THE government will make it mandatory for mobile phone towers to be powered by solar energy, a move it hopes will cut pollution and tamp down a key driver of diesel consumption in the country.

COIMBATORE: K. Gopal Memorial Trust, one of the three charitable trusts of the C.R.I. Pumps, has constructed a biomass gasifier crematorium at Saravanampatti on the city's northern border.

Source of energy

Constructed at Rs.2.20 crore to mark the 30 {+t} {+h} death anniversary of the company's founder K. Gopal, the crematorium is powered by renewable energy.

The fireless cooker is a little-used but valuable technology, comprising an insulated basket into which pre-heated food is left to cook in its own heat. During the recent Practical Action smoke alleviation project, the first fireless cooker demonstration used very smart baskets and expensive foodstuffs. The women felt it was 'too expensive' for them.

Despite the numerous benefits associated with cleaner alternatives, the transition to improved fuels and stoves has not progressed hugely in Sub-Saharan Africa. Why is it that so often, well designed, efficient and clean stoves fail to penetrate the market in developing countries?

Traditional stoves generate large quantities of smoke and suspended particulate matter while only 10-40% of released energy tranfers to pot. This research paper describes design steps with experiments carried out for charcoal stove named SEES to interlink energy efficiency and various design parameters.

A motorcycle that can run solely on sugar cane ethanol, gasoline or a mixture of both has gone on sale in Brazil, where biofuel cars already dominate the roads, burning cheaper home-grown energy.

New reaction chemistry may reduce the energy input and carbon dioxide emissions from processes that convert coal into liquid fuels.

The Brazilian alcohol programme, focussing exclusively on the industrial-scale production of ethanol, has been successfully operating for more than thirty years. This article discusses how the same can be accomplished for cooking and household energy - a Proalcool movement for the household.

The airline industry's insatiable demand for fuel is bad news for the environment. But can biofuels provide the solution, asks David Strahan.

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