Resource World Magazine

A LT ER NATI V E EN ER G Y R E VI E W Developments in Alternative Energy by Jane Bratun NEW LED LAMP PRODUCES 200 LUMENS OF LIGHT FOR EVERY WATT OF POWER IT CONSUMES Researchers at Royal Philips Electronics [PHG-NYSE, PHIA-AEX], located in Eindhoven, Netherlands, have developed a tube lighting replacement prototype that produces a record 200 lumens per watt (lm/W) of high-quality, white light (compared with 100lm/W for fluorescent lighting and 15lm/W for traditional light bulbs). This prototype lamp (TLED) is twice as efficient as predecessor lamps, basically halving energy consumption. The Philips approach to make white light combines blue, green, and red light to create high-quality, white light. At the heart of this TLED is Philips' Lumileds InGaN LED. This LED significantly boosts efficiency from the earlier generation. As an added benefit, the new LEDs generate less heat, so they can be made without heat sinks. This means they are less bulky, give greater design freedom, use less material, and can be produced more cheaply. The TLED lamps are intended to replace fluorescent tube lighting used in offices and industry, which account for more than half of the world's lighting needs. Conversion to the twice-as-efficient 200lm/W TLED lamps will generate significant energy and cost savings. According to a US Department of Energy report, in the US, fluorescent lights consume about 200 terawatt-hours of electricity annually. If these lights were all replaced with 200lm/W TLEDs, the US would use about 100 terawatt-hours less energy (equivalent to 50 medium-sized power plants) saving more than $12 billion and preventing about 60 million metric tons of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere. With lighting accounting for more than 19% of the world's total electricity 42 www.resourceworld.com consumption, this innovation promises to drive massive energy and cost savings across the globe. The 200lm/W TLED lamp is expected on the market in 2015 for office and industry applications before ultimately being used in the home. In a related development, in October 2012, Philips unveiled Hue, the webenabled LED home lighting system. Philips Hue allows you to create and control the light using your smartphone or tablet to personalize lighting. BIOTECHNOLOGY CREATES RENEWABLE OILS FROM MICROALGAE Researchers at Solazyme Inc. [SZYMNASDAQ] have made a breakthrough in microalgae oil production. Using standard industrial fermentation equipment, Solazyme is scaling and accelerating microalgae natural oil production time to just a few days and at commercial levels. The new process couples proprietary strains of algae using standard industrial biotechnology to create renewable oils by harnessing the microalgae's oil production capabilities. Most microalgae produce their own nutrients by using sunlight in a photosynthetic process. Solazyme's proprietary microalgae are heterotrophic, meaning they grow in the dark (in fermenters) by consuming sugars derived from plants that have already harnessed the sun's energy. The improvements are made possible by using standard industrial fermentation (as opposed to open ponds) in combination with Solazyme's new patented microalgae strains. "Solazyme's breakthrough biotechnology platform unlocks the power of microalgae, achieving over 80% oil within each individual cell at commercial scale while changing the triglyceride oil paradigm by their ability to tailor the oil profiles by carbon chain and saturation," a press release from the American Chemical Society notes. "The ability to produce multiple oils in a matter of days, out of one plant location, using standard industrial fermentation is a game-changer." "For the first time in history, we have unlocked the ability to completely design and tailor oils," says Walter Rakitsky, Ph.D and employee of Solazyme. "This breakthrough allows us to create oils optimized for everything from high-performance jet and diesel fuel to renewable chemicals to skin-care products and heart-healthy food oils. These oils could replace or enhance the properties of oils derived from the world's three dominant sources: petroleum, plants, and animals." Solazyme is constructing its first fitfor-purpose commercial-scale production plant in Brazil, with its partner Bunge Ltd. [BG-NYSE]. The facility is located next to a sugarcane mill. It will use sugar from the mill to grow the algae. The initial production capacity is expected to be an impressive 110,000 tons of microalgae oil annually. Capacity is expected to be raised over time to around 330,700 tons. SOLAR COOKER COOKS FOOD AND PURIFIES WATER A solar cooker able to harness the sun's energy to cook food and purify water has been developed by researchers at Cranfield University in Bedfordshire England and the Commission of Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (Asia) (COMSATS) Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan. The cooker will significantly improve the quality of life for rural communities in the developing world. Many thousands of people are at risk of illness every day because of their inability to heat food or JULY 2013

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