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Weekly Energy Newsbriefs

Articles for March 9, 2009


ENERGY NEWSBRIEFS is a weekly current awareness service provided by the Washington State University Extension Energy Program Library and written by Angela Santamaria, WSU Energy Library Manager, to assist users in tracking developments in the energy field. To view past issues or to subscribe to receive an email notification of the publication of a new issue, go to Energy Newsbriefs archives at http://www.energy.wsu.edu/library/newsbriefs.cfm.

Please be aware that although every URL is checked for accuracy prior to the publication of Energy Newsbriefs, URLs are, for various reasons, subject to change. Further, servers sometimes fail to connect to working URLs.


BIOFUEL

"Oregon Producer to Use Residential Oil Waste," by Ryan C. Christiansen, is a short article describing the new program to recycle cooking oil into biodiesel fuel. See this article in Biodiesel Magazine , March 2009, at http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=3254.


COGENERATION

"Fuel-Flexible Gas Turbine Cogeneration — Advantages and Challenges of Using Waste Gases" was jointly authored by Robin McMillan and David Marriott, both of Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery, Lincoln, UK, and Su Ri Han, Siemens China, Shanghai, China. This is a clearly written description of the technology and how to realize the benefits it has to offer. See this article in Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production , November-December 2008, at http://www.cospp.com/display_article/346787/122/CRTIS/none/none/1/Fuel-flexible-gas-turbine-cogeneration-—advantages-and-challenges-of-using-waste-gases/?dcmp=COSPP_NEWS.


GREEN BUILDINGS

The following case studies of highly energy-efficient and sustainable building and remodeling projects appeared in the February 2009 issue of High Performance Buildings :

  1. "Creating a Legacy" shows how space in a large office building in Atlanta, Georgia, was "greened" to satisfy the requirements of a potential leasee. See this case study at http://www.hpbmagazine.org/images/stories/articles/Skanska2.pdf.

  1. "Rx for Platinum," by Dennis Wilde, Principal, Gerding Edlen, is a case study of the Oregon Health & Science University's new Center for Health & Healing. The Center earned the U.S. Green Building Council LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification. The integrated design process that is credited for the building's LEED success is described in detail. The case study includes energy performance data and information about the Center's water efficiency. See this case study at http://www.hpbmagazine.org/images/stories/articles/OHSU.pdf.

  1. "Taking Care of Tenants" shows the success of an office tower in Houston, Texas, which has been designated an Energy Star building by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The sidebar, "Lessons Learned" is included. See this case study at http://www.hpbmagazine.org/images/stories/articles/5HoustonCenter.pdf.

  1. "Urban Stewards," by Alice Hartley, Communications, Cook+Fox, is a case study of the renovation of the penthouse area of what was originally a department store building, constructed in 1902 in New York City. Now the Cook+Fox Architects Office, the renovation earned the U.S. Green Building Council LEED-CI (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - Commercial Interiors) Platinum certification. The sidebar, "Lessons Learned," is included. See this case study at http://www.hpbmagazine.org/images/stories/articles/AveAmericas.pdf.


HVAC (HEATING, VENTILATION, and AIR CONDITIONING)

The following two case studies appeared in the January 2009 issue of Engineered Systems (ES):

  1. "Statue of Liberty Chills with Plastic Cooling Towers," by staff, describes two new (relatively) lightweight plastic cooling towers. The first is the 70-ton tower recently installed in the interior of the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island to replace a rusted steel-clad one. The second is the 250-ton plastic tower for the visitors' building on Ellis Island. This case study is at http://www.esmagazine.com/Articles/Case_In_Point/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000502624.

  1. "TPC Sawgrass' New Clubhouse Reaches the Green While Cooling," by staff, describes the sustainable clubhouse built where the Tournament Players Golf Championship is held every year. Florida's high humidity is a challenge overcome by a specialized dehumidification system. See this case study at http://www.esmagazine.com/Articles/Case_In_Point/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000502618.


POLICY

"California Pressed to End Low Carbon Fuel Standard Biases," by Richard A. Kessler, suggests that a misunderstanding of current science would result in skewed policy. See this interesting article in Recharge, March 2, 2009, at http://www.rechargenews.com/regions/north_america/article173197.ece.


THERMAL TECHNOLOGIES

"First IQ Batch Furnace Certified to Carburize Wind-Turbine Gears," by James Caton and Mike LaPlante, both of Flame Metals Processing Corp., describes the difficulties that had to be met to successfully heat-treat gears that would be operating under extremely difficult conditions and, in some cases, in difficult-to-access locations. A special integral-quench (IQ) batch furnace that could do the job had to be found. See it in Industrial Heating, January 2009, at http://www.industrialheating.com/Articles/Feature_Article/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000500613.

"Voids in Brazed Joints," by Dan Kay, is a three-part article in the January 2009 issue of Industrial Heating:

Part 1 names the four main causes of voids appearing in brazed joints and addresses how to avoid the first, surface contamination. See Part 1 at http://www.industrialheating.com/Articles/The_Experts_Speak_Dan_Kay/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000506428.

Part 2 deals with the second cause, base metal and brazer filler-metal constituents. See it at http://www.industrialheating.com/Articles/The_Experts_Speak_Dan_Kay/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000511595.

Part 3 discusses brazing methods and temperatures used during brazing. View Part 3 at http://www.industrialheating.com/Articles/The_Experts_Speak_Dan_Kay/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000516667.

Part 4 shows how to avoid poor joint fit-ups and adds a review and summary of the entire four-part article. See Part 4 at http://www.industrialheating.com/CDA/Articles/The_Experts_Speak_Dan_Kay/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000523023.

Past issues of Energy Newsbriefs are available at http://www.energy.wsu.edu/library/newsbriefs.cfm.

Generally, subscription information for the journals cited above can be found at the home page of their web sites.

© 2009 Washington State University Extension Energy Program. This publication contains material written and produced for public distribution. Permission to copy or disseminate all or part of this material is granted, provided that the copies are not made or distributed for commercial advantage, and that each is referenced by title with credit to the Washington State University Extension Energy Program. Copying, reprinting or dissemination, electronic or otherwise, for any other use requires prior written permission from the Washington State University Extension Energy Program.