THE NEW GENERATION WIND MILLS-WILL IT MAKE THEM POPULAR?

Wind mills are offering a feasible option in the search of sustainable energy sources and already a significant part of global energy produced comes from this sector. However high cost of investment, unbearable noise generation and bird-unfriendly features are still hampering its progress in spite of its pollution free clean credentials. With cheap wind mill systems coming from China considerable boost has been received recently with many countries going ahead in this area aiming to shift a significant part of their energy grid from fossil fuel generation to wind generated energy. It is universally agreed that wind energy can spare the planet pollution to the extent of 1500 tons of CO2, 6.5 tons of SO2, 3.2 tons of NO2 and 27 kg of Mercury spewed out into the atmosphere when fossil fuels are used to generate 1 MW energy. No wonder that more than 65 million MW of energy is produced using wind mills, of which almost 45% is accounted for by Europe though other countries are catching up fast. Though wind mills were known for almost 2000 years, significant development in designing better and more efficient wind power generating systems has taken place after 1970 due to the fossil fuel shock which saw the price of crude oil literally hitting the roof. Most of to day's wind mills are of horizontal axis type but there have been references to vertical axis type also which some how did not seem to have found favor with the energy industry. Now comes the news that commercial scale vertical axis machines are being offered with some superior features. Here is a peep into this new development. 

"Designing and building the new McCamley vertical axis wind turbine took decades, but it may have been well worth it, as the company believes their innovative design could revolutionize urban wind power. The McCamley MT01 Mk2 is designed to be easy to install, without any need for a tower, on urban rooftops, and is claimed to be able to operate with minimal noise and vibration and be able to self-start (no grid power input) at low wind speeds. The McCamley turbine was specifically designed to work in the variable and turbulent winds typically found in the city, and because it can continue to operate in extremely strong winds, may be able to harvest energy from a wider range of wind conditions than other designs.The lightweight turbine is mounted on multiple legs, cutting down on vibration and stress on the roof, and the rotor design is said to be "bird and bat friendly". The Mk2 self-starts in winds as low as 1.8 meters/second, and a self-regulating speed system allows the turbine to continue to operate efficiently in gusting and turbulent winds by keeping the rotor at a consistent speed. The turbine's direct-drive design also eliminates the need for a gear box, simplifying the maintenance or repair of the units". 

One of the good features of the above variant is that it is much less noise polluting and more easy to be installed and maintained. One of the inconveniences of the present generation windmills is the irritating noise generated by the rotating turbine blades which can be extremely annoying to residents nearby. According to the manufacturers of vertical mills the noise generation is not an issue at all with their system. Similarly wind mills are known killers of birds and according to statistics more than 20 to 30 thousand birds are killed every year due to their crossing the path of the turbine blade but vertical wind mills are not as lethal when it comes to bird fatality. If all these claims are true vertical axis wind mills may become very popular especially for small sized power generation with relatively low investment. Countries like India which has thousands of miles of coastal lines, vertical wind mills can make a big difference, especially during summer time when acute power cuts are common due to perennial shortage.  

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

BIODEGRADABLE PACKAGING-ADVERSE CONSUMER REACTION

Plastic materials have become so omnipotent that every aspect of human life is touched by this man created contraption and there does not appear to be any escape from them without causing major disruptions in the day to day activities of the society as a whole. In terms of convenience and versatility plastics are irreplaceable just like the fossil fuels on which man depends so heavily as the driving engine for growth and development. As most of the plastics are derived from exhaustible fossil sources and since they are practically indestructible, quest for alternatives to plastics has been going on for the last 3 decades. The pollution potential of plastics is so high, their indiscriminate disposal is known to cause pollution, flooding of urban drainage, damage to lives of animals and generate toxins on burning without control. Though they can be recycled, hardly 2% of the entire production goes through recycling route. Since production of plastics is an energy intensive process, recycling can be expected to save considerable energy in the long run on a global level. Though materials like Cellophane, known and used since long, are degradable, their universal use has practical limitations in terms of functionality. After years of research and development, food industry was able to come up with a functionally satisfactory packing material using the commonly available lactic acid which has recently made its debut with the industry. What about the consumer response to this ground-breaking development? The old saying that "Man Supposes, God Disposes" is becoming a reality, the only difference here being "industry proposes, consumer disposes".

"The world's first 100 percent biodegradable chip packet attracted a lot of noise last week, but not the buzz that SunChips' maker FritoLay had been hoping for.

40,000 people have signed up to a Facebookgroup criticizing the packaging material, plant-based polylactic acid (PLA), for being too loud. It is said to biodegrade in as little as 14 weeks, while conventional chip packets typically take over 100 years.

Can there really be 40,000 people who would prefer to add to our ever-growing mountain of waste than buy an extra-crispy chip packet? Are we really that shallow?

Sadly, it seems so.

"The loudest, most annoying bag on the planet." That's how one Facebook user describes the new compostable SunChips bag – and she's not alone. But its makers are doing a great job of rejecting the ruckus.

Backed into a corner, the company has incorporated the reaction into its marketing strategy, attaching signs to store shelves that read: "Yes, the bag is loud. That's what change sounds like".

The eternal debate regarding biodegradability of conventional plastics is unlikely to die soon because arguments on both sides have their own merits. Many wonder why plastics should be biodegradable when there are many other materials in every day use which are not easily destructible while the high decibel campaign against plastics cites its uncontrolled littering as cause for many woes confronting the world. If used plastics are to be used as a land refill, is it not better if it is not degradable? Even if biodegradability is required, plastics can be modified during its manufacture to include microbes attracting additives that will ensure their destruction 100 times faster than conventional ones. A plastic material like Nylon has been made biodegradable because of microorganisms like Flavobacteria and Pseudomonas. Dependence on fossil fuel for making plastics is another reason for its shunning as the source materials are likely to be exhausted soon. But plastics like poly ethylene can be made from plant derived raw materials without using fossil fuels as feed stock. Probably a balance has to be struck between normal plastics and biodegradable plastics and both options must be on the table for future policy decisions as and when supply position is affected.

V.H.POTTY

http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com