Story 1: New NASA-Backed Study Will Test Ammonia as a Carbon-Free Jet Fuel
Source: Robb Report Story by Dana Givens
Link: https://robbreport.com/motors/aviation/nasa-ammonia-alternative-fuel-study-1234735414/
Source: University of Central Florida press announcement
Link: https://www.ucf.edu/news/ucf-to-lead-10m-nasa-project-to-develop-zero-carbon-jet-engines/
- Just this year alone it’s estimated that commercial jets will dump 671 metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
- Two weeks ago, we talked about an experimental solar tower that can make a “green” jet fuel from sunbeams, water, and carbon dioxide.
- The good news is the search for climate friendly alternatives to traditional jet fuels continues to expand thanks to a new NASA $10 million grant to the University of Central Florida.
- The grant will fund a collaborative academic and private industry research effort to see if liquid ammonia could be a carbon-free emissions alternative to today’s kerosene-based, petroleum derived jet fuel.
- Other members of the team include:
- Georgia Tech
- Purdue
- Boeing
- General Electric
- ANSYS
- Southwest Research Institute
- Greater Orlando Aviation Authority
- A quick history aside: Using ammonia as a fuel for internal combustion engines dates back to the early 1800s and saw a surge in use as an alternative fuel during World War II when oil stockpiles became low. Despite this early start, limited research on internal combustion and spark ignition engines using ammonia as fuel had been conducted until the 2010s. Source: https://www.sustainable-carbon.org/ammonia-a-fuel-of-the-future/
- The goal of this five-year effort is to prove that liquid ammonia can provide enough power to fly a large commercial passenger jet.
- The plan is to use ammonia as the hydrogen carrier, which will be catalytically “cracked” to release nitrogen and hydrogen. The hydrogen will be burned in the onboard combustors (inside the engine) to provide the power.
- To achieve this goal the team will develop new jet engine adapter components needed for a Boeing 737 test aircraft to convert to using the liquid ammonia fuel the team plans to create.
- Overall, the research team aims to not only make aviation fuel green, but also create engines and fueling systems that easily integrate into current airport infrastructure thus saving airports and aircraft manufacturers millions of dollars as they look to retrofit.
- The University of Central Florida-led study is not the world’s only effort to explore the use of ammonia as a jet fuel. For example, an Australian company called Aviation H2 has announced plans to operate a smaller business jet using ammonia fuel by mid-next year.
Story 2: New one-passenger “flying car” does not require a license to operate
Source: PlaneandPilotmag.com Story by Sam Winer
Source: Jetsonaero.com
Link: https://www.jetsonaero.com/jetson-one
- When I was a kid, I loved “The Jetsons” – a cartoon show from the 60s about a family in the future that featured a single passenger flying jet that folded up into George Jetson’s briefcase when he arrived at work.
- That fantasy has partly come true in the form of a new single passenger flying craft that looks to me like a sleek toboggan with four big drone propellers.
- It’s called the Jetson One, in honor of the cartoon series, and it’s an 8 foot long, recreational all-electric-vertical takeoff and landing vehicle developed by the Swedish company Jetson Aero.
- And because it’s classified as an ultralight [weighing only 190 pounds with a top speed of 63 MPH], it does not require an FAA certificate to legally fly it.
- The Jetson One can support a passenger weighing up to 210 pounds and offers a service ceiling of over 1,500 feet [the maximum height at which an aircraft can sustain a specified rate of climb dependent on engine type].
- The craft features a triple redundant, software-driven control system, which allows virtually anyone, even those with no flying experience, to safely fly the aircraft with very little instruction.
- The design includes multiple automatic safety systems, including the aircraft’s ability to hover hands-free, simply by taking your hands off the two joystick controls.
- Other safety features include LIDAR sensors for terrain tracking and obstacle avoidance, as well as a rapid deployment emergency ballistic parachute big enough to safely land the craft and passenger.
- Remember, LIDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a detection system which works on the principle of radar, but uses bounced back light from a laser to measure distances.
- And using Tesla high discharge lithium-ion batteries, the Jetson One can keep you airborne for about 20 minutes.
- Reality check: Purchasing the Jetson One will set you back $92,000.
Story 3: New system transforms non-recyclable plastic waste into construction building blocks
Source: interestingengineering.com Story by Loukia Papadopoulos
- Every year nearly 27 million tons of plastic waste winds up in American landfills!
- Los Angeles-based startup ByFusion has come up with an innovative way of dealing with plastic waste that can’t cost effectively be recycled.
- They’ve developed a way to turn plastic trash into useful construction blocks they call “ByBlocks” by using a machine they developed that transforms the plastic waste into building blocks in minutes using steam and high compression.
- One of the key advantages of the ByFusion solution, one that is financially and process time attractive, is that the plastic trash does not have to be washed before feeding it into their block making system.
- The ByFusion system takes the plastic trash “as is” and shreds it into tiny pieces that can easily be fused together to make ready-to-use construction blocks measuring 16 inches by 8 inches by 8 inches that can serve as substitutes for standard hollow cement building blocks.
- Reality check:
- The ByBlocks work just as well as cement blocks, they just have one catch: they are susceptible to sunlight.
- However, this can easily be solved by coating them in clear paint or pairing them with a durable weather-resistant material.
Story 4: Researchers ‘revive’ organs in dead pigs
Source: National Post Story by Sharon Kirkey
Link: https://bit.ly/3Q4oYvT
Source: CNN Story by Katie Hunt
Link: https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/06/world/dead-cell-reanimation-pigs-wt-scn/index.html
- Cutting-edge medical research on pigs is showing that death in cells isn’t instantaneous.
- In fact, it’s a complex biological process that can potentially be halted.
- Scientists from Yale University recently reported that they reanimated the cells and organs of pigs that had been dead for an hour using a treatment involving synthetic blood.
- Using a system dubbed “OrganEx” that involves special pumps and a cocktail of chemicals to restore oxygen and prevent cell death throughout the body, the Yale University team restored blood circulation and other cellular functions in multiple pig organs an hour after the pigs died from cardiac arrest.
- According to the research team: The study reveals the underappreciated capacity for cellular recovery after prolonged whole-body loss of blood circulation and resulting loss of oxygen in a large mammal.
- Okay, time out! If you’re thinking this is some kind of weird science to create Frankenstein pigs, think again!
- Instead, the exciting and wonderful goal is to expand the window of time that much-needed human organs for transplants can remain viable.