EES Blog

‘HOT’ article: testing the thermal stability of lithiated graphite

In this paper the kinetics of solid–electrolyte interface were successfully correlated to the safety of lithium-ion batteries using graphite anodes.

The results revealed that the thermal decomposition of the solid–electrolyte interface is the most easily triggered chemical reaction in lithium-ion cells and plays a critical role in determining the battery safety.

Read the Energy & Environmental Science article:

Multi-scale study of thermal stability of lithiated graphite
Zonghai Chen, Yan Qin, Yang Ren, Wenquan Lu, Christopher Orendorff, E. Peter Roth and Khalil Amine
Energy Environ. Sci., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1EE01786A

Dye sensitized solar cells have been widely used to capture sunlight for energy applications. Wang, Koumoto et al. now report a hybrid device which collects both the light and heat from the sun.

The overall cell is able to achieve a high conversion efficiency of 13.8%, and the authors say that it has not yet been fully optimised.

Read this exciting research at:

A novel high-performance photovoltaic–thermoelectric hybrid device
Ning Wang, Li Han, Hongcai He, Nam-Hee Park and Kunihito Koumoto
Energy Environ. Sci., 2011
DOI: 10.1039/C1EE01646F

Sodium-ion batteries could represent a cheaper alternative to lithium-ion batteries if their properties were suitable. Ceder et al. have investigated the difference between Na-ion and Li-ion based intercalation chemistries in terms of three key battery properties—voltage, phase stability and diffusion barriers. Their findings indicate that Na-ion systems can be competitive with Li-ion systems.

Read the Energy and Environmental Science article:

Voltage, stability and diffusion barrier differences between sodium-ion and lithium-ion intercalation materials
Shyue Ping Ong, Vincent L. Chevrier, Geoffroy Hautier, Anubhav Jain, Charles Moore, Sangtae Kim, Xiaohua Ma and Gerbrand Ceder
Energy Environ. Sci., 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C1EE01782A

Recently scientists have succeeded in making stretchable materials for capturing the huge amount of energy which is available from the sun. Such materials would have the advantage of being more hard wearing portable as well as being suitable for applications in which aerodynamics were important e.g. vehicles.

Read this Perspective feature review of recent developments in the field:

Stretchable, elastic materials and devices for solar energy conversion
Darren J. Lipomi and Zhenan Bao
Energy Environ. Sci., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1EE01881G
http://xlink.rsc.org/?doi=10.1039/C1EE01881G

An exciting Energy Environmental Science Anaylsis article about algae-derived biodiesel which ‘could be the answer to the fossil fuel crisis’ has been featured in The Times newspaper today.

Using a life-cycle analysis, King and colleagues evaluate whether algal biodiesel production can be a viable fuel source in the near future.

Read the Energy Environmental Science article:

Life cycle energy and greenhouse gas analysis for algae-derived biodiesel
Tara Shirvani, Xiaoyu Yan, Oliver R. Inderwildi, Peter P. Edwards and David A. King
Energy Environ. Sci., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1EE01791H

Or read more about it on the Chemistry World Blog

Chemistry World Blog
Algae-derived biodiesel flying high
Posted by Elinor on Thu 11 Aug 2011

Two weeks ago, we read about agave as an alternative feedstock to corn or sugarcane in the production of bioethanol fuel in Mike’s story Tequila for your fuel tank. In it, Mike describes research by David King from the Low Carbon Mobility Centre at the University of Oxford and his team.

At the same time, King’s team has been busy putting research together to show that algae-derived biodiesel ‘could be the answer to the fossil fuel crisis’. Indeed, airlines have already been testing a range of biofuels in their planes, including algal-derived biofuels.

…Read the rest on the Chemistry World Blog

Journal Article:
Life cycle energy and greenhouse gas analysis for algae-derived biodiesel
Tara Shirvani, Xiaoyu Yan, Oliver R. Inderwildi, Peter P. Edwards and David A. King
Energy Environ. Sci., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1EE01791H

US energy consumption study reveals that using renewable energy instead of fossil fuels to heat homes is viable.

An analysis on how the US uses thermal energy has revealed a perfect opportunity for renewable energy from geothermal and solar resources, say US scientists.

The study shows how renewable energy could provide a large fraction of the energy used for heating water and space at home that is currently supplied by high grade fossil fuels.

Read the Energy & Environmental Science article:

The thermal spectrum of low-temperature energy use in the United States
D B Fox, D Sutter and J W Tester
Energy Environ. Sci., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/c1ee01722e