Iron-air batteries: a cheap and eco-friendly solution for energy storage

After more than 40 after preparing the first prototype of a cheap , rechargeable, high energy density iron-air battery, researchers at the University of Southern California are now finishing the job of the patent-pending design of the battery.

The technical characteristics of the batteries look particularly well-suited to the kind of large-scale energy storage that could accelerate the adoption of renewable energy sources.

Back in the 70’s, researchers were already working on environmentally friendly rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and only recent advances in materials technology have made this technology into one of the most common, high-performing solutions for today’s portable electronics.

Iron compared to other materials has a few advantages: it’s durable, it has a great capacity to pack energy (per unit of mass), it’s recyclable but most importantly it’s cheap with costs around US$1/kg (2.2 lb).

Iron-air batteries were first expected to be used for electric vehicles and military applications after the 1973 oil crisis. However, research stopped abruptly only years later, when scientists realized that iron-air batteries presented a serious limitation: whenever the battery was being charged, a wasteful process of hydrolysis drained away about half of the battery’s energy.

With today’s technology and advanced research, University of Southern California found a solution to this problem. They learned that adding a small amount of bismuth sulfide into the battery shut down the harmful reaction and reduced the waste of energy more than tenfold, from 50 down to just 4% .

The other good characteristic cost-effective design of its iron electrode. The researchers combined iron powder with a polyethylene binder, heating the mix to obtain a “pressed-plate” electrode that is simple to make and has high specific energy.

The iron-air battery is exhibiting very promising durability, with a target life of 5,000 charge-discharge cycles. Even more importantly, the batteries seem to retain good performance when they are being drained quickly: at a two-hour rate of discharge, the batteries are showing a twenty-fold increase in capacity compared to commercially available electrodes.

Shanghai Metal Corporation encourages the development and innovation of new technologies. You can visit the company’s website , contact us and follow us on twitter and facebook for more information and news on metal.

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Houria // SMC Editor

The Tallest Skyscrapers Made of STEEL

skyscrapers clouds — Skycrapers above clouds – source: missions haringknowledge.com

The term skyscraper was originally used to describe buildings of 10 to 20 stories,

The increase in urban commerce in the United States in the second half of the 19th century augmented the need for city business. So the story of skyscrapers began in second part of the 19th century when steel became one of the cornerstones of the world’s industrial economy. Steel became available in large quantities and at low price and was quickly the material of choice for building construction. but by the late 20th century the word skycraper was used to describe high-rise buildings of unusual height, generally greater than 40 or 50 stories.

Thanks to Steel framing and steel reinforced concrete made curtain-wall architecture possible and the use of the material made the evolution of skyscrapers possible by allowing them to reach new heights.

in 1895 The 10-storey (42 m high)Home Insurance Building was built in Chicago and was considered the first tall building to be supported by a steel skeleton of vertical columns and horizontal beams.
As skyscrapers grew taller, architects and engineers were faced with a new enemy: wind. They had to experiment with new styles and building methods in order to build taller and more innovative structures.

The following buildings are today’s 3 tallest buildings in the world and have all been possible thanks to the amazing properties of steel and the hard work of engineers and architects that brought many innovations in the metal field.

Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE (829.8 m – 163 foors)

Burj Khalifa is the tallest man-made structure in the world it uses a bundled tube design (which is a system that uses a number of interconnected tube frames) and a composite of steel and concrete to hit its record height. Approximately 39,000 tonnes of steel bar were needed for the construction and 15.500 m² of embossed stainless steel for cladding. Proportionally, the design uses half the amount of steel used in the construction of the Empire State Building thanks to the tubular system.

Tokyo Skytree (634m – 29 floors)

tokyo skytree tower - source: wikipedia.org — tokyo skytree tower – source: wikipedia.org

The tower is the primary television and radio broadcast site for the Kantō region.
The structural steel columns of the tower are diagonally jointed at different angles, and their shapes differ from one another. Under these stringent conditions, engineers were required to solve the kind of problems that they have never experienced in past projects

Shanghai Tower, Shanghai (632m – 128 floors)

Shanghai Pudong Panorama - source: wikipedia.org — Shanghai Pudong Panorama – source: wikipedia.org

The Shanghai Tower is the tallest building in China and the second-tallest in the world, surpassed only by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. high strength steel, ultra-thick plates of over 100mm in thickness and other high-end construction steels have been used for the construction of the tower. In addition to that The design of the tower’s glass facade, which completes a 120° twist as it rises, is intended to reduce wind loads on the building by 24%. This reduced the amount of construction materials needed; the Shanghai Tower used 25% less structural steel than a conventional design of a similar height saving approximately US$58 million in material costs.

source : http://www.worldsteel.org, wikipedia.org

Steel is an amazing material that is both economic and sustainable. That’s why Shanghai Metal Corporation manufactures and distributes a large range of Steel products of high quality all over the world.
For more information, you can visit the company’s website or contact us for any inquiry.

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Houria // SMC Editor

Solar-Powered Water Wheel in Baltimore cleans 50,000 Pounds of Trash per Day

Inner-Harbor-Water-Wheel_Crop-640x360 — source: http://www.nbcnews.com

If you go to Baltimore this summer,you might see a strange looking machine strolling slowly in the Harbor. This machine is called the Inner Harbor Water Wheel and its main task is to clean up the trash that gets thrown into the water.Powered by 30 solar panels and the water current, the wheel is able to remove approximately 50,000 pounds of trash per day. It’s estimated that the wheel will stay in use for at least 15 years and by 2020 the harbor will become clean enough to be used for recreational purposes.

images — Baltimore solar powered wheel – source: healthyharborbaltimore.org

The wheel was invented by John Kellett and it works as follow: two orange booms help funnel debris towards the Wheel, where trash is intercepted and pushed it onto a moving conveyer belt which empties out into a 16 yard dumpster, located on top of a floating dock. Once the dumpster is full, the dock is detached, hooked up to a boat, and then taken to a RESCO waste-to-energy plant, where the trash is incinerated and turned into electrical energy. The incredible machine has also a secondary use which is to put more oxygen into the water through the rotation of the waterwheel. It helps to attract more fish and improve habitat conditions and water quality. . As a project of the Healthy Harbor Living Laboratory, the Water Wheel also serves to educate people about storm-water management and the Inner Harbor.

20140508-102116 — source: blog.savatree.com

The important element about the wheel is the material used. In fact Galvanizing was chosen as a coating because of its sustainability and its reaction to a constant contact with water. Galvanized steel has a very high resistance to humidity but also doeasn’t require costly maintenance over the next 15 years. Another factor was keeping down maintenance costs to a project that already cost over $800,000 to put together.

source: inhabitat.com, galvanizeit.org

Shanghai Metal Corporation understand the importance of a green environment and is a manufacturer of Galvanized steel and many other products used for sustainable projects all over the world. For more information, you can visit the company’s website or contact us for any inquiry.

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Houria // SMC Editor

Distribution Poles: From Wood to Hot Dip Galvanized Steel

With the increasing demand of eco-friendly ans sustainable products from both the public and private sector, the main sector to improve is the energy sector itself.
Distribution pole are the main vectors of electricity and have become over the century a common view of our roads and fields.

Steel poles are becoming increasingly popular among utility companies for building distribution lines or for replacing the traditional wood poles. Many reasons push these companies to use steel ans invest in the new distribution poles. In this article we will try to summarize the benefit of hot dip galvanized steel mainly reported from linemen who have worked with both wood and steel

distribution-pole-blue-sky-asset — distribution pole – source: wikipedia.org

Wood pole VS Steel pole

Lighter:

For similar strengh, a steel pole is 30 to 60% lighter than a wood pole. This makes them easier to lift, load, install and handle in general.

Cheaper: Thanks to continuous improvement of quality and manufacturing process of steel poles the cost of steel poles come down to a point where they became competitive with wood.

Flexible:

Unlike wood poles which can only have a certain maximum size determined by the size of the tree taken from, the size of wood poles can be determined freely according to the need. Steel poles can be made to handle virtually any load and in any length and can also be made as single piece poles or in sections if that would help handling them in the field.

More Sustainable:

Galvanized steel poles were a response deforestation issues steel is one of the most recyclable materials around so there is never any environmental concern over disposing steel. an old pole will be recycled to make a multitude of other products. Also , the protective system that is required to cover steel poles is made of zinc which is also an environmentally friendly material and virtually 100 percent recyclable. In addition. The coating systems have been improved so much over the years that it has reduced the maintenance needed and improved their life expectancy of the poles.

Safer:

The steel structures do not require a full-length copper grounding wire. They are already self conducting for grounding purposes. As a result, no installation of a ground wire is required.

pole 4 — lineman on distribution pole source: wikipedia.org

source: steel.org, smdisteel.org

Shanghai Metal Corporation manufactures hot dip galvanized steel products because it believes in its potential and encourages its use for a more sustainable industry and a clean environment.
For more information, you can visit the company’s website or contact us for any inquiry.

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Houria // SMC Editor

China, Second Biggest Producer of Copper In The World (List of Top 10 producers)

copper bloomberg — copper tubes source: bloomberg.com

Most copper is mined/extracted as copper sulfides from large open pit mines in porphyry copper deposits that contain between 0.4 to 1.0% of copper. This is the case in some mines in Chile and the United states .

According to the British Geological Survey The amount of copper in use is increasing and the quantity available is barely sufficient to allow all countries to reach developed world levels of usage.
It was reported by the US Geological Survey (USGS), the global production of metal increased by 400 million tons between 2013 and 2014 reaching 18.700 million tons, although the demand for copper decreased compared to the previous year.

1. Chile (Mine Production: 5.800 million tons)

Chile’s copper production has been increasing for the last decade although technical and regulatory issues could slow down the trend. between 2013 and 2014 the production increased from 5.780 to 5,800 tons.

2. China (Mine production : 1.620 million tons)

china's copper mine production 2006-2014 — china’s copper mine production 2006-2014 Source: statista.com

China is the largest refined copper producer, but it lacks copper mineral deposits. It has to import unprocessed copper ores and copper scrap.
China increased its copper production in 2014, putting out 1,620 million tons of the metal compared to 1,600 million tons in 2013. Reuters reports that notes that the country’s production increased during the second half of the year, due to the re-lauching of a 100,000-tonne-a-year smelter Liaoning province (North east of China) after 5 years of inactivity.

3. Peru (Mine production: 1,300,000 tons)

between 2012 and 2013 peru’s prodcution didn’t change much. In 2013 the country produced 1.300.000 tons. But it is expected that the mine production could rise by as much as 10 percent in 2014, and Peru’s energy and mines minister, Jorge Merino, has projected a 17-percent increase in copper production alone thanks to several new projects and also the the expected increase of foreign investments in the mining industry.

Copper factory – Source: cnbc.com

4. United States (Mine production: 1,220,000 tons)

5. Australia (Mine production: 990,000 tons)

6. Russia (Mine production: 930,000 tons)

7. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (Mine production: 900,000 tons )

8. Zambia (Mine production: 830,000 tons)

9. Canada (Mine production: 630,000 tons)

10. Mexico (Mine production: 480,000 tons)

Being at the heart of the booming copper industry, Shanghai Metal Corporation offers a wide range of copper products . You can visit the company’s website , contact us and follow us on twitter and facebook for more information and news on metal.

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Houria // SMC Editor

China to end export tax on rare earths and other metals

On April 23, 2015, China decided to eliminate tariffs on rare earths and other such as tungsten, molybdenum and fluorspar starting from May 1 according to the Chinese Ministry of Finance. This might be the end an international trade dispute caused by this controversial policy.

sands cones - minerals of mining industry — sands cones – minerals of mining industry

China is the biggest producer and consumer of rare earths and responsible for approximately 93% of the world’s rare earth output, but in 2009 the country imposed export restrictions in an attempt to develop its own industry. As a reminder, rare earths are crucial elements for the manufacturing of a wide range of high tech devices, mobile and smart phones, products in the automotive industry etc.

After the implementation of the export tax ,an abrupt reduction in export quotas in 2010 left traders short and froze a high demand on the global market.

As a response to the abolishment of the tax , Bejing will put in place reforms to keep a certain control on its market: today’s chinese rare earth export tax rates currently range from 15 to 25%: 15% for light rare earth elements and 25% for heavy rare earth elements but Bejing will implement a rare earth resource tax on domestic rare earth products.

rare earth minerals found in China- bloomberg.com

The abolition of this restriction could push up the demand of rare earth demand on the global market and has already pushed a number of market speculation.

Forecasting the boom of demand and export of rare earth products , Shanghai Metal Corporation offers a wide range of rare earth metal products . You can visit the company’s website , contact us and follow us on twitter and facebook for more information and news on metal

source: bloomberg.com and www.mining.com

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Houria // SMC Editor

COPPER MOLECULE STOPS SPREAD OF CANCEROUS CELLS

Silver has always been known for its antibacterial and antiseptic properties, and have been medically approved to be used in medical devices such as breathing tubes. But who would,ve thought about using Copper as a new anti-cancer Molecule. That’s exactly what a team of researchers in the university of Bielefeld in Germany has done.

Prof. Glaser team leader of this extraordinary research team has explained that copper has shown amazing results in killing cancerous cells , even performing better than the Cisplatin , a widely used drug for fighting cancer.


 source: blog.tedmed.com

In his report, he explains how the new compound has the ability to stop cancer cells reproducing themselves. They have proved that the copper agents binds with the DNA of the cancerous cells and stop them from spreading by changing their behavior. The result was that ‘the copper complex is more effective than cisplatin,’ said Pr. Glaser, ‘the highest number of cancer cells died at a concentration of 10 micromolar. With cisplatin, you need 20 micromolar.’


 source: freepik.com

In addition to have shown better results in combating cancerous cells, copper molecules seem to avoid all the side effects known to the Cisplatin. This discovery may lead to a major medical breakthrough in treating cancer patients without having them to suffer the debilitating side effects known to chemotherapy.

Copper having a promomising future in the medical field, Shanghai Metal Corporation offers a wide range of copper products . You can visit the company’s website , contact us and follow us on twitter and facebook for more information and news on metal

Source: uni-bielfeld.de
featured image: imagesource.com

Houria // SMC Editor

COPPER, CORE ELEMENT OF HYBRID AND ELECTRIC CARS

With the development of sustainable businesses and social corporate responsibility, many companies are trying to change their products in order to make them more eco-friendly. The automotive industry has been at the heart of these changes do to its tremendous impact on the environment and the growing demand for vehicles around the world.

Having been criticized for being a the main source of pollution , many manufacturers have developed new motors that are less pollutant but while trying to keep a high level of performance and satisfy the clients needs.
Ricardo , an American company that provides engineering solutions and consulting services and intelligent vehicles to its client deals with the dilemma every day. Chris Domin Ricardo’s chief engineer , explains how the integration of wireless technologies, telematics, and electronics is used to improve the efficiency of vehicles. He emphasizes on the fact that copper is the main elements to the good functioning of this technology . He says “This technology relies on a number of different components, and copper is critical because it’s the glue that ties it all together”. Its high conductivity and adaptability properties offer many advantages in order to improve the motors performance and comply with the high technological level of hybrid engines.

source: http://www.beaudaniels-illustration.com

source: http://www.akashigo.com

According to the Copper Development association, using copper in induction motor in hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles has plenty of benefits. Copper rotors are more economical, and compact than permanent magnet motors, and gives the manufacturer a bigger flexibility.

Being conscious of the success and potential of copper, Shanghai Metal Corporation offers a wide range of copper products. You can visit our website and follow us on twitter and facebook for more information and news on metal.

source: copper.org
featured image: www.picsauto.com

Houria B.// SMC Editor