15 Bizarre Sources of Energy That May End Up Powering Our Future

250,000 commuters generate heat which is then used to warm water for an office building 100 yards away.
15 Bizarre Sources of Energy That May End Up Powering Our Future

Did you know that the Central Station in Stockholm uses the heat generated by 250,000 commuters to warm water for an office building 100 yards away? Real estate company Jernhusen owns both the station and the office building. They expect to lower energy costs by 20% per year with this system.

Or that coffee grounds can be used to create biodiesel fuel? A recent study found that there was a reasonably standard composition and little variation in the relevant physical properties of fuels made from different types of coffee, which means all waste coffee grounds are a viable feedstock for producing biodiesel.

Finally, and going back to Sweden again, did you know that smugglers are helping power Sweden's public transport by smuggling alcohol? The customs service seizes almost all of the 185,000 gallons, or 700,000 liters, of smuggled alcohol last year and uses it to power buses, trucks and a biogas train.

Cocoa shells = new power source in Ivory Coast.

CRACKED COCOA SHELLS, POD HUSKS AND COCOA SWEATINGS ARE USUALLY THROWN AWAY AFTER THE BEANS ARE EXPORTED FOR CHOCOLATE MAKING, BUT IVORY COAST HAS BEGUN USING THIS WASTE TO POWER A BIOMASS PLANT. The facility, which is located in Divo and will be able to meet the electricity needs of 1.7 million people, burns cocoa plant matter left over from production to generate electricity. URS DE RUZALINE DENOIR NE PAS FRAGILE 1.22 it Savid

BBC

This dude created floor tiles that turn energy from footsteps into electricity.

CRACKED LAURENCE KEMBALL-COOK HAD THE IDEA FOR FLOOR TILES THAT CONVERT KINETIC ENERGY FROM FOOTSTEPS INTO ELECTRICITY WHILE WORKING AT A PLACEMENT AT AN ENERGY COMPANY. Не set up Pavegen in 2009 to develop the technology, which is now being used in locations such as Heathrow terminal three and outside the White House. The data collected by people standing on the tiles can be used for applications such as crowdflow modeling and knowing how many people visit shops.

The Guardian   

Tofu makers in Kalisari village are using waste to produce gas for stoves.

CRACKED TOFU MAKERS IN KALISARI VILLAGE ON JAVA ISLAND ARE USING A GREEN SCHEME THAT CONVERTS WASTEWATER FROM THEIR PRODUCTION FLOORS INTO BIOGAS, WHICH CAN BE USED TO FUEL STOVES. The advantages of the system are huge, because it produces gas with waste.

SCMP 

This prototype toilet produces electricity from urine to light up refugee camp toilets in disaster zones.

CRACKED A PROTOTYPE TOILET THAT GENERATES ELECTRICITY FROM URINE WAS LAUNCHED AT A UK UNIVERSITY. The project, which is a partnership between the university and Oxfam, aims to bring light to refugee camp toilets in disaster zones. Technology uses microbes which feed on urine for their own growth and maintenance to generate electricity - what researchers are calling 'urine-tricity' or 'pee power.' Pee Power men's urinal Tn como urine-tricity conniries, Light for state rape when Safety mine to the rollet atNight Pee Power, a sustainable system to produce light to help keep women safe at night Juin the WASH campaign www day

The Guardian 

This process for transforming E. coli could be used to make jet fuel, diesel or kerosene from plant-derived sugar.

CRACKED SCIENTISTS HAVE FIGURED OUT HOW TO USE Е. COLI, A COMMON GUT BACTERIA, TO PRODUCE DIESEL AND OTHER HYDROCARBONS FROM PLANT-DERIVED SUGAR. This new process for transforming E. coli into a cellulosic biodiesel refinery involves the tools of synthetic biology and could be used to make jet fuel or kerosene.

Scientific American / Livescience 

Copper satellites could beam solar wind energy back to Earth, but would need to be located super far away.

CRACKED A NEW SATELLITE CONCEPT COULD HARVEST ENERGY FROM THE SOLAR WIND AND BEAM IT DOWN TO EARTH. The satellites, which would be mostly made of copper, have the potential to generate massive amounts of power but they would need to be located tens of millions of kilometers away from Earth in order to work properly.

New Scientist / Inhabitat 

The power of waves could provide the world with renewable energy, but development is far behind.

CRACKED WAVE ENERGY, OR THE POWER OF WAVES CRASHING AGAINST SHORELINES AND OTHER BODIES OF WATER, COULD PROVIDE A HUGE AMOUNT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY TO HELP WITH THE GLOBAL CRISIS. Scientists believe that if harnessed fully, it could meet annual electricity needs worldwide. However, development for this source is far behind compared to others like wind and solar.

We Forum 

New technique turns sound into electricity, allowing mobile phones to be powered up while in use or from background noise.

CRACKED RESEARCHERS HAVE DEVELOPED A NEW TECHNIQUE THAT TURNS SOUND INTO ELECTRICITY, ALLOWING MOBILE PHONES TO BE POWERED UP WHILE ITS USER HOLDS A CONVERSATION. The technology would also be able to harness background noise and even music to charge a phone while it is not in use.

Telegraph / Norton 

Green fluorescent protein from jellyfish is being used to create a cheaper, more efficient solar cell.

CRACKED so LONG, SILICON SOLAR CELLS! GREEN GOO IS TAKING OVER AS A CHEAPER WAY TO PRODUCE SOLAR POWER. Zackary Chiragwandi and colleagues are developing a photovoltaic device based on green fluorescent protein (GFP) from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria. When exposed to ultraviolet light, the GFP absorbs photons and emits electrons, which travel around a circuit to produce electricity.

New Scientist / iNaturalist 

Smugglers are helping power Sweden's public transport by smuggling alcohol.

CRACKED SMUGGLERS IN SWEDEN ARE HELPING TO FUEL THE COUNTRY'S PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM BY SMUGGLING ALCOHOL. The customs service seizes almost all of the 185,000 gallons, or 700,000 liters, of smuggled alcohol last year and uses it to power buses, trucks and a biogas train. POLIS Grant's GU SM-SLÄPET DXE B 126

NY Times / Movendi 

No need to feel guilty about that morning coffee habit anymore - turns out those used grounds can be turned into biodiesel fuel!

CRACKED A RECENT STUDY FOUND THAT COFFEE GROUNDS CAN BE USED TO CREATE BIODIESEL FUEL. The study, published in the ACS Journal Energy & Fuels, looked at how the fuel properties varied depending on the type of coffee used. The research found that there was a reasonably standard composition and little variation in the relevant physical properties of the fuels, irrespective of the source. This means that all waste coffee grounds are a viable feedstock for producing biodiesel.

University of Bath 

The Central Station in Stockholm is using the heat generated by 250,000 commuters to warm water for an office building 100 yards away.

CRACKED EVERY DAY, 250,000 COMMUTERS GENERATE HEAT AT CENTRAL STATION IN STOCKHOLM. This heat is captured and used to warm water in underground tanks. The heated water is then pumped through pipes to the Kungbrohuset office building 100 yards away, where it is incorporated into the main heating system. Real estate company Jernhusen owns both the station and the office building. They expect to lower energy costs by 20% per year with this system. National

Time / Wikipedia 

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