An American software engineer has developed an 'Energy EGG' which is smart enough to sense when a room is empty and saves power by turning off electrical devices not in use. 37-year-old Brian O'Reilly hatched an idea for the 'Energy EGG' in his workshop in order to curb his family's extravagant electricity usage, the Daily Mail reported. The 'Energy EGG' uses motion sensors to detect whether someone is in the room, similar to the functioning of household alarm systems. The egg-shaped device is linked wirelessly to a control adaptor, similar to a multi-plug, into which multiple electrical goods are connected. "I've always been quite concerned about energy efficiency and recycling, which is our main focus, and I found it quite difficult with my wife and kids to get everything switched off," Brian was quoted as saying by the paper. Brian who worked as a software engineer, left his job to market his winning innovative product. He has signed a deal to distribute an initial 1,00,000 Energy EGGS to hundreds of stores in the US. The technology, which was developed along with the University of Strathclyde where Brian's company 'TreeGreen' is based, also gives a one minute warning before cutting power. The inventor is also in the process of launching the 'Smart Phone Charger' and the 'Smart Light Switch', which automatically turns off lights when a room is empty but unlike other systems, which only come on in the dark, is not confused by sunlight. "For me it's just great to know we're not wasting energy needlessly. My mum and dad's generation grew up switching stuff off and I think that's starting to come back now people are more aware of the need to save energy," Brian said, Source: Deccan Chronicle
Now, an 'Energy EGG' that turns off unused electrical items
Energy-dense biofuel from cellulose close to being economical
A new Purdue University-developed process for creating biofuels has shown potential to be cost-effective for production scale, opening the door for moving beyond the laboratory setting. A Purdue economic analysis shows that the cost of the thermo-chemical H2Bioil method is competitive when crude oil is about $100 per barrel when using certain energy methods to create hydrogen needed for the process. If a federal carbon tax were implemented, the biofuel would become even more economical. H2Bioil is created when biomass, such as switchgrass or corn stover, is heated rapidly to about 500 degrees Celcius in the presence of pressurized hydrogen. Resulting gases are passed over catalysts, causing reactions that separate oxygen from carbon molecules, making the carbon molecules high in energy content, similar to gasoline molecules. The conversion process was created in the lab of Rakesh Agrawal, Purdue's Winthrop E. Stone Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering. He said H2Bioil has significant advantages over traditional standalone methods used to create fuels from biomass. "The process is quite fast and converts entire biomass to liquid fuel," Agrawal said. "As a result, the yields are substantially higher. Once the process is fully developed, due to the use of external hydrogen, the yield is expected to be two to three times that of the current competing technologies." The economic analysis, published in the June issue of Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery, shows that the energy source used to create hydrogen for the process makes all the difference when determining whether the biofuel is cost-effective. Hydrogen processed using natural gas or coal makes the H2Bioil cost-effective when crude oil is just over $100 per barrel. But hydrogen derived from other, more expensive, energy sources - nuclear, wind or solar - drive up the break-even point. "We're in the ballpark," said Wally Tyner, Purdue's James and Lois Ackerman Professor of Agricultural Economics. "In the past, I have said that for biofuels to be competitive, crude prices would need to be at about $120 per barrel. This process looks like it could be competitive when crude is even a little cheaper than that." Agrawal said he and colleagues Fabio Ribeiro, a Purdue professor of chemical engineering, and Nick Delgass, Purdue's Maxine Spencer Nichols Professor of Chemical Engineering, are working to develop catalysts needed for the H2Bioil conversion processes. The method's initial implementation has worked on a laboratory scale and is being refined so it would become effective on a commercial scale. "This economic analysis shows us that the process is viable on a commercial scale," Agrawal said. "We can now go back to the lab and focus on refining and improving the process with confidence." The model Tyner used assumed that corn stover, switchgrass and miscanthus would be the primary feedstocks. The analysis also found that if a federal carbon tax were introduced, driving up the cost of coal and natural gas, more expensive methods for producing hydrogen would become competitive. "If we had a carbon tax in the future, the break-even prices would be competitive even for nuclear," Tyner said. "Wind and solar, not yet, but maybe down the road." The US Department of Energy and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research funded the research. Agrawal and his collaborators received a US patent for the conversion process.Source: Renewable Energy Magazine
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