Dehumidifier and condenser applications (where water is condensed onto a chilled surface) are common in power plants, desalination plants, chillers and heat exchangers. In these applications, condensation can be enhanced with an alternating hydrophilic-hydrophobic pattern on the condensation surface. This patterning has been implemented using polymers, self-assembled monolayers and other non-conducting materials. These approaches create chemically heterogeneous surfaces that have limited lifetimes -- due to the thickness and durability of the film.To address this situation, researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a surface with alternating hydrophilic-hydrophobic patterning that promote dual and simultaneous modes of condensation -- filmwise and sustained dropwise condensation -- on a chemically homogenous conducting material (metal substrate) -- which is the material of choice for condenser applications. This innovation is achieved with a practical and scalable technique of surface machining or roughening based on the preferred dimensions of the pattern. The resulting chemically homogenous, conductive substrate is important for maintaining a substrate with high thermal conductivity and doesn't add any thermal resistance that would impede the condensation heat transfer.   (more...)

With over 100 million tons produced annually, oxygen (O2) is among the most widely used commodity chemicals in the world -- and the demand for pure O2 could grow enormously due to its potential use in processes associated with the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel-burning plants.   The separation of O2 from air is currently done on a large scale using an energy-intensive cyrogenic distillation process. Zeolites are also used for O2 / N2 separation, however this process is inherently inefficient as the materials used adsorb N2 over O2 with poor selectivity.   To address this situation, researchers at UC Berkeley have developed novel redox-active metal-organic frameworks for gas separation. In comparison to conventional materials, the Berkeley material displays incredible separation properties at temperatures that are much more favorable to those currently used in numerous gas separaton and storage applications.    (more...)

The separation of CO2 from H2 is highly significant in the context of two distinct applications: (i) the capture of CO2 emissions like those produced from coal-fired power plants, and (ii) the purification of hydrogen gas, which is synthesized on megaton scales annually. Pressure-swing adsorption (PSA) is advantageous over other separations techniques such as liquid absorbents, membrane or cryogenic separation due to the high purity and yield of hydrogen that can be produced. In a PSA system, CO2 adsorbs onto a surface at high pressure in the presence of other gases, and the porous material can be regenerated for another purification cycle by simply dropping the pressure to ambient conditions. Porous materials such as zeolites and activated carbons are used in PSA systems for CO2/H2 separations, however due to the maturity of these technologies only modest improvements in CO2/H2 separation performance can be expected in the future. For PSA to be the most economical separation technique in all scenarios, much greater efficiencies must be achieved than what can be realized with these adsorbents. To address this need, investigators at University of California at Berkeley have investigated a novel group of adsorbents, metal-organic frameworks, for PSA separation of CO2 from H2 and other gases such as CH4. Metal-organic frameworks are a group of porous crystalline materials composed of metal cations or clusters joined by multifunctional organic linkers.  The high surface area and low bulk densities of these materials result in both large gravimetric and volumetric capacities for CO2. Five metal-organic frameworks have been studied by the investigators, where single-component CO2, H2 and CH4 adsorption isotherms were measured at 313 °K at pressures up to 40 bar. Mixtures of CO2, H2 and CH4 were simulated using these single-component data as a starting point. The best-performing materials exhibited much higher selectivities and working capacities for CO2 than activated carbons and zeolites. (more...)

The invention is the design of a power unit for freight-bearing locomotives using a Solid-Oxide Fuel Cell and a Gas Turbine engine and is intended to be used as the single power-providing unit onboard locomotives intended for freight service. The dual power sources form a single unit with synergistic energy efficiency and emissions reductions benefits. The unit is designed to operate on the currently-standard diesel fuel used in the locomotive industry. (more...)

Coke fed to the iron blast furnace serves three purposes, as a fuel, as a reducing agent, and as a structural material supporting the deep bed of coke/iron oxides/limestone that makes up much of the furnace volume. It is in this last role that coke properties are crucial. It is important that the coke not degrade (e.g., break up into small particles) during its descent through the oxidizing hot gases passing upward through the stack region of the furnace. Modification of coke so that it is less susceptible to oxidation in the stack is therefore likely to be advantageous, e.g., in terms of bed permeability, minimization of fines in the furnace and lower CO/CO2 ratio in the off gas (with consequent improvement in coke rate). Naturally such reduction in coke reactivity should not be so extreme as to reduce its ability to serve as a reducing agent lower in the furnace. Laboratory studies at Berkeley have shown that a relatively simple gaseous treatment of metallurgical coke can reduce the rate at which it is oxidized. Oxidation has been carried out using CO2/Ar mixtures rather than theCO2/CO/nitrogen mixtures encountered in the furnace. However, the effect of the treatment is on the structure of the coke and therefore oxidation under actual furnace conditions should also be reduced. Results of tests performed at Inland Steel show improvement of approximately 45% in coke reaction index and approximately 40% in coke strength after reaction. (more...)

This UCB innovation has particular applications in biofuel production. It increases tolerance of microorganisms to toxic agents, such as solvents. Therefore, it is very valuable in increasing production of solvents from solvent-generating microorganisms. The method allows the engineering a microorganism of interest to express a heterologous heat-shock protein/chaperone, e.g., Group II chaperoning or a prefoldin such as γ-prefoldin, where the heterologous protein is from an extremophile, such as an archaean. While the research organism is E. coli, the methods can be applicable to other organisms, such as yeasts (more...)