Efficient energy like in matrix: science fiction?

Although this sounds like a crazy idea or science fiction, like in the stories of the Russian writer (an also biochemist) Issac Asimov, or the movie of the Brothers Wachowsky, it could be done thanks to the fist law of thermodynamics. With this concept and the application of science of the Group of Engineering of Process Systems from Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Bogota, that established two new proposals to research and study the generation of efficient processes based on heat and chemical reactions, it could be possible.

Carlos Martinez, a researcher and professor of the Faculty of Chemical Engineering, asserted that the investigation is already opened, and has an innovative methodology that aims at reducing the exergy amount, or the capacity that a current has to generate energy.

"We work on the optimization of processes considering the entropy generation. The first results were obtained from the thesis of Diego Mendoza, a master student, who showed the dehydration of carburant ethanol by means of distillation columns. Therefore, 20% of the consumption of energy during this process to make ethanol from gasoline in Colombia is reduced.

With this good results and the cooperation of Technical University of Norway, where Diego worked six months, we are proposing two new projects: the entropy generation from reaction systems, and the practical stage of Mendoza"s thesis, that is a modeling of column with an internal heat switch," asserted Martinez.

He also mentioned that in Latin America, this topic is little studied, but at Universidad Nacional de Colombia the studies are in an advanced stage. "In the region, we only have projects to improve the optimizations of cost and energy in chemical processes, as in the production of carburant ethanol, reducing the amount and use. But we want to go further, we want to minimize the exergy consumption," asserted the expert.

The Matrix

Professor Martinez considered Matrix as an interesting proposal, and confirmed that by using the first law of thermodynamics generating energy from the heat of millions of people connected to a machine is possible, as it is proposed in the film. But in his analytical proposal, he discarded such possibility, due to the second law of thermodynamics that mentions the amount of energy produced, to move, for instance, the turbines of a thermoelectric plant, of a petrochemical plant.

"Exergy considers the difference of temperatures, which means, between the temperatures of the human body, 37°C and the environment temperature, with is 20°C. With 17 degrees, nothing useful can be moved. When people talk about energy, this is not only producing it, but considering the amounts produced. It is not the same using energy to move a device with a burner of 70°C (with needs a lot of energy) that a burner that needs 160°C or more. This is what we want: reducing the exergy that considers the amount and quality of this energy," mentioned the expert.

He also mentioned that Colombia is still far from using this energy in an efficient way. In developed countries, this is a very important topic in the agendas. "Our investigation is at a very advanced stage, there are just few studies about this topic. The next generation of the master"s students and the postgraduate at Universidad Nacional de Colombia, will be in charge of finding these new projects to develop. This is the task of the new generations," concluded the expert.