Japan delays removal of fuel rods from Fukushima for 3 years
Tokyo (Sputnik) Jun 16, 2015 -
The removal of spent uranium fuel rods from the Fukushima power plant will begin three years later compared to the originally planned date, the Japanese government said in a roadmap published on Friday.
Initially, the removal was scheduled for the end of 2015 for Unit 3 and for late 2017 for Units 1 and 2.
Due to the high level of radiation in the area and the difficulty of the opera ...
more
Japan speeds up return of Fukushima refugees to cut costs
Moscow (Sputnik) Jun 16, 2015 -
Japan will revoke evacuation orders for most of the people who were displaced by the Fukushima nuclear disaster so the government can save on compensation payouts and expedite reconstruction.
That announcement from the government on Friday was accompanied by news that it would wait to remove radioactive material at the wrecked Fukushima power station, Reuters reported.
Thousands of p ...
more
S. Korea to close its oldest reactor
Seoul (AFP) June 12, 2015 -
South Korea's oldest nuclear reactor is expected to be shut down permanently in 2017 after growing safety concerns over the ageing facility.
A state energy committee has decided to urge the state-financed Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) to close the Gori Reactor No.1 in the southern port of Busan.
The 580 megawatt reactor would be the first reactor to be closed in South Korea. ...
more
Vietnam to evacuate 1,288 households for construction of nuke power plants
Hanoi (XNA) Jun 16, 2015 -
A total of 1,288 households with a population of 4,911 are expected to be evacuated for construction of Vietnam's nuclear power plants.
The authorities have ratified a proposal on evacuation and resettlement of people in areas of Ninh Thuan 1 and 2 nuclear power plants in southern Ninh Thuan province, some 1,100 km south of Hanoi, local VNEconomy online newspaper reported on Tuesday.
...
more
Japan Prepares to Restart Sendai NPP
Moscow (Sputnik) Jun 16, 2015 -
Japan's nuclear plant operator Kyushu Electric Power plans to restart its Sendai-1 power plant in the city of Satsumasendai in mid-August after a four-year break, the Kyodo news agency said Friday.
The company will start loading fuel into the plant on July 4 to prepare it for the restart, according to agency.
In 2011, Japan shut down all its nuclear power plants for safety checks aft ...
more
Turning paper industry waste into chemicals
Leuven, Belgium (SPX) Jun 16, 2015 -
Researchers at the KU Leuven Centre for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis have found a more eco-friendly way to derive lignin - a paper industry waste product - from wood and convert it into chemical building blocks. The resulting chemicals can be used in paint, insulation foam, and several other products. The researchers published their findings in the journal Energy and Environmental Science. ...
more
Researchers develop ultra-tough fiber that imitates the structure of spider silk
Montreal, Canada (SPX) Jun 16, 2015 -
Professors Frederick Gosselin and Daniel Therriault, along with their master's student Renaud Passieux, are not related to Spiderman. Nevertheless, these Polytechnique Montreal researchers have produced an ultra-tough polymer fibre directly inspired by spider silk! They recently published an article about the project in the journal Advanced Materials.
b>Spider silk: a thread with stunning ...
more
Appeals court backs Shell's Alaska campaign
Washington (UPI) Jun 12, 2015 -
A federal appeals court ruled in favor of Royal Dutch Shell in a challenge from environmental groups to the company's oil spill response plans offshore Alaska.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a 2-1 decision the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, a division within the Department of Interior, acted appropriately when approving Shell's leases from 2005, 2007 and ...
more
Finland to start selling electricity to Russia
Helsinki, Finland (XNA) Jun 16, 2015 -
Finland is going to export electricity to neighboring Russia in the coming weekend, the first time in the Nordic country's history, Finnish media reported on Saturday.
The initial 13-hour feed on Sunday will amount to 320 megawatts, reports said. Finland and Russia signed an agreement last year making exports possible.
Timo Kaukonen, head of planning at the Finnish national operator ...
more
Next-gen illumination using silicon quantum dot-based white-blue LED
Hiroshima, Japan (SPX) Jun 16, 2015 -
A Si quantum dot (QD)-based hybrid inorganic/organic light-emitting diode (LED) that exhibits white-blue electroluminescence has been fabricated by Professor Ken-ichi SAITOW (Natural Science Center for Basic Research and Development, Hiroshima University), Graduate student Yunzi XIN (Graduate School of Science, Hiroshima University), and their collaborators.
A hybrid LED is expected to be ...
more
Fully renewable energy system is economically viable in Finland in 2050
Lappeenranta, Finland (SPX) Jun 16, 2015 -
A fully renewable energy system, including all energy consuming sectors, is not only a possible but a viable solution for Finland, according to a new research. Researchers from Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) have investigated renewable energy system options for Finland in 2050. Results indicate that a fully renewable energy system is possible, and represents a competitive solution f ...
more
Russia Disposes of 195 Decommissioned Soviet-Era Nuclear Submarines
Moscow (Sputnik) Jun 16, 2015 -
Russia's Rosatom Corporation is nearing to complete the recycling of Soviet-made decommissioned nuclear-powered submarines and support vessels. Currently, 195 of the 201 decommissioned submarines have been recycled. The demolition of all the decommissioned nuclear submarines and 14 technical support vessels is due to be completed by 2020.
"We have started the recycling of technical support ...
more
Argonne advances engine simulation for greater efficiency
Lemont IL (SPX) Jun 16, 2015 -
For engine designers in the digital age, time is money. And that time is measured in computer cycles. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory are partnering with Convergent Science, Inc. (CSI), to speed up a key piece of modeling and simulation software to ensure those cycles are used as effectively as possible, reducing product development time and resulting i ...
more
NIST's 'nano-raspberries' could bear fruit in fuel cells
Washington DC (SPX) Jun 16, 2015 -
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a fast, simple process for making platinum 'nano-raspberries' - microscopic clusters of nanoscale particles of the precious metal.
The berry-like shape is significant because it has a high surface area, which is helpful in the design of catalysts. Even better news for industrial chemists: the researche ...
more
Binghamton engineer creates origami battery
Binghamton NY (SPX) Jun 16, 2015 -
Origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, can be used to create beautiful birds, frogs and other small sculptures. Now a Binghamton University engineer says the technique can be applied to building batteries, too. Seokheun "Sean" Choi developed an inexpensive, bacteria-powered battery made from paper, he writes in the July edition of the journal Nano Energy.
The battery generates power f ...
more
Engineers develop plan to convert US to 100 percent renewable energy
Stanford CA (SPX) Jun 16, 2015 -
One potential way to combat ongoing climate change, eliminate air pollution mortality, create jobs and stabilize energy prices involves converting the world's entire energy infrastructure to run on clean, renewable energy.
This is a daunting challenge. But now, in a new study, Mark Z. Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford, and colleagues, including U.C. B ...
more
