NANOTECHNOLOGY

IN ENERGY MANAGEMENT

BY
MANISH PANDEY
SONU SINGH
 INTRODUCTION

Nanotechnology, shortened to "nanotech", is the study of the

controlling of matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally
nanotechnology deals with structures of the size 100 nanometers or
smaller in at least one dimension, and involves developing materials or
devices within that size. Nanotechnology is very diverse, ranging from
extensions of conventional device physics to completely new approaches
based upon molecular self-assembly, from developing new materials
with dimensions on the nanoscale to investigating whether we can
directly control matter on the atomic scale.

Nanotechnology has the potential to create many new materials

and devices with a vast range of applications, such as in medicine,
electronics and energy production.
 ROLE IN ENERGY MANAGEMENT

The most advanced nanotechnology projects related to energy

are:

Storage,
 Conversion
Manufacturing improvements
By reducing materials and process rates,
Energy saving e.g. by better thermal insulation,
Enhanced renewable energy sources
 Topics

Reduction of Increasing the

energy efficiency
consumption

Use of
environment
Recycling of
friendly
batteris
energy
system
Reduction of energy consumption

A reduction of energy consumption can be reached by the

use of

• better insulation systems,

• more efficient lighting
• more efficient combustion systems,
• lighter and stronger materials in the transportation sector.

Currently used light bulbs only convert approximately 5% of the

electrical energy into light.

Nanotechnological approaches like light-emitting diodes (LEDs) or

quantum caged atoms (QCAs) could lead to a strong reduction of
energy consumption for illumination.
TYPICAL LED
 Increasing the efficiency of energy
production
Today's best solar cells have layers of two different semiconductors stacked
together to absorb light at different energies but they still only manage to use 30
percent of the Sun's energy. Commercially available solar cells have much lower
efficiencies (less than 20%).

Nanotechnology could help increase the efficiency of light conversion by

specifically designed nanostructures. Scientists have recently developed tetra-
shaped nanoparticles that, when applied to a surface, instantly transform it into a
solar collector.

The degree of efficiency of combustion engines is not higher than 15-20% at the
moment. Nanotechnology could improve combustion by designing specific
catalysts with maximized surface area.
SOLAR CELL
 Use of environmentally friendly energy
systems

An example for an environmentally friendly form of energy is the use of

fuel cells powered by hydrogen, which is ideally produced by renewable
energies.

Probably the most prominent nanostructured material in fuel cells is the

catalyst consisting of carbon supported noble metal particles. Suitable
materials for hydrogen storage contain a large number of small nanosized
pores. Therefore many nanostructured materials like

1) Nanotubes
2) Zeolites
3) Alanates are under investigation
Nanotechnology can contribute to the further reduction of combustion
engine pollutants by nanoporous filters, which can clean the exhaust:

1) Mechanically,
2) By catalytic converters based on nanoscale noble metal particles with diameters
of 1- 5 nm,
3) By coatings on cylinder walls H2 store [Maruyama] catalytic walls,
4) Catalytic nanoparticles as additive for fuels
 Recycling of batteries
Because of the relatively low energy density of batteries the
operating time is limited and a replacement or recharging is
needed. The huge number of spent batteries and
accumulators represent a disposal problem.

The use of batteries with higher energy content or the use

of rechargeable batteries or supercapacitors with higher rate
of recharging using nanomaterials could be helpful for the
battery disposal problem.
Supercapacitor