Untersuchung von Ionischen Flüssigkeiten unter Stromfluss

Every year 23 % of the world energy consumption is caused by friction and wear. Especially now and in future bearings and gear boxes will be exposed to electrical currents so lubricants have to prevent the components from new damage mechanism. The usage of Ionic Liquids as conductible lubricant additives is in discussion for a longer period of time, but right now it was not investigated how these liquids could be affect by electrical currents itself. Generally, lubricants in industry are compounded by base oils, additives, and thickeners. All these ingredients are isolators and not able to discharge electrical currents. In these joint research project, different Ionic Liquids with different conductivities have been exposed to defined electrical currents. For that experiments a new current feed setup has been developed, where the liquids and model lubricants were exposed to electrical currents under temperature control. The influence on the liquids by the current feed was chemically quantified by using IR-Spectroscopy, rheology and conductivity measurements. The Ionic Liquids react, depending on their chemical structure, very different on the current feeds, some of them has been destroyed totally.

REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA POWER ENERGY IN THE PANDEMIC

The anti-COVID restrictions have resulted in a reduction of the total world energy consumption. At the same time, the transfer of the activities to home increased the household consumption of electricity by up to 30%. In the Republic of Moldova, the total electricity consumption in 2020 decreased compared to 2019 by 0.22 %, while household consumption increased by 3.5%. In the first quarter of 2021, household consumption increased by 7.8%, raising the share of household consumption to 45.5 %. Working from home has proven to be convenient for both employees and employers, so the trend is expected to remain after the pandemic crisis. In this context, a series of energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions in residential buildings are expected to be implemented.

TiO2 Photocatalysis for the Transformation of Aromatic Water Pollutants into Fuels

The growing world energy consumption, with reliance on conventional energy sources and the associated environmental pollution, are considered the most serious threats faced by mankind. Heterogeneous photocatalysis has become one of the most frequently investigated technologies, due to its dual functionality, i.e., environmental remediation and converting solar energy into chemical energy, especially molecular hydrogen. H2 burns cleanly and has the highest gravimetric gross calorific value among all fuels. However, the use of a suitable electron donor, in what so-called “photocatalytic reforming”, is required to achieve acceptable efficiency. This oxidation half-reaction can be exploited to oxidize the dissolved organic pollutants, thus, simultaneously improving the water quality. Such pollutants would replace other potentially costly electron donors, achieving the dual-functionality purpose. Since the aromatic compounds are widely spread in the environment, they are considered attractive targets to apply this technology. In this review, different aspects are highlighted, including the employing of different polymorphs of pristine titanium dioxide as photocatalysts in the photocatalytic processes, also improving the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 by loading different types of metal co-catalysts, especially platinum nanoparticles, and comparing the effect of various loading methods of such metal co-catalysts. Finally, the photocatalytic reforming of aromatic compounds employing TiO2-based semiconductors is presented.

Future energy, fuel cells, and solid-oxide fuel-cell technology

According to the US Department of Energy’s Energy Infomation Administration (EIA) (International Energy Outlook 2017), world energy consumption will increase 28% between 2015 and 2040, rising from 575 quadrillion Btu (∼606 quadrillion kJ) in 2015 to 736 quadrillion Btu (∼776 quadrillion kJ) in 2040. EIA predicts increases in consumption for all energy sources (excluding coal, which is estimated to remain flat)—fossil (petroleum and other liquids, natural gas), renewables (solar, wind, hydropower), and nuclear. Although renewables are the world’s fastest growing form of energy, fossil fuels are expected to continue to supply more than three-quarters of the energy used worldwide. Among the various fossil fuels, natural gas is the fastest growing, with a projected increase of 43% from 2015 to 2040. As the use of fossil fuels increases, the EIA projects world energy-related carbon dioxide emission to grow from ∼34 billion metric tons in 2015 to ∼40 billion metric tonnes in 2040 (an average 0.6% increase per year).

State of the Art of Electricity Generation (2007-2017)

The statistics for world energy consumption and electricity production in the last decade are presented to highlight the increment of the electricity share, compared to thermal usages and transportation, in the energy sector. The main technologies for electricity production from fossil fuels and nuclear power are summarised, indicating their characteristics, current plants, and emerging trends. Finally, the state of the art, regarding the technical applications of photovoltaic (PV) generators and wind turbines (WT), is presented.