Rutgers Energy Institute: A Regional Powerhouse

By Amanda J. Kolling

 

As one of America’s premier research universities, Rutgers has the faculty “brainpower” and resources to find and explore new alternative energy sources.

 

Building on a threefold mission to provide for the education, research, and service needs of New Jersey’s residents, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey has made energy research a priority. In 2008, the Rutgers Energy Institute (REI) was established to integrate the university’s expertise in science, engineering, economics, and policy as it relates to energy research, with the long-term goal of providing innovative technological advances that could help the United States reduce its dependency on fossil fuels.

 

REI aims to foster both fundamental and applied scientific research and policy components to develop sustainable energy production compatible with economic growth and environmental vitality. To do so, REI brings together experts from academic units and research centers throughout Rutgers to develop strategic teams. The virtual institute—no bricks and mortar, just people and ideas—has already made strides in pulling together interdisciplinary teams of researchers. For example:

 

Biofuels

 

The conversion of organic matter to biofuels is an emerging area of research at Rutgers. Numerous types of natural and manmade carbon materials offer potential as biofuel sources. Current studies at Rutgers are focused on the production of natural sources of cellulosic feedstock such as switchgrass, and on the potential use of domestic and industrial solid waste streams. Rutgers research facilities in support of biofuel production include faculty research laboratories at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, the School of Arts and Sciences, and the EcoComplex. Rutgers Laboratory for Molecular Analysis in the School of Engineering in also involved in providing analytical support for experiments aimed at characterizing biofuel production mechanisms.

 

Energy Policy

 

There are several centers at Rutgers that are actively engaged in the study of the application and impacts of new energy technologies as they emerge from Rutgers labs. Within REI, these include the Center for Energy, Economics, & Energy Policy; the Center for Green Building; and Rutgers EcoComplex. REI has also partnered with the New Jersey Sustainable State Institute to integrate emerging energy technologies at a state and regional level.

 

Wind Energy

 

Wind energy can provide a renewable substitute to coal or oil. In areas where winds are common, turbines can harness and convert wind energy into electricity that can contribute to local power grids. Coastal areas, such as the Jersey Shore, tend to have high winds, although the predictability of coastal winds is less certain compared with mountain areas. Oceanographers and meteorologists from Rutgers have been working with the State of New Jersey and PSE&G to improve predictive capabilities of coastal winds on the Jersey Shore and in the Delaware Bay. The results of the Rutgers Offshore Wind Analysis are being used to plan wind turbine sites and to help allocate wind energy utilization during peak winds. Wind energy is an ideal replacement for fossil fuel electricity generation because it is clean, renewable, and widely available.

 

Hydrogen

 

Hydrogen, while plentiful, is not found in gas form on earth. Rather, it appears as a compound with other elements to form substances such as water and methane. In gas form, however, it is a highly efficient energy carrier. Rutgers has a range of hydrogen fuel-related research activities, including hydrogen generation, storage, and use/conversion. Programs include photocatalytic production of hydrogen from water using biological, biomimetic, and inorganic catalytic methods, metal organic framework materials and hydrides for hydrogen storage, novel nanoscale characterization methods, computational modeling, fuel cell materials, and device design.

 

Solar Energy and Photovoltaics

 

Solar energy results from the conversion of the sun’s light into electricity. At Rutgers, solar energy research is focused on the fundamental aspects of the conversion of light energy to useable electricity. For example, several labs from Materials Science Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering are working together on a project that could lower the costs associated with solar cells. The Rutgers groups working on solar energy research have also established a website [www.solar.rutgers.edu], which provides background information about the basics of photovoltaic devices and information about different types of solar cells, as well as links to the specific solar energy research labs.

 

Carbon Capture and Storage

 

Carbon capture and storage will be required in any energy scenario that reduces carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. Carbon storage requires reliable trapping and large reservoirs for CO₂ storage. Scientists at REI are evaluating the location and volume of possible sequestration zones below the ocean floor off New Jersey. Carbon dioxide would be captured at onshore power plants, liquefied, and pumped via pipeline to offshore wells that would inject the CO₂ into target formations beneath the continental slope. Work has shown that this slope setting is superior to onshore sequestration because the CO₂ would 1) have a density close to seawater, 2) be safely trapped, and 3) have the least impact on the environment. 

 

Through REI, Rutgers researchers are bringing the best in technology and brain power to bear in unique and fruitful ways.

 

Amanda J. Kolling is the executive communications specialist in the Office of Communications,

School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, at

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. For more information, visit www.sebs.rutgers.edu

and www.njaes.rutgers.edu.