakthrough. Using corncob waste as a starting material, researchers have created carbon briquettes with complex nanopores capable of storing natural gas at an unprecedented density of 180 times their own volume and at one seventh the pressure of conventional natural gas tanks.
This corncob “sponge†will allow for the storage of methane, a natural gas derived from rotting bio-waste. With this new technology comes the possibility of using waste methane from cow manure, food waste, heck even human waste to power your car.
Supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Partnership for Innovation program, researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia (MU) and Midwest Research Institute (MRI) in Kansas City developed the technology. The technology has been incorporated into a test bed installed on a pickup truck used regularly by the Kansas City Office of Environmental Quality.
The briquettes are the first technology to meet the 180 to 1 storage to volume target set by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2000, a long-term goal of principal project leader Peter Pfeifer of MU.
“We are very excited about this breakthrough because it may lead to a flat and compact tank that would fit under the floor of a passenger car, similar to current gasoline tanks,†said Pfeifer. “Such a technology would make natural gas a widely attractive alternative fuel for everyone.â€
Research Credit: ME
It’s become clear that no one technology will be the panacea of a new energy revolution. It’s going to take all of these developments to make it work. I look to the fact that most contemporary energy use is waste as a sign of potential. There’s so many gains to be made by simply making things more efficient, making better use of what we have. Ephemeralization, as Bucky Fuller put it.
Speaking of cars, thought that you’d enjoy this one:
Robot-driven cars on roads by 2030: scientist
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2007/02/17/070218000644.7dauizys.html
especially:
Thrun said he believed robot-driven vehicles would be deployed in war zones before they are seen in everyday civilian environments.
“I think they’ll be on the battlefield by around 2015,” he said. “It is going to make sense to use them in situations such as convoys, or in hostile environments where there is danger to personnel.”
Didn’t I just read a post about terminator robots taking over…?