Wednesday, August 27th, 2008
Research and development in the area of OLED’s has been fast and furious
in the past few years. Numerous universities and corporations have leaped on
this exciting green innovation. OLEDs are organic light-emitting diodes,
organic because it relies on carbon-based polymers and molecules rather than
inorganic semiconductors such as silicon (like the standard LED.
Even the U.S. Department of Energy has jumped into the fray, which reports
approximately 22 percent of the electricity consumed in the United States goes
toward lighting. It’s a $58-billion-a-year bill and growing. Through its
solid-state lighting research program, the energy department hopes to develop
commercially acceptable lights that will need 50 percent less electricity (more…)
Tags: bulbs, carbons, cfl, cfls, color qualities, compacts, corporations, currents, dakota state university, electric, electrical, electricity, electrics, energy, energy department, flexible chain, flexible substrates, generators, green, illumination, incandescent lighting, led, leds, light bulbs, lighting design, lighting research, lights, oleds, organic compounds, organic light, organic polymer, photons, photovoltaic, photovoltaics, plants, polymer, power, research scientists, saving, savings, semiconducting materials, semiconductor, solid state lighting, south dakota state, thin films, university
Posted in Going Green | 10 Comments »
Thursday, July 31st, 2008
What is the purpose of termites?…
Those incredibly destructive little creatures have the potential to benefit
humans in the production of biofuels. Or more precisely, the bacteria in
their stomachs. Termites process the wood they ingest in a series of stomachs,
each with a distinct set of bacteria. Those bugs within bugs release enzymes
that break down cellulose, the sugar chains in wood, into acetate, a fatty
acid that provides the termite’s energy. Scientists with the Joint Genome
Institute at the U.S. Department of Energy, hope to develop a process to
harness the power of these bacteria on an industrial scale to break cellulose
down into ethanol and provide biofuel without using food crops as a source. (more…)
Tags: bio, biofuels, bugs, car, car engine, cellulose, crops, cylinder walls, energy, energy department, energy scientists, engine components, engineers, ethanol, fatty acid, food crops, fuel, fuel consumption, gas, gasoline, Going Green, har, inefficiency, joint genome institute, lead, little creatures, methane, pollutants, pollution, power, pupose, spark plugs, stomachs, sugar chains, tank, termites, u s department, view, woods
Posted in Going Green | 5 Comments »
