EcoCute

The EcoCute is an energy efficient electric heat pump that uses heat extracted from the air to heat water for domestic use. Instead of the more conventional ammonia or haloalkane gases, EcoCute uses carbon dioxide as a refrigerant. The technology offers a means of energy conservation and reduces the emission of greenhouse gas.



Etymology

The formal name of the EcoCute (自然冷媒ヒートポンプ給湯機, Sizen reibai hīto ponpu kyūtō ki?) literally means "natural refrigerant heat pump water heater". Eco is a contraction of either Ecology or Economical and Cute also means (給湯, kyūtō?); literally "supply hot water."

History

Modern chemical refrigeration techniques developed after the proposal of the Carnot cycle in 1824. Jacob Perkins invented an ice-making machine that used ether in 1843, and Edmond Carré built a refrigerator that used water and sulfuric acid in 1850. In Japan, Fusanosuke Kuhara, founder of Hitachi, Ltd., made an air conditioner for his own home use using compressed CO2 as a refrigerant.

In 1930 Thomas Midgley discovered dichlorodifluoromethane, a chlorinated fluorocarbon (CFC) known as Freon. CFCs rapidly replaced traditional refrigerant substances, including CO2 (which proved hard to compress for domestic use), for use in heat pumps and refrigerators. But from the 1980s CFCs began to lose favor as refrigerant when their damaging effects on the ozone layer were discovered. An alternative type of refrigerant, Hydro fluoro compounds (HFC), also lost favour when they were identified as greenhouse gases. The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, the Montreal Protocol and the Kyoto Protocol call for the complete abandonment of such refrigerants by 2030.

In 1989, amid international concern about the effects of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC and HFC) on the ozone layer, scientist Gustav Lorentzen and SINTEF patented a method for using CO2 as a refrigerant in heating and cooling. Further research into CO2 refrigeration was then conducted at Shecco (Sustainable Heating and Cooling with CO2) in Brussels, Belgium, leading to increasing use of CO2 refrigerant technology in Europe.

In 1993 the Japanese company Denso, in collaboration with Gustav Lorentzen, developed an automobile air conditioner using CO2 as a refrigerant. They demonstrated the invention at the June 1998 International Institute of Refrigeration/Gustav Lorentzen Conference. After the conference Denso were approached by CRIEPI (Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry) and TEPCO (The Tokyo Electric Power Company) to develop a prototype air conditioner using natural refrigerant materials instead of Freon. Together they produced 30 prototype EcoCute units for a year-long experimental installation at locations throughout Japan, from the cold climate of Hokkaidō to hotter Okinawa. After this successful feasibility study, Denso obtained a patent to compress CO2 refrigerant for use in a heat pump from SINTEF in September 2000.

The first commercial domestic EcoCute was marketed in Japan by CORONA Corp. in May 2001, and several manufacturers sold 1.5 million units there by October, 2008.

Features and demand

In Japan in 1998, water heating (Kyuto (給湯, kyūtō?)) accounted for 33.8% of typical domestic energy consumption, with air conditioner and kerosene heater heating accounting for another 26.9% and cooling by air conditioner another 2.3%. Most of the remaining 37% was spent on electrical home appliances, a field where 21st century innovations in energy conservation began to make considerable energy savings. This left hot water supply as the most difficult area for energy conservation, leaving a gap in the market for the EcoCute. By January 2005, 26 Japanese companies were producing more than 450 models of EcoCute machine, and sales of domestic units increased 130-150% each year between 2001 and 2005.

Denso first introduced the EcoCute outside Japan at the COP9 Milan, Italy on December, 9, 2003. From 2007, Denso began concentrating on marketing the EcoCute in the EU. In Japan, the Japanese government incorporated the EcoCute into its CO2 reduction program under the Kyoto Protocol, mandating the installation of 5.2 million units in commercial and domestic properties by 2010. The cost of EcoCute is approximately 500 thousand Japanese yen as of February - March 2009.

EcoCute machine basics

An EcoCute machine or system consists of a heat pump and hot water storage unit. The components are serially concatenated with sealing refrigerant CO2 gas in circulation.

1. At the first stage, a heat exchanger collects heat from the air outside to use as energy for the refrigerant. Air flow is usually obtained using a centrifugal fan; in cold areas with ambient temperatures around -20 to -25 ℃ an auxiliary fan heater is attached.
2. A gas compressor is used to heat the gas CO2 refrigerant to around 100℃ under pressure of 10MPa via adiabatic compression. The carbon dioxide becomes a supercritical fluid. Several types of compressor can be used, including dual layer cylindrical compressors, scroll compressors, and dual stage rotary compressors
3. At the second stage a heat exchanger transfers energy from the hot refrigerant into water to produce hot water. Water temperatures around 5℃ and up are suitable at this stage.
4. Finally, ejector or expansion valves reduce pressure on the refrigerant, letting it cool via adiabatic expansion and revert to CO2 gas.

The EcoCute derives two units of energy from ambient air temperature for every unit of electrical power it requires. Each of these one unit plus two cost free units produces more than three units of hot water energy, resulting in reduced CO2 emissions compared to water heating via electricity or town gas. To produce 90℃ hot water, an EcoCute consumes 66% less energy than an electric water heater, and costs 80% less than heating water via town gas in Japan.. Also, by reducing use of fossil fuels, the EcoCute results in more than 50% reductions in CO2 emissions

The EcoCute's COP is 3.8 in industrial use, while electric power water heating is 1.0, and gas boiler is 0.88 including pilot light loss.

Others

EcoCute (エコキュート, ekokyūto?) is a registered trademark (No. 4575216 - Japan) of Kansai Electric Power Company, but the term is also used generically to refer to water heaters designed for energy conservation or greenhouse gas emission reduction.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Eco-friendly dentistry

Eco-friendly dentistry is a movement focused reducing the amount of waste produced through the practice of dentistry. Eco friendly dentistry uses a sustainable approach to encourage dentists to implement new strategies to try and reduce the energy being consumed and the large amount of waste being produced by the industry. Health professionals are on the leading edge of helping to heal our planet by introducing the four R’s; Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

Dentistry

Dentistry is defined as the “evaluation, diagnosis, prevention and/or treatment (nonsurgical, surgical or related procedures) of diseases, disorders and/or conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and/or the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body". People who practice dentistry are known as dentists. They practice in according to the ethics of the profession and to the law. Other people that work in the oral health industry include dental hygienists, dental assistants, and dental technicians. Dentistry, among other fields in the medical industry contributes to climate change and increasing the pollution of our environment

Medical Waste

Landfill and Incineration

The industrial world produces large amounts of waste each year and the medical industry plays a crucial role in producing and adding to the amount hauled off to landfills. The waste is dropped off at landfill sites and it begins its destructive path. The landfill begins to destroy the material, rather than conserve it. Raw and new materials are being exploited because of the increase in expelling of waste at landfills and incinerators. More then two thirds of the material used in the United States is dumped into landfills each year, despite the encouragement of recycling it. Many environmental and health issues stand testament to the need to reduce waste deposited in landfills each year. Many pollution problems are a result of existing landfills. Contamination of the groundwater and aquifers by leakage produced by the decaying matter and the off gassing of methane gas from the decaying organic waste are the leading causes of environmental harm from landfills. Hazardous waste that is deposited from hospitals and medical clinics can seep into the ground and infectious diseases can spread rapidly. Incinerators are commonly used to dispose of this type of hazardous waste. The by-products of incinerators such as carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide (green house gases) can cause harm to humans and the environment and further global warming. Incinerators produce ash; from burning the waste and can be a source of environmental contamination.

Green House Gases and Climate Change

Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide have increased significantly since the 1960s. The leading cause of anthropogenic climate change is the emission of carbon dioxide, as it is the most abundant green house gas in the environment. The burning of forests and grasslands for urbanization and other human related activities release 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year. Methane is a green house gas; most commonly released in landfills and can absorb 23 times as much infrared radiation as carbon dioxide; warming the Earth’s surface.

Eco-Friendly Dentistry

Eco-friendly dentistry attempts to reduce the industries detrimental impact on the environment and promote environmental awareness and sustainability to patients. It is an approach of dentistry that encourages sustainable practices by reducing resource consumption and waste. Eco-friendly dentistry also tries to increase the health of patients by reducing chemical use in the clinics and using low volatile. Patients are encouraged to take part in sustainability in many ways such as decreasing water consumption while brushing their teeth. A sustainable practice takes the cooperation of the dentist and the patient. Eco-friendly dentist offices take into consideration patient volume, consumption of dental resources, electricity, energy, chemical and water usage, and waste and try to implement environmentally friendly alternatives.

The Four R’s

four R’s is a strategy implemented by dental professionals to help make an easier transition to a more sustainable practice.

Rethink- Every decision is made with a certain mindset, and redeveloping a mindset is a strategy for change. Environmentalism and sustainability are both considered states of the mind. Rethinking the way that dentist offices are run is the initial step in trying to change the modern practice. Implementing simple changes like things you can add or change, and decrease energy and water consumption are the initial strategies to consider.

Reduce- In order to decrease the pressure on the Earth’s resources, people must decrease or reduce their consumption of them. For example to prevent deforestation of forests, and slow down global warming we must reduce our consumption of paper and production of waste respectively.

Reuse- This strategy encourages the prolonged use of item; to prevent the item from contributing to waste being put in landfills. Finding a new purpose for an item extends its life and decreases contributions to landfills. By reusing items, we take the pressure off of natural resources by decreasing the demand for extraction. By reusing products, it also reduces the amount of energy needed to produce new products.

Recycle- Much of the waste that is found in landfills can be reprocessed and recycled into a new product. To reduce the waste of useful products, reduce the waste of raw materials and energy needed to extract the materials, reduce water pollution and air pollution from landfills and incinerators respectively, recycling products is a viable way to reduce overall contamination of the environment. It is a crucial component of the management of waste hierarchy.

Innovations and Eco-friendly Dental Products

There have been many technologies designed to enhance the sustainability of dental practices. Simple rethink, reduce, reuse, and recycle steps are the initial ones to implement in the clinic before applying more advanced technologies. Reducing the amount of disposable autoclavewraps and disposable bibs can be done by using a sterilization program. Clinics can use reusable cotton towels instead of disposable plastic or paper bibs . The clinic can use the neighbourhood recycling program to reduce the amount of recyclable items being disposed in landfills. To reduce the water consumption of the clinic they can use a dry dental vacuum pump that saves over 42 gallons of potable water per year instead of wet pumps. One time use plastic syringes can be replaced by stainless steel syringes that can be sterilized and reused multiple times. There are many low cost, eco friendly and simple options that dentists can implement in their clinics (Adams, 2008): -use energy star washing machines and dryers -use florescent lighting -use low volatile paints -use digital radiology instead of film based x-rays. All of these options are easy to access and are economically and financially viable. Simple steps can be taken to reduce the environmental contamination produced by a dental practice.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Eco-Management and Audit Scheme

The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is the EU voluntary instrument which acknowledges organisations that improve their environmental performance on a continuous basis.

The more than 4.100 registered organisations are legally compliant, run an environmental management system and report on their environmental performance through the publication of an independently verified environmental statement. They are recognised by the EMAS logo, which guarantees the reliability of the information provided. Certified organisations include industrial companies, small and medium enterprises, services, third sector organisations, administrations and international organisations (including the European Commission and the European Parliament themselves).

Requirements

There are some requirements which must be fulfilled by organizations for the registration of EMAS.

1. The organization must have a Policy related to the Environment
2. There must be on site review of the Policy
3. There must be clear objectives of the organization regarding Environment, on the basis of Policy and Review discuss above
4. Audit of the matter related to the Environment
5. A clear statement by the organization regarding the Environment

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

East Antarctic Ice Sheet

The East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) is one of two large ice sheets in Antarctica, and the largest in the entire world. It rests upon a large land mass, contrary to that of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), which rests on frozen water. The larger of the two, the EAIS lies between 45 o West and 168 o East longitudinally. The EAIS is separated from the WAIS by the Transantarctic Mountains.

The East Antarctica Ranges are a group of mountain ranges situated on the EAIS. The East Antarctic two-thousanders are the 29 known peaks within these ranges whose summits reach or exceed 2000 meters above sea level.

The EAIS is also home to the thickest point on the Antarctic continent, at 15,700 ft (4,800 m). Most well known, however, is that the EAIS is home to the South Pole (commonly mistaken for the Magnetic South Pole.)

Ice mass changes

Current international focus on global warming issues has drawn attention to the melting of the polar ice caps. According to researchers at the University of Michigan, satellite radar altimeter data indicate that the EAIS interior area is actually gaining mass at a rate of 45 billion tonnes per year while a GRACE-based study found that the total Antarctic ice sheet (including WAIS, and EAIS coastal areas) is losing mass at a rate of 152 cubic kilometers (ca 139 billion tonnes) per year.

Temperature changes

Cooling in East Antarctica during the decades of the 1980s and 1990s partially offset warming of the West Antarctic ice sheet which has warmed by more than 0.1°C/decade in the last 50 years. The continent-wide average surface temperature trend of Antarctica is positive and significant at >0.05°C/decade since 1957.

Territorial claims

In spite of the Antarctic Treaty, many countries hold a claim on portions of Antarctica. Within EAIS, the United Kingdom, France, Norway, Australia, Chile and Argentina all claim a portion (sometimes overlapping) as their own territory.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/