#methane

Dutch Engineering Student Makes A Methane-Powered MotorcycleThis is the Sloot Motor (sloot meaning "ditch" in Dutch). It is a modified motorcycle which starts with gasoline but uses methane to keep running. Please, however, don’t get too excited and attempt to immediately modify your own vehicle into a methane-powered one. This fete of engineering is not meant to be a serious alternative motor. This motorcycle only runs at about 20 km (12 miles) with a top speed of about 43 km/h (27 mph). Moreover, in order to fill the fuel tank with methane, you’ll have to harvest the methane yourself from roadside bogs and swamps. It is estimated that the harvesting could take you upwards of 8 hours. In short, this vehicle only runs for a short distance, at a not-so-decent speed, and takes a lot of time to refuel, and manually at that. Why would someone create such an inefficient vehicle?Gijs Schalkx, the student who created this modified vehicle for his graduation project, says that he created this in hopes that we reconsider our relationship with technologies.“If this world we live in is the cause for global breakdown, over-extraction of resources and inequality all over the world, why do we keep holding on to this idea of progress by growth? [It is] a goal that we are blindly following without thinking about the consequences and counting on technology to save us.”Schalkx still takes pride in his invention. Even if one has to spend 8 hours refueling the Sloot Motor, Schalkx describes the ride on the vehicle as “the best 20 kilometers of [one’s] life”, and a “priceless” experience.(Image Credit: Gijs Schalkx/ Uitsloot)#AlternativeResource #SlootMotor #Methane #Invention #Motorcycle

Underground Sun Conversion Uses Sunlight to Produce Natural Gas Deep UndergroundSolar energy is great ... as long as you have the Sun shining in the skies.For many countries in the northern hemisphere, long and dark winters limit the practical amount of solar energy that can be generated each year. That's why it makes sense to "store" sunlight energy during the summer months so it can be used during the winter months.  But how can this be done?This is where Underground Sun Conversion comes in.  As the name implies, the system use sunlight to produce natural gas deep under the Earth's surface.Developed by energy company RAG Austria, surplus electricity generated by solar panels are used in an electrolysis process to split water into hydrogen and oxygen atoms. Then, hydrogen and carbon dioxide are injected into the porous sandstone deposit (such as those found in a depleted natural gas reservoir).The injected gases are then converted by archaea, naturally occurring microorganisms that live thousands of feet underground, in a carbon cycle into methane gas and water. The methane, in turn, is pumped back up during the winter months as natural gas that can be used to produce electricity.#electricity #solarenergy #methane #hydrogen #electrolysis #archaea #naturalgas #carboncycleImage: Karin Lohberger/RAG Austria

South Korean Toilet Let Students Pay with Poop by Turning Excrement Into Digital CurrencyUrban and environmental engineering professor Cho Jae-weon of Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) in South Korea has created an eco-friendly toilet that converts human excrement into energy.The toilet, named BeeVi (for "bee" and "vision") used a vacuum pump to send excrement into an underground tank where microorganisms break down the waste and produce methane, a biogas that is used by the school to create energy.An average person produces enough excrement daily to create 50 liters of methane gas, which in turn can produce 0.5 kilowatt-hour of electricity.To "reward" students for their, ahem, deposits, Cho created a virtual currency called Ggool (or 'honey' in Korean). Each person that use the toilet earns virtual currency that can be used to buy goods on campus - from coffee to instant cup noodles, snacks, and even books.Via Interesting EngineeringImage: Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology#methane #biogas #toilet #energy #virtualcurrency #poop