MU researchers developing energy-saving solutions

From the MU News Bureau
Natural-gas-fueled cars would be more eco-friendly and cost-efficient than current petroleum-fueled cars. However, natural-gas-fueled vehicles face a few road blocks before they can cruise on every U.S. highway.
The Alliance for Collaborative Research in Alternative Fuel Technology (ALL-CRAFT) is working to make natural-gas-fueled cars a reality by using existing Missouri resources, such as corncob waste and methane from landfills. The alliance is a partnership among the University of Missouri, the Midwest Research Institute, the city of Columbia, the state Department of Natural Resources and seven other entities.
“Missouri’s corn can supply raw material for natural gas tanks for all the cars in the United States,” said Peter Pfeifer, professor and chair of the Department of Physics in the MU College of Arts and Science. “The recovery of natural gas from Missouri’s landfills would turn a pollutant into renewable energy and could provide an opportunity for economic growth in rural areas.”
Although natural-gas-fueled cars would reduce smog, greenhouse emissions and dependence on foreign oil, challenges remain. Currently, natural gas stations are not widely available, and storage tanks are bulky.
To make a smaller storage tank, MU researchers have developed carbon briquettes, nicknamed “Missouri hockey pucks.” These “hockey pucks” are made from waste corncobs that are abundant in Missouri. When corncobs are reduced to carbon briquettes and “activated,” they develop a space-filling network of nanopores, which are responsible for the briquettes unique ability to store natural gas with high capacity at low pressure, a discovery that allows for more flexible and less bulky fuel tank designs.
In 2007, researchers manufactured 300 disk-shaped briquettes, loaded them in a prototype tank and fuel delivery system constructed by MRI, and installed the system on a natural gas vehicle on loan from the Kansas City Office of Environmental Quality. The tank, in a road test that began in January 2007, is performing flawlessly.
“For the same amount of energy, combustion of natural gas produces significantly less CO2 than combustion of gasoline, reducing the production of greenhouse gases,” said Carlos Wexler, associate professor of physics in the MU College of Arts and Science. “Ultimately, hydrogen-fueled cars are the goal, but natural gas can serve as a stepping stone to move the economy in the direction of hydrogen by setting up natural gas fuel stations and pipelines, which could be later converted to hydrogen.”
The production of natural gas tanks could bring economic opportunities to Missouri, including:

• Producing natural gas tanks for 10 million cars per year: approximately $10 billion per year.
• Producing and operating natural gas tanks from corn cobs for 2,500 landfills: approximately $10 billion per year.
• Producing natural gas tanks for large-scale natural gas shipping: approximately $5 billion per year.

Scientists convert nuclear energy to power, sans steam
For years, researchers have been in search of an economically feasible method of converting nuclear energy directly into electricity.
Now, University of Missouri researchers are developing an energy conversion system that uses relatively safe isotopes to generate high-grade energy. A system that directly converts nuclear energy into electricity would be cheaper than current nuclear conversion technology.
At present, the only method to convert nuclear technology into electricity is through nuclear fission. In the process, water is heated to create steam. The steam is then converted into mechanical energy that generates electricity.
“Direct conversion of nuclear energy has not been possible previously,” said Mark Prelas, professor of nuclear engineering and director of research at MU’s Nuclear Science and Engineering Institute. “Current nuclear technology has an intermediate thermalization phase between the nuclear reaction and when the energy is converted to electricity. This phase reduces the efficiency of the energy conversion process.”
MU researchers have developed a process called the Radioisotope Energy Conversion System (RECS). In the first step of the process, the ion energy from radioisotopes is transported to an intermediate photon generator called a fluorescer and produces photons, which are the basic units of light. In the second step of the process, the photons are transported out of the fluorescer to photovoltaic cells, which efficiently convert the photon energy into electricity.
Since the 1980s, MU researchers have worked to develop electrical power from a nuclear light bulb, which is a way of generating hydrogen, electrical power and laser energy directly from nuclear reactions. The nuclear light bulb was based on the Photon-Intermediate Direct Energy Conversion (PIDEC). PIDEC converts the high-grade ion energy to photon energy. In addition to improved efficiency, the PIDEC process also promises advantages in volume, mass and cost.
“RECS effectively utilizes the PIDEC system,” Prelas said. “The system we are developing is mechanically simple, potentially leading to more compact, more reliable and less expensive systems.”