Solar steam heat

[Plane]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25285030/

[Plane]

The amount of energy in sunlight beamed daily on the continental United States far exceeds the nation's needs. To date, however, solar energy accounts for less than 1 percent of the nation's electricity mix. Challenges for the technology include the high cost and low efficiency of the silicon chips that convert sunlight to electricity, storage for the generated juice and the unreliability of clear skies at any one location. Nevertheless, the technology is experiencing an investment boom, and eco-friendly tax incentives in places such as California are encouraging homeowners to install solar cells on their roofs. The gentleman in this image took the bait but is now complaining that his neighbors' trees illegally block his rays.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24951333?pg=7#ALTenergy_science

[Xavier_Onassis]

The gentleman in this image took the bait but is now complaining that his neighbors' trees illegally block his rays.

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One wonders whether the trees were there first, or they illegally grew to block his rays.

Can one sue a tree for growing? 

Does someone have an obligation to prune one's trees to prevent them from blocking another's rays?

If my neighbor's mango tree has a branch that hangs over my yard, the laws say that the mangos above my property are legally mine, and that I can prune the limb if I desire to do so. He can prune the limb if his cut is on his side of the property line.

If a neighbor's tree blocks my rays, do I have a lega right to prune?

I wonder what Justice Thomas would say about this, if anything. Or any of the other Justices, for that matter.

Is the right to the sun's rays a Conservative or Liberal issue, do you think?

[Plane]

http://www.jatrophaworld.org

Growing Diesel Fuel Plants

CJP?s 2nd Global Jatropha Hi-Tech Agricultural Training Programme in India from July-14-18, 2008

 (The enrolment is subject to confirmation of registration.)

Centre for Jatropha Promotion & Biodiesel (CJP) is the Global authoritative Agency for scientific commercialization of Jatropha fuel crop and  designs and implements the growing of Jatropha curcas crops worldwide in a structured Agri-Supply chain, Value additions of Jatropha seeds  and research activities thereon & provides  support/services from ?Soil to Oil? for development and establishment of the non -food Bio-fuel crops.

 

 The CJP has focused on the development of Jatropha curcas and other non-food biodiesel crops. Our primary goal is to discover and develop high-yielding crops that generate the most bio-energy per hectare of land. We have identified and developed new elite varieties of feedstock crops optimized for production under different agro-climatic conditions, economic and social parameters .We would like to introduce you to JATROPHA and our related activities.

The emerging industry is facing a lack of feedstock supplies and rising crude palm oil /soya oil prices and also the debate of crops for food versus fuel and needs initiatives in crop cultivation technologies and competitive sourcing of appropriate feedstock - all of which can alter the biofuel economics. As such the greatest challenges to the widespread deployment and use of biofuels is developing a dedicated energy crops that are cost-effective, easy to sustain and can produce greater yields. Such energy crop that produces biofuels and holds particular promise for sustainable development and a sustainable environment is Jatropha and other non-food crops.



 
Government of India has selected the plant for National Program compared to others due to followings:

Low cost seeds

High oil content

Small gestation period

Growth on good and degraded soil

Growth in low and high rainfall areas

Seeds can be harvested in non-rainy season

Plant size is making collection of seeds more convenient

Of all the above prospective plant candidates as bio-diesel yielding sources, Jatropha curcas is standing "at the top" and "sufficient information? on this plant is already available



 



Jatropha is a valuable multi-purpose crop to alleviate soil degradation, desertification and deforestation, which can be used for bio-energy to replace petro-diesel, for soap production and climatic protection, and hence deserves specific attention

Jatropha can help to increase rural incomes, self-sustainability and alleviate poverty for women, elderly, children and men, tribal communities, small farmers. It can as well help to increase income from plantations and agro-industries.

There are various trees that are suitable for bio-diesel production. Out of all these trees, Jatropha must be regarded as a sure inclusion and the foundation around which a plan can be built if for nothing but its pure hardiness and stress handling ability. It is just a tree that has enough credentials. That is why the Planning Commission of India has nominated it as ideal plant for biodiesel.

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http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKHKG7593720070912

GUANGZHOU, China, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Oilseed plant jatropha does not offer an easy answer to biofuels problems as some countries hope, because it can be toxic and yields are unreliable, experts and industry officials warned on Wednesday.

The woody plant can grow on barren, marginal land, and so is increasingly popular in countries such as China that are keen to boost biofuels output but nervous about food security.

But its nuts and leaves are toxic, requiring careful handling by farmers and at crushing plants, said experts at an oils and fats conference.

In addition, it is a labour-intensive crop as each fruit ripens at a different time and needs to be harvested separately. Its productivity is also low and has yet to be stabilised.

 


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http://www.biodieseltoday.com/


 

 

31 to 37 % of oil is extracted from a Jatropha seed. Jatropha Curcas seed can be used as Bio diesel for any diesel engine without modification

 Selling treated Jatropha seeds, and quality sapling

 Dark blue dye and wax can be produced from the bark of the Jatropha curcas plants

 Jatropha plant Stem is used as a poor quality wood : Bio fuel

 Jatropha curcas leaves helps in dressing the wound.

 Jatropha roots help in making yellow dye

 Juice of the flowers of Jatropha curcas and the Jatropha stem has very good medicinal properties

 Pounded seeds are used in tanning

 Press Cake : Jatropha becomes Organic fertilizer and soil improver

 Jatropha curcas extracted oil are used as :
Bio Diesel, Varnishes, Illuminants, Soap, Pest control and Medicinal for skin diseases, as purgative

 
 
 

" The use of Vegetable oils (Bio Diesel) for engine may seem insignificant today.
But such oils may become in course of time as important as Petroleum and Coal tar products of the present time"
                                                               - Rudolf Diesel , 1912

 

[Plane]

http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2008/06/18/mit-team-plays-with-fire-to-create-cheap-energy/





Out on a lawn at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with joggers and traffic passing nearby, Spencer Ahrens is demonstrating what looks like either the future of solar power ? or perhaps a death ray.

Thrusting a 12-foot board up into the air in front of a large mirror-covered satellite-type dish, Mr. Ahrens, an MIT graduate student, waves the board, looking for an elusive sweet spot where reflected sun rays converge.

With three student teammates looking on, he steadies the board once its tip begins to glow. Shining white in the reflected solar rays, the wood suddenly bursts into flames. Students laugh as smoke billows in the breeze.

This burning-board trick may seem like a YouTube stunt, but it?s actually a visceral demonstration of a device with a serious purpose: to make super-cheap solar heat.

From garage inventors to government scientists, many have tried to make a solar dish that focuses sun rays to generate power. What makes this student project different is not that they?ve done it ? but that they?ve done it so cheaply, building this dish with off-the-shelf parts.




?A lot of good people have built working dishes, but generally they?re more expensive, more complex, and harder to build,? says Matthew Ritter, an Olin College of Engineering student who?s also part of the team. ?We use widely available materials ? that?s our breakthrough.?

The student team has already formed a company ? Raw Solar ? that they hope will one day have an assembly line cranking out cheap solar dishes that individually or in large arrays could supply affordable heat to a college campus, suburban home, or third-world village.


http://www.raw-solar.com/

RawSolar is a renewable energy company specializing in economically affordable solar energy systems. The company's flagship product is a mirrored dish that captures sunlight to produce heat.

The innovative parabolic design achieves 1000x sunlight concentration with minimial tooling or skilled labor. This patented product is low-cost, modular, and highly efficient.

Raw Solar is economical at all scales. Small, medium, and large customers can all do the environmentally right thing without spending big bucks.

[Plane]

http://www.radiantsolar.com/index.php