Day: August 4, 2016

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Scientists turn CO2 into fuel with solar power

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago believe that they’ve perfected the art of photosynthetic solar cells. It’s a technology that mimics a plant’s ability to inhale carbon dioxide and, with water, convert it into glucose and oxygen. This system is capable of drawing in carbon dioxide and processing it into a synthetic fuel that could be used to power vehicles. Theoretically, this device could create a virtuous cycle where climate-altering carbon could be removed from the atmosphere and pumped back into cars.

The artificial leaf contains a pair of solar cells that power an infinitely more complex version of the electrolysis you learned about in high school science. Energy from the sun is used to catalyze a reaction with various obscure compounds like nanoflake tungsten diselenide (which is a transition metal dichalcogenide). Synthetic gas comes out of the other side, which can either be used directly by vehicles that can take it, or converted further into diesel.

But this isn’t the first time we’ve seen artificial photosynthesis being used as a potential weapon in the war on climate change. Early last year, we saw a team from Berkeley using a similar process, albeit with genetically-modified E. coli bacteria at the heart of the system. That version didn’t output synthetic gas but acetate, a building block of several compounds like biofuel, anti-malaria drugs and biodegradable plastics.

Should UIC’s newer process prove to be cost-effective, it could spell the end of traditional gasoline production as we know it. Instead, a network of these cells would be installed at a solar farm, creating fuel and reducing the quantity of atmospheric carbon dioxide at the same time. The only downside is that we’d still be re-releasing the deadly gas back into the atmosphere, but it’s a decent stop-gap while we work on reducing our carbon emissions more permanently.

Via: Gizmodo

Source: UIC, Science

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China’s elevated bus demoed with cars driving underneath

Six years ago, China came up with a super wacky idea: A large straddling bus that can let cars drive under it, which could be a cost-effective way to skip over congested traffic while carrying hundreds of passengers a pop. Today, this concept has evolved from a miniature model to a full-scale moving mockup, as unveiled in Hebei province’s Qinhuangdao city yesterday. This "Transit Elevated Bus" or "TEB" in short is designed to handle 300 passengers, and it comes in at 22 meters long, 7.8 meters wide (covering two lanes) plus 4.8 meters tall. That’s right, it’s only a tad taller than a double-decker bus for the sake of existing bridges in China, so only cars less than two meters tall can drive under the TEB.

Based on the photos, the TEB runs on sixteen tired wheels and is guided by eight pairs of rail wheels. It’s supposed to reach 40 to 50 km/h (about 25 to 31 mph), but the experimental electric vehicle moved cautiously slow on its disappointingly short 300-meter demo track yesterday. It was more of a proof of concept demo rather than a technical test run, because the vehicle here isn’t the real deal. No bridges, no traffic lights, no crosswalks and no turns. Still, it was able to wow some folks, especially those who were allowed to board the TEB to get a taste of the large space inside — a bit like an enlarged subway train as opposed to having long rows of seats like a ferry.

Song You Zhou, the inventor and chief engineer of the TEB, told WCC Daily back in May that if all goes well, it’ll only be a year to a year and a half before the vehicle enters the market. But if you ask us, we’re still not fully convinced. For one, what’s the purpose of this proof-of-concept demo? Why just 300 meters instead of the original 1km distance as mentioned by Song? And given that not all roads are straight, how safe is it for the cars driving underneath a TEB while on a slightly bendy road? (For the big turns, cars underneath will have to stop and let the TEB go first.) Until these questions are addressed, we’re going to leave our skeptic’s hat on.

Via: Shanghaiist

Source: Xinhua (1), (2)

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China has built a crazy elevated bus that straddles traffic

Way back in 2010, a Chinese company unveiled a render of the Transit Elevated Bus: a tram-like, catamaran-style vehicle that rises up above a lane of traffic, straddling the cars beneath it. In May this year the company showed off a scale model of the bus; everyone started to get very excited. And on Tuesday, a full-size TEB prototype took its first ride in the northeastern Chinese city of Qinhuangdao, near Beijing.

The premise of the TEB is simple. It’s a guided bus (i.e. it sticks to a predefined route) that is 4.8 metres high, 22 metres long, and 7.8 metres wide, with ground clearance of about 2.2 metres (7.2ft). Any vehicle that is short enough to pass under the TEB is free to do so, in theory significantly reducing congestion.

The TEB itself carries about 300 people and is powered by electricity at speeds of up to 60km/h (37mph). Larger, articulated models that can carry up to 1,200 passengers have been mooted. In China, where congestion is a major issue in large cities, the TEB is being pitched as a cheaper alternative to building subways (the initial 2010 report said that a 25-mile TEB track would cost a tenth of the equivalent subway).

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