Iron-rich sedimentary rocks

Iron-rich sedimentary rocks are sedimentary rocks which contain 15 wt.% or more iron. However, most sedimentary rocks contain iron in varying degrees. The majority of these rocks were deposited during specific geologic time periods: The Precambrian (3800 to 570 million years ago), the early Paleozoic (570 to 410 million years ago), and the middle to late Mesozoic (205 to 66 million years ago). Overall, they make up a very small portion of the total sedimentary record.
Iron-rich sedimentary rocks have economic uses as iron ores. Iron deposits have been located on all major continents with the exception of Antarctica. They are a major source of iron and are mined for commercial use. The main iron ores are from the oxide group consisting of hematite, goethite, and magnetite. The carbonate siderite is also typically mined. A productive belt of iron formations is known as an "iron range."
Classification.
The accepted classification scheme for iron-rich sedimentary rocks is to divide them into two sections: "ironstones" and "iron formations"
Ironstones.
Ironstones consist of 15% iron or more in composition. This is necessary for the rock to even be considered an "iron-rich" sedimentary rock. Generally, they are from the Phanerozoic which means that they range in age from the present to 540 million years ago. They can contain iron minerals from the following groups: oxides, carbonates, and silicates. Some examples of minerals in iron-rich rocks containing oxides are limonite, hematite, and magnetite. An example of a mineral in iron-rich rock containing carbonates is siderite and an example of minerals in an iron-rich rock containing silicate is chamosite. They are often interbedded with limestones, shales, and fine-grained sandstones. They are typically nonbanded, however they can be very coarsely banded on occasion. They are hard and non-cherty. The components of the rock range in size from sand to mud, but do not contain a lot of silica. They are also more aluminous. They are not laminated and sometimes contain "ooids". Ooids can be a distinct characteristic though they are not normally a main component of ironstones. Within ironstones, ooids are made up of iron silicates and/or iron oxides and sometimes occur in alternating laminae. They normally contain fossil debris and sometimes the fossils are partly or entirely replaced by iron minerals. A good example of this is pyritization. They are smaller in size and less likely to be deformed or metamorphosed than iron formations. The term "iron ball" is occasionally used to describe an ironstone nodule.
Iron formations.
Iron formations must be at least 15% iron in composition, just like ironstones and all iron-rich sedimentary rocks. However, iron formations are mainly Precambrian in age which means that they are 4600 to 590 million years old. They are much older than ironstones. They tend to be cherty, though chert can not be used as a way to classify iron formations because it is a common component in many types of rocks. They are well banded and the banding can be anywhere from a few millimeters to tens of meters thick. The layers have very distinct banded successions that are made up of iron rich layers that alternate with layers of chert. Iron formations are often associates with dolomite, quartz-rich sandstone, and black shale. They sometimes grade locally into chert or dolomite. They can have many different textures that resemble limestone. Some of these textures are micritic, pelleted, intraclastic, peloidal, oolitic, pisolitic, and stromatolitic. In low-grade iron formations, there are different dominant minerals dependent on the different types of facies. The dominant minerals in the oxide facies are magnetite and hematite. The dominant minerals in the silicate facies are greenalite, minnesotaite, and glauconite. The dominant mineral in the carbonate facies is siderite. The dominant mineral in the sulfide facies is pyrite. Most iron formations are deformed or metamorphosed simply due to their incredibly old age, but they still retain their unique distinctive chemical composition; even at high metamorphic grades. The higher the grade, the more metamorphosed it is. Low grade rocks may only be compacted while high grade rocks often can not be identified. They often contain a mixture of banded iron formations and granular iron formations. Iron formations can be divided into subdivisions known as: banded iron formations (BIFs) and granular iron formations (GIFs).
The above classification scheme is the most commonly used and accepted, though sometimes an older system is used which divides iron-rich sedimentary rocks into three categories: "bog iron deposits", "ironstones", and "iron formations". A bog-iron deposit is iron that formed in a bog or swamp through the process of oxidation.
Banded iron formations vs. granular iron formations.
Banded iron formations.
Banded iron formations (BIFs) were originally chemical muds and contain well developed thin lamination. They are able to have this lamination due to the lack of burrowers in the Precambrian. BIFs show regular alternating layers that are rich in iron and chert that range in thickness from a few millimeters to a few centimeters. The formation can continue uninterrupted for tens to hundreds of meters stratigraphically. These formations can contain sedimentary structures like cross-bedding, graded bedding, load casts, ripple marks, mud cracks, and erosion channels. In comparison to GIFs, BIFs contain a much larger spectrum of iron minerals, have more reduced facies, and are more abundant.
BIFs are divided into type categories based on the characteristics related to the nature of their formation and unique physical and chemical properties. Some categories of banded iron formations are the "Rapitan type", the "Algoma type", and the "Superior type".
Rapitan type.
Rapitan types are associated with the glaciogenic sequences of the Archean and Early Proterozoic. The type is distinctive as the hydrothermal-input has notably less influence on this formation's Rare Earth Element (REE) chemistry than other formations during this time period.
Algoma type.
Algoma types are small lenticular iron deposits that are associated with volcanic rocks and turbidites. Iron content in this class type rarely exceeds 1010 tons. They range in thickness from 10-100 meters. Deposition occurs in island arc/back arc basins and intracratonic rift zones.
Superior type.
Superior types are large, thick, extensive iron deposits across stable shelves and in broad basins. Total iron content in this class type exceeds 1013 tons. They can extend to over 105 kilometers2. Deposition occurs in relatively shallow marine conditions under transgressing seas.
Granular iron formations.
Granular iron formations (GIFs) were originally well-sorted chemical sands. They lack even, continuous bedding that takes the form of discontinuous layers. Discontinuous layers likely represent bedforms that were generated by storm waves and currents. Any layers that are thicker than a few meters and are uninterrupted, are rare for GIFs. They contain sand-sized clasts and a finer grained matrix, and generally belong to the oxide or silicate mineral facies.
Depositional environment.
There are four facies types associated with iron-rich sedimentary rocks: oxide-, silicate-, carbonate-, and sulfide-facies. These facies correspond to water depth in a marine environment. Oxide-facies are precipitated under the most oxidizing conditions. Silicate- and carbonate-facies are precipitated under intermediate redox conditions. Sulfide-facies are precipitated under the most reducing conditions. There is a lack of iron-rich sedimentary rocks in shallow waters which leads to the conclusion that the depositional environment ranges from the continental shelf and upper continental slope to the abyssal plain. (The diagram does not have the abyssal plain labeled, but this would be located to the far right of the diagram at the bottom of the ocean).
Chemical reactions.
Ferrous and ferric iron are components in many minerals, especially within sandstones. Fe2+ is in clay, carbonates, sulfides, and is even within feldspars in small amounts. Fe3+ is in oxides, hydrous, anhydrous, and in glauconites. Commonly, the presence of iron is determined to be within a rock due to certain colorations from oxidation. Oxidation is the loss of electrons from an element. Oxidation can occur from bacteria or by chemical oxidation. This often happens when ferrous ions come into contact with water (due to dissolved oxygen within surface waters) and a water-mineral reaction occurs.
The formula for the oxidation/reduction of iron is:
The formula works for oxidation to the right or reduction to the left.
Fe2+ is the ferrous form of iron. This form of iron gives up electrons easily and is a mild reducing agent. These compounds are more soluble because they are more mobile. Fe3+ is the ferric form of iron. This form of iron is very stable structurally because its valence electron shell is half filled.
Laterization.
Laterization is a soil forming process that occurs in warm and moist climates under broadleaf evergreen forests. Soils formed by laterization tend to be highly weathered with high iron and aluminium oxide content. Goethite is often made from this process and is a major source of iron in sediments. However, once it is deposited it must be dehydrated in order to come to an equilibrium with hematite. The dehydration reaction is:
Pyritization.
Pyritization is discriminatory. It rarely happens to soft tissue organisms and aragonitic fossils are more susceptible to it than calcite fossils. It commonly takes place in marine depositional environments where there is organic material. The process is caused by sulfate reduction which replaces carbonate skeletons (or shells) with pyrite (FeS2). It generally does not preserve detail and the pyrite forms within the structure as many microcrystals. In freshwater environments, siderite will replace carbonate shells instead of pyrite due to the low amounts of sulfate. The amount of pyritization that has taken place within a fossil may sometimes be referred to as degree of pyritization (DOP).
Iron–rich rocks in thin section.
Magnetite and hematite are opaque under the microscope under transmitted light. Under reflected light, magnetite shows up as metallic and a silver or black color. Hematite will be a more reddish-yellow color. Pyrite is seen as opaque, a yellow-gold color, and metallic. Chamosite is an olive-green color in thin section that readily oxidizes to limonite. When it is partially or fully oxidized to limonite, the green color becomes a yellowish-brown. Limonite is opaque under the microscope as well. Chamosite is an iron silicate and it has a birefringence of almost zero. Siderite is an iron carbonate and it has a very high birefringence. The thin sections often reveal marine fauna within oolitic ironstones. In older samples, the ooids may be squished and have hooked tails on either end due to compaction.


Kodak Building (Atlanta)

The Kodak Building is a historic building in Atlanta, Georgia. Built in midtown Atlanta around 1950, the building originally served as a camera shop, with a large sign on top of the building advertising Kodak considered a local landmark. The building has been vacant for several years, but was recently sold and is scheduled for redevelopment.
History.
The building was originally built around 1950 as a camera shop for Star Photo. It was built simultaneously to the building next to it, which currently houses the Atlanta Eagle, a gay bar that was the subject of a controversial police raid in 2009. The building was eventually converted to a Kodak shop, and during this time a large advertising sign for the company was added to the top of the building, which remains on the building today. In the early 2000s, the building served as the campaign headquarters for Shirley Franklin's team during her campaign to become mayor of Atlanta.
Around 2009, the Kodak Building and Atlanta Eagle building were foreclosed on. The two buildings were sold in May 2014, with the Atlanta Eagle's lease renewed. As part of the sale agreement, the Kodak sign was to remain on the building. The buildings were sold again in 2016 for approximately $2 million, with plans to convert the Kodak Building into a healthcare center.
On November 11, 2020, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation listed the "Atlanta Eagle and Kodak Buildings" on its annual list of "Places in Peril".


Richardson Sheffield

Richardson Sheffield is a major supplier of kitchen knives and scissors to the United Kingdom market. It is owned by the Dutch Amefa group.
Established in 1839, the company is headquartered in Sheffield and through many takeovers and successful marketing of its Laser brand in the 1980s became the number one knife brand in the UK.
Financial problems exacerbated by competition eventually led to collapse in 2007 and the brands were bought by Amefa. In common with the majority of Sheffield knifemakers, production has moved abroad. Whilst much design work remains in the city, many of the products are imported from the Far East except for the '1839' range which is produced in Sheffield. The company retains 'Sheffield' in its name.


Heilbronn Power Station

Heilbronn Power Station is a coal-fired power station in Heilbronn, Germany. It is operated by EnBW Kraftwerke AG, until 1997 by EVS, and has seven units. Specifically, Unit 7 is the largest coal-fired unit used by EnBW. The capacity of the three units is 950 MW, two units with a capacity of approx. 200 MW are in cold reserve. The power station's two flue gas stacks are the highest structures in Heilbronn and are recognizable as landmarks from far away.


Fastbrick Robotics

FBR Ltd (formerly Fastbrick Robotics Limited) (ASX:FBR) is a Perth based robotics company. FBR is the creator of Hadrian X, the world's first fully automated end to end robotic bricklayer. In November 2016, Fastbrick Robotics won the Western Australian Innovator of the Year Award.
History.
In 1994, aeronautic and mechanical engineer Mark Pivac had the idea for a mobile dynamically stabilised robot. Between 2005 and 2008, Pivac filed patents for an 'automatic bricklaying system' and created the first Hadrian prototype using seed funding. After successfully demonstrating the build of a wall using ground mounted robots and mortar, production of Hadrian 105 (the precursor to Hadrian X) was under way.
After stalling during the financial crisis of 2007–2008, development of the Hadrian 105 resumed in 2014, amid a stronger economy and renewed interest in robotic construction. The following year, Fastbrick Robotics was listed on the ASX.
Overview.
In September 2016, the Hadrian 105 built the world's first multi room block structure from a 3D CAD model with no human intervention, providing proof of concept for what would become Hadrian X, and signed a non binding and non exclusive framework agreement, with Perth based builder Archistruct Builders & Designers.
In August 2017, Fastbrick Robotics moved to a new fit for purpose facility to allow a rapid expansion of their team, and signed an agreement with Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for a potential opportunity to build 50,000 new homes with Hadrian X, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding, with an initial twelve month term, with Caterpillar Inc, which agreed to invest $2 million into the technology. and raised $35 million through a share placement.
In June 2018, the mechanical assembly of the first Hadrian X construction robot was completed. FBR signed a strategic collaboration with GP Vivienda to discuss a pilot programme for the Hadrian X in Mexico. In August 2018, Dynamic Stabilisation Technology testing on the layhead of the Hadrian X was completed. In September 2018, FBR signed a global partnership agreement with Wienerberger AG to develop, manufacture and test clay blocks optimised for Hadrian X.
In November 2018, Hadrian X built a three bedroom, two bathroom home structure in under three days. In February 2019, Hadrian X completed its first outdoor home structure, known as 'Build1'.
Hadrian X.
Work on Hadrian X commercial bricklaying robot, began in March 2015. In May 2015, Hadrian 105 demonstrator was completed, which had the bricklaying rate of 225 bricks per hour. Hadrian X is built from steel, aluminium and carbon fibre composite materials, and is said to have the bricklaying rate of one thousand bricks per hour.
According to the CEO Mike Pivac, the machine will be able to build with a high degree of accuracy, decrease wasted bricks and work twenty four hours a day in most weather, without having to stop for mortar to dry, since it uses polyurethane adhesive.
On the 25th August 2020, Hadrian X completed the Pilot Program stage of the Building Pilot Program Agreement between FastBrick Robotics and GP Vivienda, four Mexican-style two bedroom, one-bathroom house structures were completed by the Hadrian X, according to FastBrick Robotics each house was completed in less than one standard shift on average to complete.
On the 1st of September 2020, Hadrian X began building its first non-residential commercial structure, the structure is located south east of Perth.


Analog Devices

Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI), also known simply as Analog, is an American multinational semiconductor company specializing in data conversion, signal processing and power management technology, headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts. In 2012, Analog Devices led the worldwide data converter market with a 48.5% share, according to analyst firm Databeans.
The company manufactures analog, mixed-signal and digital signal processing (DSP) integrated circuits (ICs) used in electronic equipment. These technologies are used to convert, condition and process real-world phenomena, such as light, sound, temperature, motion, and pressure into electrical signals.
Analog Devices has approximately 100,000 customers in the following industries: communications, computer, instrumentation, military/aerospace, automotive, and consumer electronics applications.
History.
The company was founded by two MIT graduates, Ray Stata and Matthew Lorber in 1965. The same year, the company released its first product, the model 101 op amp, which was a hockey-puck sized module used in test and measurement equipment. In 1967, the company published the first issue of its technical magazine, Analog Dialogue.
In 1969, Analog Devices filed an initial public offering and became a publicly traded company. Ten years later, the company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
In 1973, the company was the first to launch laser trim wafers and the first CMOS digital-to-analog converter. By 1996, the company reported over $1 billion in company revenue. That same year, Jerald Fishman was named president and CEO, a position he held until his death in 2013 (see below).
In 2000, Analog Devices's sales grew by over 75% to $2.578 Billion and the company acquired five companies including BCO Technologies PLC, a manufacturer of thick film semiconductors, for $150 million.
In January 2008, ON Semiconductor completed the acquisition of the CPU Voltage and PC Thermal Monitoring Business from Analog Devices., for $184 million.
By 2004, Analog Devices had a customer base of 60,000 and its portfolio included over 10,000 products.
In July 2016, Analog and Linear Technology agreed that Analog would acquire Linear in an approximately $14.8 billion cash and stock deal.
In July 2020, Analog and Maxim Integrated agreed that Analog will acquire Maxim in an all stock deal that values the combined company at $68 billion.
Locations.
Analog Devices is headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts, with regional headquarters
located in Shanghai, China; Munich, Germany; Limerick, Ireland; and Tokyo, Japan.
Analog Devices has fabrication plants located in the United States and in Ireland. The company's testing facility is located in the Philippines.
Design centers are located in Australia, Canada, China, Egypt, England, Germany, India, Israel,
Japan, Scotland, Spain, Taiwan and Turkey.
Employees.
Raymond Stata is a founder of Analog Devices and was responsible for the business strategy and product roadmap. After founding the company in 1965, Stata served as the company's chairman of the board of directors since 1973, executive officer since 1996, CEO from 1973 to 1996 and president from 1971 to 1991. In addition, Stata is also a trustee of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, his alma mater and was awarded the IEEE Founders medal in 2003. Stata received the EE Times "Lifetime Achievement" award in 2008. Stata served as the chairman of the Semiconductor Industry Association for the year 2011.
Vincent Roche became president and CEO of Analog Devices in May 2013. He first joined the company in 1988 as a marketing director in Limerick, Ireland.
Barrie Gilbert was named the first Technology Fellow of Analog Devices in 1979. In addition, Gilbert was an IEEE Life Fellow and held over 65 patents. Gilbert is best known for the "Gilbert cell" – an electronic multiplying mixer. At Analog Devices, Gilbert started the company's Northwest Labs design center in Oregon and continued to work on RF products crafted with high-speed nonlinear circuit techniques.
Paul Brokaw is an expert on integrated circuit design who has spent most of his career at Analog Devices, where he holds the position of Analog Fellow. Brokaw is the inventor of many analog IC circuits, including the Brokaw bandgap reference and holds over 100 patents. He is also an IEEE Life Fellow.
Robert Adams is Technical Fellow and manager of audio development at Analog Devices Inc. Adams holds many patents related to the audio and electronic field. He is a member of the IEEE and a Fellow in the Audio Engineering Society. Adams received a finalist ranking for the EDN Innovation and Innovator of the Year award in 1995.
Historical.
Jerald G. Fishman was the CEO and president of Analog Devices from 1996 until his death in March 2013. In 2004, Fishman was named CEO of the Year by Electronic Business. He was a 35-year veteran of Analog Devices and also served on the board of directors of Analog Devices, Cognex Corporation and Xilinx.
Products and technologies.
Analog Devices products include analog signal processing and digital signal processing technologies. These technologies include data converters, amplifiers, radio frequency (RF) technologies, embedded processors or digital signal processing (DSP) ICs, power management, and interface products.
Data converters include analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and digital-to-analog converters (DACs) that convert electrical signal representations of real-world analog phenomena, such as light, sound, waveforms, temperature, motion, and pressure into digital signals or data, and back again. Analog Devices ADC and DAC ICs are used in medical systems, scientific instrumentation, wireless and wired communications, radar, industrial process control, audio and video equipment, and other digital-processing-based systems, where an accurate signal conversion is critical. Data converters account for more than 50% of ADI's revenue. ADI's companion amplifier ICs provide accurate, high-speed and precise signals for driving data converters and are key for applications such as digital audio, current sensing, and precision instrumentation.
The company's data converter chips are used by National Instruments in high-precision measurement instrumentation systems. Its data converters and amplifiers are also used by scientists and researchers in project "IceCube" – an underground telescope that uses digital optical modules (DOMS) to detect subatomic particles in the South Pole.
Power management products for customers in the industrial, wireless infrastructure and digital camera markets support signal chain design requirements, such as dynamic range, transient performance, and reliability.
Interface products include a broad range of interface IC products offered by the company in product categories such as CAN (controller area network), digital isolators, level translators, LVDS, mobile I/O expander and keyboard controller, USB, and RS-232.
Amplifiers includes precision and operational amplifiers, instrumentation, current sense, differential amplifiers, audio amplifiers, video amplifiers/buffers/filters, variable gain amplifiers, comparators, voltage, other specialty amplifiers and products for special linear functions.
Radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) address the RF signal chain and simplify RF system development. The company's RF portfolio includes TruPwr RMS power detectors and logarithmic amplifiers; PLL and DDS synthesizers; RF prescalers; variable gain amplifiers; ADC drivers, gain blocks, LNAs and other RF amplifiers.
Processors and DSP are programmable signal processing integrated circuits that execute specialized software programs, or algorithms, associated with processing digitized real-time data. Analog Devices Processors and DSPs are the Blackfin, SHARC, SigmaDSP, TigerSHARC, ADSP-21xx and Precision Analog Microcontrollers. These make up the company's embedded processing and DSP portfolio, that are multi-DSP signal processing,
Historical.
Analog Devices had a line of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones until it sold that business to InvenSense in 2013. Analog Devices MEMS microphones were found in smart phones, tablet PCs, security systems, and medical applications. ADI's MEMS accelerometers were designed into game pad controllers by Microsoft, Logitech and Pellican.
Markets.
Healthcare.
Analog Devices sells linear, mixed-signal, MEMS and digital signal processing technologies for medical imaging, patient monitoring, medical instrumentation and home healthcare. The company's precision signal-processing components and Blackfin digital signal processors are included in Karmelsonix's Wholter, an overnight pulmonary monitor, and the Wheezometer, a personal asthmatic assessment device. Accelerometers produced by Analog Devices are included in ZOLL Medical's PocketCPR, which measures the depth of chest compressions and provides audible and visual feedback to a rescuer to allow adjustment to proper depth and to the correct rate of compression.
Automotive.
Analog Devices develops components for safety systems, such as stability control systems and driver assistance systems, infotainment and interior applications. Powertrain systems in hybrid and electric vehicles use high-precision data conversion products in battery monitoring and control systems.
Industrial.
Analog Devices industrial market includes process control systems that help drive productivity, energy efficiency and reliability.
Consumer.
Analog Devices has technology for consumer electronics, which includes signal processing circuits for image processing, auto focus, and image stabilization for digital still cameras and camcorders, audio and video processors for home theater systems, DVD recorders, and high-definition televisions and advanced touch screen controllers for portable media devices.
Competitors.
In 2009, Databeans published its report on the top semiconductor analog suppliers. Analog Devices was named number two with other suppliers including: Texas Instruments, National Semiconductor (acquired by Texas Instruments in 2011), Maxim Integrated Products, and Linear Technology (collaborating with Analog Devices since March 2017). Other competitors include: Infineon Technologies, STMicroelectronics and Intersil Corporation.
In 2011, Analog Devices was the third ranked analog semiconductor supplier.
"Analog Dialogue".
In 1967, Analog Devices first published "Analog Dialogue". Dan Sheingold took the position of editor two years later, which he held for over four decades. The current editor is Bernhard Siegel. It is currently the longest-running in-house publication in the electronics industry.
"Analog Dialogue" is a forum for the exchange of circuits, systems, and software for real-world signal processing and is the technical magazine published by Analog Devices. It discusses products, applications, technology, and techniques for analog, digital, and mixed-signal processing. "Analog Dialogue" is published monthly on the Web. The featured technical articles are also compiled in quarterly print editions.
Communities.
Community.
In 2009, Analog Devices announced EngineerZone, an online technical support community. EngineerZone was launched so the design engineering community (customers, prospects, partners, employees and students) can ask questions, share knowledge and search for answers to their questions in an open forum.
Resources.
Analog Devices circuits from the lab reference circuits are engineered and tested for quick system integration to help solve design challenges ranging from common to complex. Reference circuits are smaller, modular designs that are more broadly applicable than application-specific reference designs.
Each reference circuit is documented with test data, theory of operation, and component selection decision criteria. In addition, reference circuits are tailored to meet real-world system integration needs and may also include board layout schematics, CAD tools models, device drivers, and evaluation hardware.


Thomas Speight Wagon Works

Thomas Speight Wagon Works was a Canadian carriage builder based in Markham, Ontario and was the biggest supplier of horsecars for the Toronto Street Railways, but took orders as far west as Winnipeg, Manitoba.
History.
In 1830, Thomas Speight of Yorkshire, England, established a wagon manufacturing facility in the village of Markham. The operations grew on Main Street Markham. Some parts of the wagon builder were located on the northwest corner of Main Street north of Highway 7, just south of the St. Andrew's United Church and later on the east side of Main Street (20 Main Street - now Thomson Court Apartments and Paradise Plaza). The company even had a distribution office in Toronto (102 Front Street East), then two warehouses on Ontario Street and Jarvis Street in 1900 and in Fort William, Ontario.
James Speight (1830-1903), son of Thomas, continued the family business in Markham having rebuilt after the 1877 fire and was the first reeve of Markham Village in 1873. In 1882 it became Speight Manufacturing Company of Markham Limited , but ran into trouble, but saved by Thomas Heys and Thomas Henry Speight (son of Thomas Speight) in 1890 and became Speight Wagon Company. James Speight died in Markham in 1903.
Thomas' son John Speight established a carriage builder, John Speight and Sons with brothers Samuel and later Michael) in the 1850s in Acton, Ontario by the 1850s and remained there until their deaths (John in 1881 and Samuel in 1882). His company was passed on to brother Michael (died 1889 after leaving Acton for Markham after 1882) and finally to Joseph Albert Speight (1846-1902).
Speight also operated a planing mill and sash-and-door factory near the wagon works. In 1910 the company was acquired by Port Arthur Wagon Company and folded shortly after and the Port Arthur Wagon folded by the end of World War I in 1918.
End of Speight Wagon Works.
The Markham factory remained in operation until November 1917, likely due to the decline in use of wagons and sleighs with use of the automobiles.
One office building near 20 Main Street became Beare Sons & Clayton General Motors dealership and in 1921 as Markham Garage. The factory buildings and the garage burned down in 1922. Today the site of the old factory and garage has been replaced with several businesses fronting Main Street and a condo in the rear. The company had a warehouse at 102 Front Street East in Toronto.
The Speights and some of their employees had homes along Main Street. Some of the homes survive today, such as 40–44 Main Street North. James Speight built his home at 48 Main Street North, now the Wedding Cake House.
Products.
Speight sold their products for retail and wholesale market. Most customers were farmers or companies needing a means to transport goods.
See also.
In the 19th Century there were 2 other carriage builders in York Region:


Bihai Power Plant

The Bihai Power Plant () is a hydroelectric power plant in Xiulin Township, Hualien County, Taiwan.
History.
The geological survey and exploratory drilling for the project were started in 1996 and construction was started in 2001. After 15 years of preparatory and construction work, the power plant went into commercial operation on 10 December 2011.
Dam and reservoir.
The power plant was established from the construction of concrete gravity dam at an altitude of 545 meters along the Hoping River basin in Hualien County. The dam at () created a reservoir with a capacity of 635,000 m3. An intake valve was built connecting the dam with a 6,549 meter long headrace tunnel to Bihai Power Plant located at the downstream side at an altitude of 100 meters where a vertical Pelton turbine of 61.2 MW is installed.
Generation.
The power plant is expected to generate 237 GWh every year to residents of Hualien County to relieve the previous burden for Taipower to import electricity from Mingtan Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plant in Nantou County and Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County which was very costly. The 18 hours of daily water capture and storage will generate enough electricity to supply the six hours of peak load in the region.
Safety.
The power plant will open the floodgate to release excessive water during high river intensity to prevent the buildup of sediment.
Financing.
The project costed NT$ 16.5 billion.


Volta powerhouses

The Volta Powerhouses are hydroelectric generation plants located in southern Shasta County, California, between Shingletown and Manton. Volta Powerhouse I was built in 1901 by Keswick Electric Power Company; Volta Powerhouse II was built in 1980.


List of nuclear research reactors

This is an annotated list of all the nuclear research reactors in the world, sorted by country, with operational status. For power reactors, see List of commercial nuclear reactors.
Australia.
The main uses of the current OPAL reactor are:
France.
Shut down:
Working:
Iraq.
Tamuz-1 and Tamuz-2 are parts of the same French nuclear research complex design, the OSIRIS research complex. All three reactors were located at the same site.
Pakistan.
Under IAEA safeguards
Not under IAEA safeguards
Russia.
A total of 98 nuclear research facilities, including:
Slovenia.
</noinclude>
United States.
Research reactors.
Civilian (private and university) research and test reactors formerly licensed to operate.
Research and test reactors Under decommission order(s) or license amendment(s) are authorized to decontaminate and dismantle their facility to prepare for final survey and license termination.
Research and test reactors with possession-only licenses are not authorized to operate the reactor, only to possess the nuclear material on-hand. They are permanently shut down.


Chiral Photonics

Chiral Photonics, Inc. is a photonics company based in Pine Brook, New Jersey, founded in 1999. The company is developing a new class of optical devices based on twisting glass optical fibers. These in-fiber devices aim to displace discrete optical elements such as lasers, filters and sensors. They benefit from optical fiber’s transmission efficiency, robustness and ease of integration.
The company hopes that its manufacturing process, which is completely automated and scalable, will result, for example, in communications lasers that are fraction of the cost and three times more efficient than today’s semiconductor lasers. Chiral Photonics is also developing chirality in polymeric thin films which, for instance, would enable high quality projection displays.
Funding.
Chiral Photonics had received funding from venture capital, angel, and government sources including a US$2 million National Institute of Standards and Technology Advanced Technology Program award in 2004.
Technology.
Chiral Photonics’ technology is an outgrowth of the 1997 discovery by two of the company's co-founders, Azriel Genack and Victor Kopp, that lasing in cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) films is a result of their unique self-assembling helical (chiral) microstructure. CLCs are the thin-film material often used to fabricate fish tank thermometers or mood rings, that change color with temperature changes. They change color because their molecules are arranged in a helical or chiral arrangement and with temperature the pitch of that helical structure changes, reflecting different wavelengths of light.
Drs. Genack and Kopp decided to pursue the possibility that CLCs, with their natural chiral structure, could provide a platform for a versatile new class of photonic devices. In biomimetic fashion, Chiral Photonics has abstracted the self-assembled structure of the organic CLCs to produce analogous optical devices using tiny lengths of inorganic, twisted fiber. Designing novel microforming towers, the company is able to fabricate devices based on fibers that can be twisted through more than 25,000 revolutions over a one-inch length.
These revolutions function as would a fiber Bragg grating. The density of twists per inch, or periodicity, demonstrably results in the light being coupled to the fiber cladding, scattered out of the fiber, or reflected back within the fiber. This interaction with light can be harnessed to produce sensors, polarizers/isolators, and filter/lasers, respectively.
Applications.
These basic components can be used for a variety of applications and all share a common production platform. In his comments upon the grant’s award, William Sargeant, the National Science Foundation program officer who oversaw Chiral Photonics' first SBIR award, noted the range of existing and incipient markets. "This technology could be one of the most significant recent advances in the field of polarization and wavelength control. There is an enormous host of applications for which chiral fiber gratings could find markets."
Chiral Photonics’ components are all of the all-fiber variety. Released products include linear and circular polarizers, ultra-high temperature sensors, customized harsh environment pressure, axial rotation, and liquid level sensors, and a spot size converting interconnect.
The spot size converter, while not of chiral geometry, leverages the company’s glass microfabrication knowhow. The spot size converter (SSC) couples light between widely disparate (NA and MFD) components, such as, between <25 micrometre planar waveguides or laser diodes, and standard 125 micrometre SMF fiber. The SSC allows for direct light coupling with no air gap, sub-0.5 dB loss, and extinction ratios of >20 dB for use in silicon photonics and other applications.
Chiral Photonics also offers twisted capillary tubes for proteomic analysis. The protein unfolds as it passes through the channel allowing for imaging. In other uses the rotation of the protein as it passes through the channel facilitates 360° imaging. The capillary tubes also have other microfluidic applications including mixing and uniform heat exchange.
Patents.
Chiral Photonics has been issued 19 United States or International patents relating to its photonics research.


Kamalanga Thermal Power Plant

Kamalanga Thermal Power Plant is a coal based thermal power project located at Kamalanga in Dhenkanal district in Indian state of Odisha. The power plant is one of the coal based power plants of GMR Kamalanga Energy Limited, a subsidiary of GMR Group.
Coal for the power plant is sourced from Mahanadi Coalfields Limited.
Capacity.
Its planned capacity is 1050 MW (3x350 MW). There is plan to add another unit of 350 MW in second phase of the power plant.


Healthways (scuba gear company)


Basalt Waste Isolation Project

The Basalt Waste Isolation Project (BWIP) broke ground at Hanford Site in 1976, conducting tests aimed at siting a safe and isolated repository for reactor irradiated fuel and other nuclear byproducts.
Between 1976 and enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA), studies at the Hanford site continued to evaluate the geologic and hydrologic suitability of the BWIP repository in the underlying basalt. The BWIP Site Characterization Report was published in November 1982, explaining the details and status of the project. When the Department of Energy (DOE) published an Environmental Assessment in May 1986, it recommended BWIP to the President as a candidate site.
The main concern in the post-1982 phase of the project had been the suitability of the project's quality assurance procedures during the early phases of BWIP. President Reagan approved BWIP as a candidate site in May 1986, and DOE stopped most of the site characterization activities at the BWIP until quality assurance procedures could be adopted that would satisfy Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requirements.
BWIP's status as a candidate site was short lived. Only 19 months after the President approved the BWIP as a candidate site for the repository, Congress amended the NWPA in Title V of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987. This narrowed the search for a repository site by designating Yucca Mountain as the sole candidate. DOE was directed to terminate all BWIP activities within 90 days after December 22, 1987.


Braemar Power Station

Braemar Power Station is a complex of natural gas and coal seam gas fired combined-cycle power stations in Kogan, Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It is near Dalby in the Darling Downs region.
Braemar-1.
Braemar-1 is a 502 MW open-cycle natural gas turbine plant located south west of Dalby, adjacent to the Kogan Creek Power Station, Queensland – New South Wales high voltage transmission interconnector and Power Link 320/274 kV substation. It is supplied from the Tipton West coal seam gas fields, with the pipeline between Condamine and Braemar, which is used exclusively to supply the Braemar Power Station.
The power station was developed by ERM Power and was built by Alstom. It is equipped by three Alstom's 150 MW GT13E2 gas turbines. The power station cost A$545 million. It was completed in 2006 and is anticipated to operate until 2036. ERM Power sold the plant to Alinta Energy in 2008.
Braemar-2.
Braemar-2 is a 450 MW open-cycle natural gas turbine plant adjacent to the Braemar-1 power station. The power station was developed by ERM Power and was built by Bilfinger. It supplies peak demand power and it is equipped by three Siemens's 150 MW SGT5-2000E gas turbines. The power station cost A$546 million. Gas for this power station is sourced from the Stratheden field at Daandine.
Braemar-2 began operating on 12 June 2009 and was officially opened on 25 August 2009. It is Queensland's second-largest gas-fired power station. Arrow Energy acquired 50% of the station in 2008 and on 4 July 2011, it took full control of Braemar-2.
Braemar-3.
Braemer 3 is a planned 550 MW power station adjacent to the existing stations. It was expected to be operational by 2015 and cost $530 million to build. However the rapid increase in household solar generation has reduced the electricity demand on the grid, consequently the Braemar-3 unit was not profitable and has not been developed.
The recent construction of lower cost Darling Downs Solar Farm and Coopers Gap Wind Farm nearby suggests Breamar-3 is unlikely to be ever built.
Braemar-4.
ERM Power is considering the development of Braemer 4, indicating it will proceed with its development when market conditions improve.


Natural gas vehicle

A natural gas vehicle (NGV) is also an alternative fuel vehicle that uses compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG). Natural gas vehicles should not be confused with autogas vehicles powered by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), mainly propane, which is a fuel with a fundamentally different composition.
In a natural-gas-powered vehicle, energy is released by combustion of essentially methane gas () fuel with oxygen () from the air to carbon dioxide () and water vapour () in an internal combustion engine. Methane is the cleanest burning hydrocarbon and many contaminants present in natural gas are removed at source. Existing gasoline-powered vehicles may be converted to run on CNG or LNG, and can be dedicated (running only on natural gas) or bi-fuel (running on either gasoline or natural gas). Diesel engines for heavy trucks and buses can also be converted and can be dedicated with the addition of new heads containing spark ignition systems, or can be run on a blend of diesel and natural gas, with the primary fuel being natural gas and a small amount of diesel fuel being used as an ignition source. It is also possible to generate energy in a small gas turbine and couple the gas engine or turbine with a small electric battery to create a hybrid electric-motor-driven vehicle.
Convenient and cost-effective gas storage and fuelling is a key challenge compared to petrol and diesel vehicles since the natural gas is pressurized and/or—in the case of LNG—the tank needs to be kept cold. The lower energy density of gases compared to liquid fuels is mitigated to a great extent by high compression or gas liquefaction, but requires a trade-off in terms of size/complexity/weight of the storage container, range of the vehicle between refuelling stops, and time to refuel. Although similar storage technologies may be used for and similar compromises would apply to a hydrogen vehicle as part of a proposed new hydrogen economy, methane as a gaseous fuel is safer than hydrogen due to its lower flammability, low corrosivity and better leak tightness due to larger molecular weight/ size, resulting in lower price hardware solutions based on proven technology and conversions. Many other factors hold back NGV popularization for individual mobility applications, i.e. private vehicles, including the cost of new vehicles, additional weight, unfamiliarity with the technology, lack of refuelling and storage infrastructure, and lack of supply due to relatively small demand compared with other petroleum-based fuels such as gasoline and diesel.
Worldwide, there were almost 28 million NGVs by 2019. In 2016, the market was led by China (5 million), Iran (4 million), India (3 million), Pakistan (3 million), Argentina (3 million), Brazil (1.8 million), and Italy (1 million).
Overview.
Infrastructure.
NGV filling stations can be located anywhere that natural gas lines exist. Compressors (CNG) or liquifaction plants (LNG) are usually built on large scale but with CNG small home refueling stations are possible. A company called FuelMaker pioneered such a system called Phill Home Refueling Appliance (known as "Phill"), which they developed in partnership with Honda for the American GX model. Phill is now manufactured and sold by BRC FuelMaker, a division of Fuel Systems Solutions, Inc.
Advantages.
CNG may be generated and used for bulk storage and pipeline transport of renewable energy and also be mixed with biomethane, itself derived from biogas from landfills or anaerobic digestion. This would allow the use of CNG for mobility with fewer carbon released in the atmosphere compared to regular diesel-powered vehicles. It would also allow continued use of CNG vehicles currently powered by non-renewable fossil fuels that do not become obsolete when stricter emissions regulations are mandated to combat global warming.
A key advantage of using natural gas is the existence, in principle, of most of the infrastructure and the supply chain, which is non-interchangeable with hydrogen. Methane today mostly comes from non-renewable sources but can be supplied or produced from renewable sources, offering net carbon neutral mobility. In many markets, especially the Americas, natural gas may trade at a discount to other fossil fuel products such as petrol, diesel or coal, or indeed be a less valuable by-product associated with their production that has to be disposed. Many countries also provide tax incentives for natural gas powered vehicles due to the environmental benefits to society. Lower operating costs and government incentives to reduce pollution from heavy vehicles in urban areas have driven the adoption of NGV for commercial and public uses, i.e. trucks and buses.
Challenges.
Despite its advantages, the use of natural gas vehicles faces several limitations, including fuel storage and infrastructure available for delivery and distribution at fueling stations. CNG must be stored in high pressure cylinders ( operation pressure), and LNG must be stored in cryogenic cylinders (). These cylinders take up more space than gasoline or diesel tanks that can be molded in intricate shapes to store more fuel and use less on-vehicle space. CNG tanks are usually located in the vehicle's trunk or pickup bed, reducing the space available for other cargo. This problem can be solved by installing the tanks under the body of the vehicle, or on the roof (typical for buses), leaving cargo areas free. As with other alternative fuels, other barriers for widespread use of NGVs are natural gas distribution to and at fueling stations as well as the low number of CNG and LNG stations.
The need to keep LNG tanks cold could make it unsuited for vehicles that are not in frequent use. If misused, gas fumes are likely to build up in the car, which can lead to the inhalation of unsafe fumes and possible explosions in the car engine.
Other challenges include: relatively price and environmentally insensitive but convenience seeking private individuals; good profits and taxes extractable from small-batch sales of value-added, branded petrol and diesel fuels via established trade channels and oil refiners; resistance and safety concerns to increasing gas inventories in urban areas; dual-use of utility distribution networks originally built for home gas supply and allocation of network expansion costs; reluctance, effort and costs associated with switching; prestige and nostalgia associated with petroleum vehicles; fear of redundancy and disruption. A particular challenge may be the fact that refiners are currently set up to produce a certain fuels mix from crude oil. Aviation fuel is likely to remain the fuel of choice for aircraft due to their weight sensitivity for the foreseeable future.
Deployment.
The Asia-Pacific region leads the world with 6.8 million vehicles, followed by Latin America with 4.2 million. In Latin America, almost 90% of NGVs have bi-fuel engines, allowing these vehicles to run on either gasoline or CNG. In Pakistan, almost every vehicle converted to (or manufactured for) alternative fuel use typically retains the capability of running on gasoline.
As of 2016, the U.S. had a fleet of 160,000 NG vehicles, including 3,176 LNG vehicles. Other countries where natural gas-powered buses are popular include India, Australia, Argentina, Germany, and Greece. In OECD countries, there are around 500,000 CNG vehicles. Pakistan's market share of NGVs was 61.1% in 2010, follow by Armenia with more than 77% (2014), and Bolivia with 20%. The number of NGV refueling stations has also increased, to 18,202 worldwide as of 2010, up 10.2% from the previous year.
Vehicles.
An increasing number of vehicles worldwide are being manufactured to run on CNG by major carmakers. Until recently, the Honda Civic GX was the only NGV commercially available in the US market. More recently, Ford, General Motors and Ram Trucks have bi-fuel offerings in their vehicle lineup. In 2006, the Brazilian subsidiary of FIAT introduced the Fiat Siena Tetra fuel, a four-fuel car that can run on natural gas (CNG).
CNG-powered vehicles are considered to be safer than gasoline-powered vehicles.
CNG/LNG as fuel for automobiles.
Available production cars.
Existing gasoline-powered vehicles may be converted to run on CNG or LNG, and can be dedicated (running only on natural gas) or bi-fuel (running on either gasoline or natural gas). However, an increasing number of vehicles worldwide are being manufactured to run on CNG. Until recently, the now-discontinued Honda Civic GX was the only NGV commercially available in the US market. More recently, Ford, General Motors and Ram Trucks have bi-fuel offerings in their vehicle lineup. Ford's approach is to offer a bi-fuel prep kit as a factory option, and then have the customer choose an authorized partner to install the natural gas equipment. Choosing GM's bi-fuel option sends the HD pickups with the 6.0L gasoline engine to IMPCO in Indiana to upfit the vehicle to run on CNG. Ram currently is the only pickup truck manufacturer with a truly CNG factory-installed bi-fuel system available in the U.S. market.
Outside the U.S. GM do Brasil introduced the MultiPower engine in 2004, which was capable of using CNG, alcohol and gasoline (E20-E25 blend) as fuel, and it was used in the Chevrolet Astra 2.0 model 2005, aimed at the taxi market. In 2006, the Brazilian subsidiary of FIAT introduced the Fiat Siena Tetra fuel, a four-fuel car developed under Magneti Marelli of Fiat Brazil. This automobile can run on natural gas (CNG); 100% ethanol (E100); E20 to E25 gasoline blend, Brazil's mandatory gasoline; and pure gasoline, though no longer available in Brazil it is used in neighboring countries.
In 2015, Honda announced its decision to phase out the commercialization of natural-gas powered vehicles to focus on the development of a new generation of electrified vehicles such as hybrids, plug-in electric cars and hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles. Since 2008, Honda sold about 16,000 natural-gas vehicles, mainly to taxi and commercial fleets.
Differences between LNG and CNG fuels.
Though LNG and CNG are both considered NGVs, the technologies are vastly different. Refueling equipment, fuel cost, pumps, tanks, hazards, capital costs are all different.
One thing they share is that due to engines made for gasoline, computer controlled valves to control fuel mixtures are required for both of them, often being proprietary and specific to the manufacturer. The on-engine technology for fuel metering is the same for LNG and CNG.
CNG as an auto fuel.
CNG, or compressed natural gas, is stored at high pressure, . The required tank is more massive and costly than a conventional fuel tank. Commercial on-demand refueling stations are more expensive to operate than LNG stations because of the energy required for compression, the compressor requires 100 times more electrical power, however, slow-fill (many hours) can be cost-effective with LNG stations [missing citation - the initial liquefaction of natural gas by cooling requires more energy than gas compression]. Time to fill a CNG tank varies greatly depending on the station. Home refuelers typically fill at about 0.4 GGE/hr. "Fast-fill" stations may be able to refill a 10 GGE tank in 5–10 minutes. Also, because of the lower energy density, the range on CNG is limited by comparison to LNG. Gas composition and throughput allowing, it should be feasible to connect commercial CNG fueling stations to city gas networks, or enable home fueling of CNG vehicles directly using a gas compressor. Similar to a car battery, the CNG tank of a car could double as a home energy storage device and the compressor could be powered at times when there is excess/ free renewable electrical energy.
LNG as an auto fuel.
LNG, or liquified natural gas, is natural gas that has been cooled to a point that it is a cryogenic liquid. In its liquid state, it is still more than 2 times as dense as CNG. LNG is usually dispensed from bulk storage tanks at LNG fuel stations at rates exceeding 20 DGE/min. Sometimes LNG is made locally from utility pipe. Because of its cryogenic nature, it is stored in specially designed insulated tanks. Generally speaking, these tanks operate at fairly low pressures (about 70-150 psi) when compared to CNG. A vaporizer is mounted in the fuel system that turns the LNG into a gas (which may simply be considered low pressure CNG). When comparing building a commercial LNG station with a CNG station, utility infrastructure, capital cost, and electricity heavily favor LNG over CNG. There are existing LCNG stations (both CNG and LNG), where fuel is stored as LNG, then vaporized to CNG on-demand. LCNG stations require less capital cost than fast-fill CNG stations alone, but more than LNG stations.
Advantages over gasoline and diesel.
LNG – and especially CNG – tends to corrode and wear the parts of an engine less rapidly than gasoline. Thus it is quite common to find diesel-engine NGVs with high mileages (over 500,000 miles). CNG also emits 20-29% less CO2 than diesel and gasoline. Emissions are cleaner, with lower emissions of carbon and lower particulate emissions per equivalent distance traveled. There is generally less wasted fuel. However, cost (monetary, environmental, pre-existing infrastructure) of distribution, compression, cooling must be taken into account.
Inherent advantages/disadvantages between autogas (LPG) power and NGV.
Autogas, also known as LPG, has different chemical composition, but still a petroleum based gas, has a number of inherent advantages and disadvantages, as well as noninherent ones. The inherent advantage of autogas over CNG is that it requires far less compression (20% of CNG cost), is denser as it is a liquid at room temperature, and thus requires far cheaper tanks (consumer) and fuel compressors (provider) than CNG. As compared to LNG, it requires no chilling (and thus less energy), or problems associated with extreme cold such as frostbite. Like NGV, it also has advantages over gasoline and diesel in cleaner emissions, along with less wear on engines over gasoline. The major drawback of LPG is its safety. The fuel is volatile and the fumes are heavier than air, which causes them to collect in a low spot in the event of a leak, making it far more hazardous to use and more care is needed in handling. Besides this, LPG (40% from Crude Oil refining) is more expensive than Natural Gas.
Current advantages of LPG power over NGV.
In places like the US, Thailand, and India, there are five to ten times more stations thus making the fuel more accessible than NGV stations. Other countries like Poland, South Korea, and Turkey, LPG stations and autos are widespread while NGVs are not. In addition, in some countries such as Thailand, the retail LPG fuel is considerably cheaper in cost.
Future possibilities.
Though ANG (adsorbed natural gas) has not yet been used in either providing stations nor consumer storage tanks, its low compression (500psi vs 3600 psi) has the potential to drive down costs of NGV infrastructure and vehicle tanks.
LNG fueled vehicles.
Use of LNG to fuel large over-the-road trucks.
LNG is being evaluated and tested for over-the-road trucking, off-road, marine, and railroad applications. There are known problems with the fuel tanks and delivery of gas to the engine.
China has been a leader in the use of LNG vehicles with over 100,000 LNG powered vehicles on the road as of 2014.
In the United States, there were 69 public truck LNG fuel centres as of February 2015. The 2013 National Trucker's Directory lists approximately 7,000 truckstops, thus approximately 1% of US truckstops have LNG available.
In 2013, Dillon Transport announced they were putting 25 LNG large trucks into service in Dallas Texas. They are refueling at a public LNG fuel center. The same year Raven Transportation announced they were buying 36 LNG large trucks to be fueled by Clean Energy Fuels locations and Lowe's finished converting one of its dedicated fleets to LNG fueled trucks.
UPS had over 1200 LNG fueled trucks on the roads in February 2015. UPS has 16,000 tractor trucks in its fleet, and 60 of the new for 2014 large trucks will be placed in service in the Houston, Texas area, where UPS is building its own private LNG fuel center to avoid the lines at retail fuel centers. In Amarillo, Texas and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, UPS is using public fuel centers.
Clean Energy Fuels has opened several public LNG Fuel Lanes along I-10 and claims that as of June 2014 LNG fueled trucks can use the route from Los Angeles, California to Houston, Texas by refueling exclusively at Clean Energy Fuels public facilities. In 2014 Shell and Travel Centers of America opened the first of a planned network of U.S. truck stop LNG stations in Ontario, California. Per the alternative fuel fuelling centre tracking site there are 10 LNG capable public fuel stations in the greater Los Angeles area, making it the single most penetrated metro market. As of February 2015, Blu LNG has at least 23 operational LNG capable fuel centers across 8 states, and Clean Energy had 39 operational public LNG facilities.
As can be seen at the alternative fuel fueling center tracking site, as of early 2015 there is void of LNG fuel centers, public and private, from Illinois to the Rockies. A Noble Energy LNG production plant in northern Colorado was planned to go online in 1st quarter 2015 and to have a capacity of 100,000 gallons of LNG per day for on-road, off-road, and drilling operations.
As of 2014, LNG fuel and NGV's had not achieved much usage in Europe.
American Gas & Technology pioneered use of onsite liquefaction using van sized station to access Natural Gas from utility pipe and clean, liquefy, store and dispense it. Their stations make 300-5,000 gallons of LNG per day.
Use of LNG to fuel high-horsepower/high-torque engines.
In internal combustion engines the volume of the cylinders is a common measure of the power of an engine. Thus a 2000cc engine would typically be more powerful than an 1800cc engine, but that assumes a similar air-fuel mixture is used.
If, via a turbocharger as an example, the 1800cc engine were using an air-fuel mixture that was significantly more energy dense, then it might be able to produce more power than a 2000cc engine burning a less energy dense air-fuel mixture. However, turbochargers are both complex and expensive. Thus it becomes clear for high-horsepower/high-torque engines a fuel that can inherently be used to create a more energy dense air-fuel mixture is preferred because a smaller and simpler engine can be used to produce the same power.
With traditional gasoline and diesel engines the energy density of the air-fuel mixture is limited because the liquid fuels do not mix well in the cylinder. Further, gasoline and diesel auto-ignite at temperatures and pressures relevant to engine design. An important part of traditional engine design is designing the cylinders, compression ratios, and fuel injectors such that pre-ignition is avoided, but at the same time as much fuel as possible can be injected, become well mixed, and still have time to complete the combustion process during the power stroke.
Natural gas does not auto-ignite at pressures and temperatures relevant to traditional gasoline and diesel engine design, thus providing more flexibility in the design of a natural gas engine. Methane, the main component of natural gas, has an autoignition temperature of 580C/1076F, whereas gasoline and diesel autoignite at approximately 250C and 210C respectively.
With a compressed natural gas (CNG) engine, the mixing of the fuel and the air is more effective since gases typically mix well in a short period of time, but at typical CNG compression pressures the fuel itself is less energy dense than gasoline or diesel thus the end result is a lower energy dense air-fuel mixture. Thus for the same cylinder displacement engine, a non turbocharged CNG powered engine is typically less powerful than a similarly sized gasoline or diesel engine. For that reason, turbochargers are popular on European CNG cars. Despite that limitation, the 12 liter Cummins Westport ISX12G engine is an example of a CNG capable engine designed to pull tractor/trailer loads up to 80,000 lbs showing CNG can be used in most if not all on-road truck applications. The original ISX G engines incorporated a turbocharger to enhance the air-fuel energy density.
LNG offers a unique advantage over CNG for more demanding high-horsepower applications by eliminating the need for a turbocharger. Because LNG boils at approximately -160C, using a simple heat exchanger a small amount of LNG can be converted to its gaseous form at extremely high pressure with the use of little or no mechanical energy. A properly designed high-horsepower engine can leverage this extremely high pressure energy dense gaseous fuel source to create a higher energy density air-fuel mixture than can be efficiently created with a CNG powered engine. The end result when compared to CNG engines is more overall efficiency in high-horsepower engine applications when high-pressure direct injection technology is used. The Westport HDMI2 fuel system is an example of a high-pressure direct injection technology that does not require a turbocharger if teamed with appropriate LNG heat exchanger technology. The Volvo Trucks 13-liter LNG engine is another example of a LNG engine leveraging advanced high pressure technology.
Westport recommends CNG for engines 7 liters or smaller and LNG with direct injection for engines between 20 and 150 liters. For engines between 7 and 20 liters either option is recommended. See slide 13 from their NGV BRUXELLES – INDUSTRY INNOVATION SESSION presentation
High horsepower engines in the oil drilling, mining, locomotive, and marine fields have been or are being developed. Paul Blomerus has written a paper concluding as much as 40 million tonnes per annum of LNG (approximately 26.1 billion gallons/year or 71 million gallons/day) could be required just to meet the global needs of the high-horsepower engines by 2025 to 2030.
As of the end of 1st quarter 2015 Prometheus Energy Group Inc claims to have delivered over 100 million gallons of LNG within the previous 4 years into the industrial market, and is continuing to add new customers.
Motorcycles.
Scooters can also use CNG as a fuel source.
Ships.
The is the world's first LNG powered container ship. LNG carriers are sometimes powered by the boil-off of LNG from their storage tanks, although Diesel powered LNG carriers are also common to minimize loss of cargo and enable more versatile refueling.
Aircraft.
Some airplanes use LNG to power their turbofans. Aircraft are particularly sensitive to weight and much of the weight of an aircraft goes into fuel carriage. Liquified natural gas has a high specific energy (MJ/kg), a useful optimization for flight applications.
Chemical composition and energy content.
Chemical composition.
The primary component of natural gas is methane (CH4), the shortest and lightest hydrocarbon molecule. It may also contain heavier gaseous hydrocarbons such as ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8) and butane (C4H10), as well as other gases, in varying amounts. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a common contaminant, which must be removed prior to most uses.
Energy content.
Combustion of one cubic meter yields 38 MJ (10.6 kWh). Natural gas has the highest energy/carbon ratio of any fossil fuel, and thus produces less carbon dioxide per unit of energy.
Storage and transport.
Transport.
The major difficulty in the use of natural gas is transportation. Natural gas pipelines are economical and common on land and across medium-length stretches of water (like Langeled, Interconnector and Trans-Mediterranean Pipeline), but are impractical across large oceans. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker ships, railway tankers, and tank trucks are also used.
Storage.
CNG is typically stored in steel or composite containers at high pressure (3000 to 4000 psi, or 205 to 275 bar). These containers are not typically temperature controlled, but are allowed to stay at local ambient temperature. There are many standards for CNG cylinders, the most popular one is ISO 11439. For North America the standard is ANSI NGV-2.
LNG storage pressures are typically around 50-150 psi, or 3 to 10 bar. At atmospheric pressure, LNG is at a temperature of -260 °F (-162 °C), however, in a vehicle tank under pressure the temperature is slightly higher (see saturated fluid). Storage temperatures may vary due to varying composition and storage pressure. LNG is far denser than even the highly compressed state of CNG. As a consequence of the low temperatures, vacuum insulated storage tanks typically made of stainless steel are used to hold LNG.
CNG can be stored at lower pressure in a form known as an ANG (Adsorbed Natural Gas) tank at 35 bar (500 psi, the pressure of gas in natural gas pipelines) in various sponge like materials, such as activated carbon and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The fuel is stored at similar or greater energy density than CNG. This means that vehicles can be refuelled from the natural gas network without extra gas compression, the fuel tanks can be slimmed down and made of lighter, less strong materials.
Conversion kits.
Conversion kits for gasoline or diesel to LNG/CNG are available in many countries, along with the labor to install them. However, the range of prices and quality of conversion vary enormously.
Recently, regulations involving certification of installations in USA have been loosened to include certified private companies, those same kit installations for CNG have fallen to the $6,000+ range (depending on type of vehicle).
Implementation.
Overview.
Natural gas vehicles are popular in regions or countries where natural gas is abundant and where the government chooses to price CNG lower than gasoline. The use of natural gas began in the Po River Valley of Italy in the 1930s, followed by New Zealand in the 1980s, though its use has declined there. At the peak of New Zealand's natural gas use, 10% of the nation's cars were converted, around 110,000 vehicles. In the United States CNG powered buses are the favorite choice of several public transit agencies, with a fleet of more than 114,000 vehicles, mostly buses. India, Australia, Argentina, and Germany also have widespread use of natural gas-powered buses in their public transportation fleets.
Europe.
Germany.
Germany hit the milestone of 900 CNG filling stations nationwide in December 2011. Gibgas, an independent consumer group, estimates that 21% of all CNG filling stations in the country offer a natural gas/biomethane mix to varying ratios, and 38 stations offer pure biomethane.
Greece.
Greece uses natural gas buses for public transport in Athens.
Also the Public Gas Company (DEPA) has a network of 14 stations (as of June 2020), under brand "Fisikon", with plans of expansion.
Ireland.
Bus Éireann Introduced the first NGV on 17 July 2012. It will operate on the 216 city centre to Mount Oval, Rochestown, route until mid-August on a trial being undertaken in partnership with Ervia. The Eco-city bus is made by MAN.
Italy.
Natural gas traction is quite popular in Italy, due to the existence of a capillary distribution network for industrial use since the late 50s and a traditionally high retail price for petrol. As of April 2012 there were about 1173 filling stations, mainly located in the northern regions, while the fleet reached 730,000 CNG vehicles at the end of 2010.
Ukraine.
Ukraine's first compressed natural gas refueling station (CNGS) was commissioned in 1937. Today, there is a well-developed CNGS network across the country. Many buses were converted to run on CNG during the 1990s, primarily for economic reasons. The retrofitted cylinders are often visible atop the vehicle's roof and/or underneath the body. Despite their age, these buses remain in service and continue to provide reliable public transport combined with the environmental benefits of CNG.
United Kingdom.
CNG buses are beginning to be used in the UK, e.g. by Reading Buses and Nottingham City Transport. The latter company purchased 53 double-decker gas buses between 2017 and 2018, earning them the world record for the largest fleet of CNG buses in the world. In 2019, Nottingham City Transport purchased a further 67 CNG buses.
North America.
With the recent increase in natural gas production due to widespread use of fracking technology, many countries, including the United States and Canada, now can be self-sufficient. Canada is a substantial net exporter of natural gas, though the United States still has a net import of natural gas. Natural gas prices have decreased dramatically in the past few years and are likely to decrease further as additional production comes on line. However, the EIA predicts that natural gas prices will start increasing in a few years as the most profitable natural gas reserves are used up. Natural gas prices have decreased from US in 2008 to in 2012. It is likely therefore that natural gas-powered vehicles will be increasingly cheaper to run relative to gasoline-powered vehicles. The issue is how to finance the purchase and installation of conversion kits. Some support may be available through the Department of Energy. Private initiatives which essentially lease the conversion equipment in exchange for slightly higher natural gas refueling can be self-financing and offer considerable advantages to liquidity strapped consumers.
Canada.
Natural Gas has been used as a motor fuel in Canada for over 20 years. With assistance from federal and provincial research programs, demonstration projects, and NGV market deployment programs during the 1980s and 1990s, the population of light-duty NGVs grew to over 35,000 by the early 1990s. This assistance resulted in a significant adoption of natural gas transit buses as well. The NGV market started to decline after 1995, eventually reaching today's vehicle population of about 12,000.
This figure includes 150 urban transit buses, 45 school buses, 9,450 light-duty cars and trucks, and 2,400 forklifts and ice-resurfacers. The total fuel use in all NGV markets in Canada was 1.9 petajoules (PJs) in 2007 (or 54.6 million litres of gasoline litres equivalent), down from 2.6 PJs in 1997. Public CNG refuelling stations have declined in quantity from
134 in 1997 to 72 today. There are 22 in British Columbia, 12 in Alberta, 10 in Saskatchewan, 27 in
Ontario, and 1 in Québec. There are only 12 private fleet stations.
United States.
As of December 2009, the U.S. had a fleet of 114,270 compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles, 147,030 vehicles running on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and 3,176 vehicles running on liquefied natural gas (LNG). The NGV fleet is made up mostly of transit buses but there are also some government fleet cars and vans, as well as increasing number of corporate trucks replacing diesel versions, most notably Waste Management, Inc and UPS trucks. As of 12-Dec-2013 Waste Management has a fleet of 2000 CNG Collection trucks; as of 12-Dec-2013 UPS has 2700 alternative fuel vehicles. As of February 2011, there were 873 CNG refueling sites, 2,589 LPG sites, and 40 LNG sites, led by California with 215 CNG refueling stations in operation, 228 LPG sites and 32 LNG sites. The number of refueling stations includes both public and private sites, and not all are available to the public. As of December 2010, the U.S. ranked 6th in the world in terms of number of NGV stations. Currently there are 160,000 NGVs operating in the country.
Mexico.
The natural gas vehicle market is limited to fleet vehicles and other public use vehicles like minibuses in larger cities. However the state-owned bus company RTP Of Mexico City has purchased 30 Hyundai Super Aero City CNG-Propelled buses to integrate with the existing fleet as well as to introduce new routes within the city.
South America.
Overview.
CNG vehicles are common in South America, with a 35% share of the worldwide NGV fleet, where these vehicles are mainly used as taxicabs in main cities of Argentina and Brazil. Normally, standard gasoline vehicles are retrofitted in specialized shops, which involve installing the gas cylinder in the trunk and the CNG injection system and electronics.
As of 2009 Argentina had 1,807,186 NGV's with 1,851 refueling stations across the nation, or 15% of all vehicles; and Brazil had 1,632,101 vehicles and 1,704 refueling stations, with a higher concentration in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
Colombia had an NGV fleet of 300,000 vehicles, and 460 refueling stations as of 2009. Bolivia has increased its fleet from 10,000 in 2003 to 121,908 units in 2009, with 128 refueling stations.
Peru had 81,024 NGVs and 94 fueling stations as 2009. In Peru, several factory-built CNVs have the tanks installed under the body of the vehicle, leaving the trunk free. Among the models built with this feature are the Fiat Multipla, the new Fiat Panda, the Volkswagen Touran Ecofuel, the Volkswagen Caddy Ecofuel, and the Chevy Taxi. Right now, Peru has 224,035 NGVs.
Other countries with significant NGV fleets are Venezuela (226,100) as of 2017 and Chile (15,000) as of 2017.
Latest developments.
GM do Brasil introduced the MultiPower engine in August 2004 which was capable of using CNG, alcohol and gasoline as fuel. The GM engine has electronic fuel injection that automatically adjusts to any acceptable fuel configuration. This motor was used in the Chevrolet Astra and was aimed at the taxi market.
In 2006 the Brazilian subsidiary of Fiat introduced the Fiat Siena Tetra fuel, a four-fuel car developed under Magneti Marelli of Fiat Brazil. This automobile can run on 100% ethanol (E100), E20 to E25 blend (Brazil's normal ethanol gasoline blend), pure gasoline (not available in Brazil), and natural gas, and switches from the gasoline-ethanol blend to CNG automatically, depending on the power required by road conditions.
Since 2003 and with the commercial success of flex cars in Brazil, another existing option is to retrofit an ethanol flexible-fuel vehicle to add a natural gas tank and the corresponding injection system. Some taxicabs in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, run on this option, allowing the user to choose among three fuels (E25, E100 and CNG) according to current market prices at the pump. Vehicles with this adaptation are known in Brazil as tri-fuel cars.
South Asia.
India.
In 1993, CNG had become available in Delhi, India's capital, though LPG is what really took off due to its inherently far lower capital costs. Compressed Natural Gas is a domestic energy produced in Western parts of India. In India, most CNG vehicles are dual fuelled, which means they can run both on CNG and petrol. This makes it very convenient and users can drive long distances without worrying about availability of natural gas (as long as petrol is available). As of December 2010 India had 1,080,000 NGVs and 560 fueling stations, many of the older ones being LPG rather than CNG. In addition, it is thought that more illegally converted LPG autos than legal ones ply the streets in India, some estimates are as high as 15 million "autos" (running the gamut of everything from LPG motored pedal bicycles to CNG buses)
In 1995, a lawyer filed a case with the Supreme Court of India under the Public Interest Litigation rule, which is part of the Constitution of India and enables any citizen to address directly the Supreme Court. The lawyer's case was about the health risks caused by air pollution emitted from road vehicles. The Supreme Court decided that cars put into circulation after 1995 would have to run on unleaded fuel. By 1998, India was converted to 100% of unleaded fuel after the government ruled that diesel cars in India were restricted to 10,000 ppm after 1995. At the beginning of 2005, 10,300 CNG busses, 55,000 CNG three-wheelers taxis, 5,000 CNG minibuses, 10,000 CNG taxis and 10,000 CNG cars run on India's roads (1982-2008 Product-Life Institute, Geneva). The Delhi Transport Corporation currently operates the world's largest fleet of CNG buses for public transport. Currently India stands 3rd with 3.045 million NGVs.
Iran.
By the end of 2015, Iran had the world's largest fleet of NGV at 3.5 million vehicles. The share of compressed natural gas in the national fuel basket is more than 23%. CNG consumption by Iran's transportation sector is around 20 million cubic meters per day. There are 2,335 CNG stations. The growth of NGV market in Iran has in large part been due to Iranian government intervention to decrease the society's dependence on gasoline. This governmental plan was implemented to reduce the effect of sanctions on Iran and make the nation's domestic market less dependent on imported gasoline. Iran has been manufacturing its own NGV's through local manufacturing using dedicated CNG engines which use gasoline only as a back up fuel. Also by 2012, Iranian manufacturers had the capacity to build 1.5 million CNG cylinders per year and therefore Iranian government has banned their imports to support the local manufacturers. In addition CNG in Iran costs the least compared to the rest of the world. In 2012, the Iranian government announced a plan to replace the traditional CNG cylinders with Adsorbed Natural Gas (ANG) cylinders.
Pakistan.
Pakistan was the country with the second largest fleet of NGV with a total of 2.85 million by the end of 2011. Most of the public transportation fleet has been converted to CNG. Also, in Pakistan and India, there have been on-going (last several years now) series of CNG fuel shortages which periodically waxes and wanes, getting the fuel into a tank can be a major problem. In July 2011, petrol usage shot up 15% from the month before due to shortages. Pakistan also has reported that over 2,000 people have died in 2011 from CNG cylinder blasts, because of low quality of cylinders there. In 2012, the Pakistani government took the decision to gradually phase out CNG sector altogether beginning by banning any new conversions to CNG and banning the manufacturing of new NGV's. In addition the government plans to close down all refueling stations in the next 3 years.
Southeast Asia.
Thailand.
Thailand has for over a 15 years run autogas taxi cabs in Bangkok, though autos and buses had erroneously labelled NGV stickers on them, when in fact, were LPG fuelled.
In view of a generous supply of natural gas but relying on imported oil, the Thailand government heavily promoted alternative fuels like LPG, natural gas and ethanol to replace gasoline beginning around 2003, yet NGV was very slow to take off due to cheaper LPG fuel, a pre-existing LPG fleet, and very low conversion cost of local LPG conversion shops as compared to factory installed CNG or conversion. A significant effort was taken when the state-controlled oil company PTT PCL built a network of natural gas refueling stations. The cost of subsidy was estimated at US$150 million in 2008.
As price of oil climbed rapidly, it was estimated more than 40,000 new cars and trucks powered by natural-gas were purchased in six months in 2008, including many buses. That year, about half of the taxi fleet in Bangkok used LPG, and were prodded to convert to CNG, with little success. Since 2008, there has been a government arm-twisting to switch from LPG to CNG, with a rollout of CNG stations near Bangkok around 2007 and then upcountry in 2010, at times replacing LPG stations. Operators of used vehicles have balked at the massive conversion cost (up to quadruple that of LPG in Thailand), especially given Thailand's strong ultra-competitive domestic LPG conversion industry, as well as retail CNG fuel cost (one and a half times). Thailand had some 700,000 LPG fueled vehicles, and 300,000 CNG fueled, with 1,000 LPG stations and 600 CNG as of 2011. Demand has increased 26% over 2011 for CNG in Thailand. As of the end of 2012, Thailand has 1,014,000 LPG fueled vehicles, and consumed 606,000 tonnes in 2012 of LPG, while 483 stations serve up some 380,000 CNG vehicles., showing that LPG conversion continues to enjoy heavy favor over NGVs despite massive government push for CNG. CNG vehicles are more likely to be bought factory installed while LPG is likely to be an aftermarket conversion. LNG vehicles in Thailand are almost non-existent except for lorries.
Malaysia.
In Malaysia, the use of compressed natural gas was originally introduced for taxicabs and airport limousines during the late-1990s, when new taxis were launched with NGV engines while taxicab operators were encouraged to send in existing taxis for full engine conversions, reducing their costs of operation. Any vehicle converted to use CNG is labelled with white rhombus "NGV" (Natural Gas Vehicle) tags, lending to the common use of "NGV" when referring to road vehicles with CNG engine. The practice of using CNG remained largely confined to taxicabs predominantly in the Klang Valley and Penang due to a lack of interest. No incentives were offered for those besides taxicab owners to use CNG engines, while government subsidies on petrol and diesel made conventional road vehicles cheaper to use in the eyes of the consumers. Petronas, Malaysia's state-owned oil company, also monopolizes the provision of CNG to road users. , Petronas only operates about 150 CNG refueling stations, most of which are concentrated in the Klang Valley. At the same time, another 50 was expected by the end of 2008.
As fuel subsidies were gradually removed in Malaysia starting June 5, 2008, the subsequent 41% price hike on petrol and diesel led to a 500% increase in the number of new CNG tanks installed. National car maker Proton considered fitting its Waja, Saga and Persona models with CNG kits from Prins Autogassystemen by the end of 2008, while a local distributor of locally assembled Hyundai cars offers new models with CNG kits. Conversion centres, which also benefited from the rush for lower running costs, also perform partial conversions to existing road vehicles, allowing them to run on both petrol or diesel and CNG with a cost varying between RM3,500 to RM5,000 for passenger cars.
Singapore.
There were about 400 CNG-fueled vehicles in Singapore in mid-2007, of which about 110 are taxis operated by Smart Automobile. By February 2008, the number has risen 520 CNG vehicles, of which about half are taxis. All vehicles had to refuel at the sole CNG station operated by Sembcorp Gas and located on Jurong Island until the opening of the first publicly accessible CNG station at Mandai in 2008, operated by Smart Automobile. The company plans to build another four stations by 2011, by which time the company projects to operate 3,000 to 4,000 CNG taxis, and with 10,000 CNG public and commercial vehicles of other types on Singapore's roads. Sembcorp Gas opened its second CNG station a week after the Mandai station at Jalan Buroh.
Indonesia.
CNG is almost unheard of as a transport fuel before 2010 in the archipelago except in Jakarta, where a very relatively minor number of vehicles, most notably Transjakarta buses, use the fuel. However, since 2010 there has been a government emphasis to push usage of CNG not only for vehicle fuel, but also for domestic consumption over wood burning (which can produce deadly methanol) and kerosene.
East Asia.
China.
China had 450,000 NGV's and 870 refueling stations as of 2009. China in 2012 has 1 million NGVs on the roads, 3 million forecast for 2015, with over 2000 stations (both CNG and LPG), with plans for 12,000 by 2020. Currently China leads the World with 5 million NGVs China also has lot of vehicles running of Petrol blended with Methanol as M15 and M85.
South Korea.
For the purpose of improving air quality in the metropolitan area of Seoul, CNG buses were first introduced in July, 1997. By 2014, all Seoul buses were operating on CNG. Hyundai motor developed a CNG hybrid bus with 34.5% more-fuel efficiency and 30% lower pollution compared to CNG buses. As a result, Seoul city government plans to change to CNG hybrid buses for 2,235 low-bed disabled-friendly CNG bus in Seoul.
CNG buses are operation in other major South Korean cities like Busan, Daegu, Daejeon, Gwangju and Incheon.
Motorsport.
A new category of motorcar racing unites teams which compete with cars powered by natural gas, to demonstrate the effectiveness of natural gas as an alternative fuel. ECOMOTORI (magazine) Racing Team The magazine's team participates in the FIA Alternative Energies Cup and the Italian . In 2012, the team, led by Nicola Ventura, competes with a Fiat 500 Abarth, modified to run on natural gas with a Cavagna/Bigas fuel conversion kit and thus renamed "500 EcoAbarth". The driver is Massimo Liverani while in the role of navigator, alternate Valeria Strada, Alessandro Talmelli and Fulvio Ciervo. On October 14, 2012, at the end of the 7th Ecorally San Marino-Vatican with 3 wins and a second place (out of 4 races), the Team also won the Italian CSAI Alternative Energy Pilots and Navigators titles. On 28 October 2012, after having raced in 7 European countries, collecting 3 wins, 2 second places and additional points, the team won the FIA Alternative Energies Drivers and Constructors world titles. For the first time ever, a car powered by methane won an FIA world title. In 2013, the team raced in the FIA Alternative Energies Cup and Championships. The "500 EcoAbarth" of Ecomotori.net dominated the season, winning 5 of 5 titles. Thanks to the work of the team, the Abarth once again won a constructors' title since its last win 46 years ago.


ChemChina

China National Chemical Corporation, commonly known as ChemChina, is a Chinese state-owned chemical company in the product segments of agrochemicals, rubber products, chemical materials and specialty chemicals, industrial equipment, and petrochemical processing for the civilian and military sectors. As of 2018, it is ranked 167th among the Fortune Global 500 companies.
History.
Bluestar Company.
ChemChina began as a small solvents factory called Bluestar Company (), founded by Ren Jianxin in 1984 with a 10,000-yuan loan. Ren created the ChemChina empire by taking control of over 100 troubled state-owned chemical factories across China, with the government retaining ownership. Meanwhile, he avoided laying off excess workers by shifting them to the company's restaurant chain. He brought in consultants to professionalize the company's management, and it has become one of China's most dynamic state enterprises.
State company.
In May 2004, after the State Council of the People's Republic of China approved a merger of companies formerly under the Ministry of Chemical Industry as the China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina), Ren Jianxin became its CEO; in December 2014 he became the chairman of the board of directors.
Within ChemChina's agrochemicals business is a large portfolio of companies including Sanonda Holdings, Cangzhou Dahua, Shandong Dacheng, Jiangsu Anpon, Anhui Petrochemicals, and Huaihe Chemicals. It added Israel-based Makhteshim Agan (renamed to Adama Agricultural Solutions) in 2011 to the division in a 2.4 billion US dollars acquisition of a 60% stake in the company, the largest manufacturer of generic pesticides.
The chemical materials and speciality chemicals group made overseas acquisitions with two deals in 2006, both to acquire French companies. The first one was the Adisseo Group, a global animal nutrition feed firm that specialized in producing methionine, vitamins and biological enzymes. At the time of the purchase, Adisseo had worldwide market share of 30% in methionine. The other company was the organic silicon and sulphide business of Rhodia. With this acquisition the company became the third largest producer in the world of organic silicon.
The petrochemical processing division has been operating refineries including small ones known as teapot plants, giving it an oil processing capacity of about a year or about 500,000 barrels per day. After regulations liberalized the import of crude and fuel products in China, the company opened a trading office in Singapore in October 2013.
In March 2015, it was announced that Pirelli shareholders had accepted a €7.1 billion bid from ChemChina for the world's fifth-largest tyre maker.
Syngenta acquisition.
In February 2016, ChemChina agreed to a $43 billion bid for Swiss seeds and pesticides group Syngenta, the largest ever foreign purchase by a Chinese firm. The deal was awaiting approval by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and European government panels, citing food safety and security concerns. In June 2016, both companies refiled the transaction for CFIUS approval, forcing them to restart the application process. In August 2016, the CFIUS cleared the deal, while the merger still awaited the regulatory review and concessions made towards the European Commission, in particular with regard to divesting itself from agrochemical subsidiary Adama Agricultural Solutions (which was planned to sell to ChemChina's associated company Sanonda).
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission cleared the deal in December 2016, but the buy-out was again delayed due to European antitrust investigations. In April 2017, the European Commissioner for Competition and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission both approved the merger, requiring ChemChina to divest from pesticide production of paraquat, abamectin and chlorothalonil. The European Commission also addressed competition concerns with regard to plant growth regulators and reiterated the expected commitments for divestment from ADAMA-related products. As of May 26, 2017, ChemChina's plan to purchase Syngenta for $44 billion was nearing completion, with ChemChina amassing "huge bridge loans" to pay Syngenta stockholders. The deal was completed that same month with 82.2 percent of Syngenta shares and depository receipts offered.
Sinochem merger.
In May 2017, "Reuters", reported that discussion had begun regarding the merging and consolidation of ChemChina and state-owned Sinochem, overtaking industry leaders such as BASF, in a deal worth around $120 billion.
Controversy.
In August 2020, the United States Department of Defense published the names of companies operating directly or indirectly in the United States with ties to the People's Liberation Army. ChemChina was included on the list. In November 2020, Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting any American company or individual from owning shares in companies that the United States Department of Defense has listed as having links to the People's Liberation Army, which included ChemChina.


Ifor Williams Trailers

Ifor Williams Trailers is the United Kingdom's largest manufacturer of trailers under , based in Corwen, Denbighshire, North Wales.
History.
Started in 1958 by local farmer Ifor Williams, an on-site galvanizing plant gives the company total control over quality and efficiency in the production of chassis and other assemblies. The company employs approximately 750 people across five sites in Clawdd Poncen, Cynwyd, Ruthin, Deeside and Sandycroft, Flintshire. During the Great Recession, 63 employees were made redundant in late 2008.
Production was affected by fire on two occasions. The first, on 28 August 2012, caused severe damage to the company's Deeside plant. The second, on 14 September 2017, was limited to machinery at the Clawdd Poncen site.
Sales.
Their main showroom is located in the former Corwen railway station. Product distribution is handled by over fifty main dealers in the UK, with 25% of total sales going for export via independent distributors across Europe.
Sponsorship of Wrexham Football Club.
In June 2016, Ifor Williams became the main kit sponsor of Wrexham Football Club. The kit launch was held at the Urdd National Eisteddfod in Flint.
In 2020 actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney created an advert for the company as part of their purchase application for Wrexham Football Club.


Coffeen Power Station

Coffeen Power Station was a 915 megawatt (MW) coal power plant located south of Coffeen, Illinois near Coffeen Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area in Montgomery County, Illinois. The plant was owned by Vistra Energy. Coffeen began operations in 1965 and was shut down on November 1, 2019.
History.
The plant had two units: Unit 1 began operation in 1965 and Unit 2 began operation in 1972. Initially, coal was delivered via conveyor belt from a nearby coal mine. Formerly, the plant had low-sulfur coal delivered from the Powder River Basin. The plant was cooled by Coffeen Lake which was built to support the power plant in mind. Formerly ran by Central Illinois Public Service Company and later Ameren, Ameren sold the plant to current owner Dynegy in 2013. In 2018, Vistra Energy would assume control of Coffeen following its merger with Dynegy. In August 2019, Vistra Energy announced they were shutting down Coffeen by the end of the year in order to meet new revisions under the Multi-Pollutant Standard Rule set by the Illinois Pollution Control Board.
Environmental mitigation.
Coffeen replaced its treatment system in 2009 that reduced chemical discharge into the lake by 35%. The plant went through several mid-life updates with the installation of sulfur dioxide () scrubbers in 2010 and the replacement of cyclones in 2011. Hitachi's division of Hitachi Power Systems were contracted to manufacture the scrubbers. The scrubber installations were to comply with the State of Illinois' Multi-Pollutant Standards (MPS) set in 2006.


Kolaghat Thermal Power Station

Kolaghat Thermal Power Station is a major thermal power station in West Bengal. It is located at Mecheda, approx. 55 km from Kolkata in the Purba Medinipur district. The power plant is operated by West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited.
The power plant has six units of 210 MW each for a total capacity of 1260 MW. The units were commissioned in two stages during the period of 1984 to 1995.
Installed capacity.
Following is the unit wise capacity of the plant.


GainSpan

GainSpan, a San Jose, California-based semiconductor company, designs and markets wireless connectivity products. It offers Wi-Fi chips, software, and embedded Wi-Fi modules. The company provides Wi-Fi technology for the residential housing, healthcare, and smart energy industries.
History.
Engineers from Intel Corporation created GainSpan in September 2006 with the goal of reducing the power consumption of traditional Wi-Fi. GainSpan was the first company to optimize Wi-Fi chips for low power consumption and to apply new power management techniques to target long battery life applications.