energy | - Part 4

Some 40 years ago, while at MIT, I was involved with two energy-related projects. One involved the development of a conversion from honest-to-goodness-solid waste [HGSW] to methane (natural gas), via microbial means, the one that occupied a major portion of my time. The other project, working with a different professor, involved screening compounds that would store and release energy reversibly. Why this project? One of the problems we have with energy is that we need it in fits and starts, but that is not an economical method to produce it. Also, if we want to collect solar energy, it is available during the day- what do we do at night?

Continue reading A new kind of energy storage →

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You might think that when we (start to, continue to ) invest in new energy-producing alternatives, we will solve our “big oil” problem. NOT! We need gasoline and/or diesel fuels for the foreseeable future. Our transportation system relies on liquid-based fuels. Yes, we can convert these vehicles to electricity (with major improvements to the existing technologies), but the transition will be much slower than you would think. If we had sufficient supplies of electric vehicles (and they were reliable) and outlawed (not likely at all) the sale of all gasoline powered vehicles tomorrow , it would be at least 10 years before there would be a noticeable drop in gasoline consumption. (Consumers don’t trade in all their cars every year, consumers buy used cars, etc.)

Continue reading Big Oil- can’t live with them, can’t live without them (at least, for now) →