Author: grahambj

Key FESC Research

Energy Currents

At the

Enhancing Energy Efficiency and Conservation
Zero Energy Homes
Developing Florida's Biomass Resources
Liquid Fuels from Biomass
Harnessing Florida's Solar Resources
Solar Thermal Power
Rectifying Antenna Solar Power
Clean Water using Advanced Solar Energy Detoxification
Ensuring Nuclear Energy and Carbon Constrained Technologies for Electric Power in Florida
Exploiting Florida’s Ocean and Wind Energy Resources
Securing our Energy Storage and Delivery Infrastructure
Power Generation Expansion
Establishing PV Industry in Florida

Inside this issue:

Conversion	2
	3
	3
	3
Honors	4
Summit	4

Number 4

winter 2010

A green light is shining on the Clean Energy Research Center’s (CERC) mission to build a concentrating solar power (CSP) plant on the USF Tampa campus adjacent to the Research Park. FESC PI and CERC co-director, Yogi Goswami’s aim is making solar energy available 24 hours a day at affordable prices.
CSP is used to focus the sun’s rays generating heat and electricity. When combined with heat storage CSP plants can then produce climate-friendly electricity around the clock, even when the sun is not shining.
A vital area of the CSP research is developing and demonstrating a thermal energy storage (TES) system based on materials that absorb heat when changing from a solid to a liquid and release heat when changing from a liquid to a solid. The objective is to create a TES system based on encapsulated phase change materials to meet the utility-scale base-load CSP plant requirements at much lower system costs compared to existing TES concepts.
TES will be a game changer for the entire energy industry. Hoping to put together storage that will be up to 5 times cheaper than what is available right now, CERC’s research will bring solar power to grid parity, which means it will cost the same as traditional fossil fuels -- when that happens solar power will be the preferred fuel as it doesn’t cause environmental problems.
Such a power plant has sparked a great deal of interest by industry as well as academia. John Ramil, President and CEO of TECO energy, feels the facility will provide wonderful teaching and research benefits.
With multiple funding sources, the stage is now set for Goswami’s CSP research to blossom. At the forefront of the field, this research will impact the future of solar energy.

Concentrated Sunshine

Example of heliostats arrayed around a concentrating tower.

Phase change material pellets developed by Goswami’s research team.

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FESC Universities

"We need to get behind innovation. That's how we'll meet the goal I set ... making sure 80 percent of America's electricity comes from clean energy sources by 2035." USA President Barack Obama

The Florida State University System provides the backbone of renewable energy expertise for the Florida Energy Systems Consortium. Member universities include:
University of Florida
Florida State University
Florida Atlantic University
University of Central Florida
University of South Florida
University of West Florida
University of North Florida
New College of Florida
Florida International University
Florida Gulf Coast University

Thermo-chemical Conversion

An ultra-high vacuum analytical characterization tool.

Florida produces more biomass than any other state in the U.S. Given our dependence on imported oil, developing methods to convert this resource to fuels is vital. FESC is pursuing microbial and gasification routes to produce this carbon-neutral fuel. Of the 13 FESC projects in this area, USF’s progress into thermochemical conversion is producing exciting results.
In fact, “Production of Liquid Fuels Biomass via Thermo-Chemical Conversion Processes” earned an Honorable Mention at the Global Venture Challenge in 2010. The competition is sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of Energy and leading technology and venture capital organizations. The USF research team includes: PI Babu Joseph; Co-PI’s Yogi Goswami, Venkat Bhethanabotla, John Wolan, Vinay Gupta.
The objective is to develop technology for the e c o n o m i c a l thermo-chemical conversion of

lingocellulosic biomass (such as agricultural waste, bagasse from sugar mills, citrus peels, switch grass, municipal green waste) to clean burning liquid fuels. The chemical composition of biomass is a critical determinant of the yield of energy from biomass. The thermo-chemical conversion of lingocellulosic biomass to clean burning liquid fuels requires efficient catalyst. Joseph’s team performed catalyst design by using density functional theory simulations in the molecular scale. The testing moved up to pilot scale, producing a liquid product with a yield in the diesel and jet fuel range. The fuel produced using this process is similar to those derived from petroleum unlike ethanol-derived fuels which have at least a 25% lower energy content. The conversion is accomplished via fast chemical reactions unlike the slow biological reactions for fermenting alcohol, and the process does not require large amounts of water.

An utra high vacuum analytical characterization tool.

Energy Currents

“To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the story here.”

Number 4

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USF FESC RESEARCH
Sustainable Micro-algal Biofuels

USF FESC RESEARCH
Photovoltaic Manufacturing

Solar Detoxification and Disinfection

Faculty Honors, Awards, Activities

http://www.floridaenergy.ufl.edu/

Global Venture: Dr. John Wolan, grad student Syed Ali Gardezi and Jaideep Rajput of the USF Patents and Licensing, earned an Honorable Mention for their biomass fuel reactor which converts common organic materials into fuel, at the Global Venture Challenge 2010.
Excellence in Design Awards: Dr. Stanley Russell garnered an Honor’s Award for excellence in architectural design for the Zero Energy House Learning Center, during the 2010 Design Awards ceremony of the American Institute of Architects, Tampa Bay Chapter in August.
Presented: Dr. Bob Weisberg of USF-St. Petersburg gave an invited presentation on "Alternative Power Generation for Florida by Mechanical and Solar Means" at the Florida Atlantic University Alternative Energy Conference in November.
Presented: Drs. Sarina Ergas, Yu Zhang, James Milhelcic, and John Wolan gave a presentation on the integration of algal biofuel production into recirculating aquaculture systems at the Water Environment Federation Nutrient Recovery and Management Conference in Miami in January.
Mentioned: Dr. Matthias Batzill’s work on advancing graphene electronics was reported in Nature Nanotechnology. Graphene appears to be the material that will overcome the fundamental physical limitations of silicon.

At the

Published by the
Clean Energy Research Center

College of Engineering
University of South Florida
4202 E. Fowler Avenue, Mail Stop ENB 118
Tampa, FL 33620
Phone: 813-974-7322 Fax: 813-974-2050
E-mail: solar@usf.edu
Web: http://cerc.usf.edu

The USF FESC management team is led by CERC’s Prof. Yogi Goswami as Director. Ms. Barbara Graham coordinates communications and publications. For more information: http://cerc.eng.usf.edu
Yogi Goswami goswami@usf.edu
Barbara Graham grahambj@usf.edu

Consortium Summit: Energy Efficiency

More than 260 people attended the second annual FESC Summit, held September 28-29, 2010 at the University of Central Florida’s Student Union. Participants represented a broad cross-section of energy interests, ranging from government and industry to research, development, and education.
The Summit is organized yearly to bring together energy experts in the State University System of Florida to share their energy-related research findings and to promote future collaboration.
The keynote address, entitled “Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: the 2020 Vision,” was presented by Mr. John Lushetsky, Manager of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technology Program (SETP) with responsibility for all solar technology development, grid integration, and market transformation activities under the Solar America Initiative announced by President Bush in 2006.
The Summit’s second day began with more technical sessions, then moved to a panel discussion, “Florida’s Energy Needs and Opportunities.” Serving as panelists were Sen. Mike Haridopolos, Rep. Steve Precourt, and James Murley, Chair of the Florida Energy and Climate Commission.
The complete program can be accessed at the FESC Website:
http://www.floridaenergy.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/

Round Table Discussions

Solar PV: Thermal Group –
Prof. Yogi Goswami (R)

Biomass Group –
Prof.’s Babu Joseph and John Wolan (Center)

Carbon Capture Group –
Prof. Mark Stewart (Center)

The US DOE awarded a multiyear initiative to Goswami and his team for “Base-load Concentrating Solar Power Generation.” Combined with the DOE award, the State of Florida through the Florida Energy Systems Consortium, and SunBorne Energy Technologies, India, awards for “Development of a Modular Central Receiver Concentrated Solar Power Plant for Decentralized Power Generation” now provide a solid platform for continued ground-breaking research.

This 1,000 sq. ft. house prototype will function as a learning center for students, faculty and the general public on the USF-Tampa campus.

Example of a solar trough array.

Ocean Expert Weisberg Testifies on Gulf Oil Spill Science Shortcomings

It is not clear yet if the U.S. will finally put a price on carbon. Currently, things do not look very good. However, maybe in a few months, the environment (in Congress) will change and the chances of passing climate change legislation will increase.
My research team is wrestling with one of the most salient questions related to the emission control programs: what is the optimal redistribution strategy for the revenue raised from either a carbon tax or the auction of allowances in a cap-and trade program?
Economists have long advocated for redistributing the carbon revenue among i) households, in order to compensate for the likely increase of electricity prices due to the price on emissions, and ii) renewable-based generators, so that they can improve their competitiveness against fossil-fuel generators and increase their market share. However, there is no agreement as to how the revenue should be split among these market participants and the timing of the redistribution.
My research team is developing a social-welfare maximization-focused mathematical model to obtain revenue redistribution strategies for a planning horizon among households and renewable generators. Their optimization model is founded on an Optimal Power Flow (OPF) problem and incorporates multi-period horizon, subsidies for households and renewable-based generators, and a set of constraints for the amount of revenue available for redistribution during each period.
The model will aid policymakers in proposing/evaluating revenue redistribution strategies that accompany emissions control programs. Currently, my team is testing the model with several sample problems and performing sensitivity analysis of the model parameters.

Back Page Story Headline

Before and after examples of photocatalytic technology killing Serratia marcescens bacterium.

Clean Energy is Green Energy

Key lllxxx

The competition is sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of Energy and leading technology and venture capital organizations.

Expansion	4

Sustainabe	4

Water	5

Thermal	5

Who	6

Biofuels	6

Continued page 2 “Spill”

Subramanian Krishnan, PhD