New mileage of European nuclear fusion “artificial sun”, producing 59 million joules of continuous energy

The European nuclear fusion “artificial sun” has reached a new milestone. The Joint European Torus (JET) in the UK successfully generated 59 million joules (MJ) of energy for 5 seconds, with an average power of 11MW, setting a new record .

According to the press release, JET’s previous experimental record in 1997 was 22 million joules of thermal energy, setting a new record at the time, with a peak power of 16 MW. Although the power generation did not exceed the record 25 years ago, this time the focus is on Extend the energy output of nuclear fusion to more than double the 1997 record.

Over the years, scientists have hoped to create a more stable, safe and low-carbon energy environment through nuclear fusion technology. Among them, JET mainly explores Tokamak nuclear fusion technology, which is currently the world’s largest magnetically confined fusion physics experimental equipment. At the Callum Nuclear Fusion Center of the British Atomic Energy Authority, magnetic fields and high-temperature plasma are used to induce nuclear fusion reactions. The International Thermonuclear Fusion Experimental Reactor (ITER), which is being built in France, is also based on magnetically confined fusion research.

Although the power generation this time is really not high, it can only boil 60 bottles of kettles, but Joe Milnes, head of JET operations, believes, “The JET experiment brings us closer to the goal of nuclear fusion power generation, we can create mini stars in the device, and in Maintaining 5 seconds at high efficiency can be said to be a new milestone.”

At present, many countries are also investing in nuclear fusion research. It is a long race. Dr. Athina Kappatou of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics pointed out that nuclear fusion research is long, complex and difficult, which is why we must ensure that scientists, Engineers and technicians can pass on what they have learned from generation to generation.

For example, EUROfusion is composed of 5,000 scientists and engineers from the EU, Switzerland and Ukraine. In the future, ITER will also be based on JET. After that, JET may be retired after 2023, and then ITER will be retired in 2025 or 2025. Plasma experiments were launched shortly after.

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The growth of electric vehicles is felt, and the carbon emissions of new cars in the UK have dropped by 12%

The idea that electric cars can help reduce carbon may seem like a hoax to some, but carbon emissions from new car sales in the UK in 2021 have already dropped by as much as 12%, according to data from the UK’s Automobile Manufacturers and Trade Association.

According to statistics from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders), the carbon emissions of new cars in the UK in 2021 will drop by 11.2% compared with the previous year, with an average of 119.7 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer.

Interestingly, the UK is not the fastest growing country for electric vehicles. Pure electric vehicles accounted for about 12% of new car sales last year. However, due to the low carbon emissions of pure electric vehicles and the growth in sales of petrol electric vehicles, the total carbon emissions of new cars is significant. decline.

From a long-term trend, in the past 20 years, as SUVs have become the darling of the market, but their relative fuel consumption performance is relatively high, the carbon emissions of automobiles have not declined, but have worsened. Now, because of the popularity of pure electric cars and petrol electric cars, it has begun to reverse.

One of the reasons EV sales will continue to grow in 2022 is also related to a shortage of chips. SMMT pointed out that due to limited production capacity, car manufacturers will give priority to the production of key models, and electric vehicles are one of them, because it is related to whether they can meet the government’s carbon reduction targets.

Although electrified vehicles can reduce carbon emissions, overall, there are currently about 4 million vehicles on the UK road, and pure electric vehicles and plug-in vehicles (PHEV) only account for 1.3% of them. It can take several years to more significantly impact overall performance.

This statistic is probably too optimistic, because SMTT only pays attention to the carbon emissions of newly sold vehicles, but does not calculate the carbon emissions of the entire life cycle of the vehicles. Considering the carbon emissions of the production and power generation process, the actual reduction of carbon emissions I am afraid there will be some discounts, but it does not change the fact that electric vehicles can greatly improve carbon emissions.

In the next few years, with green energy, carbon neutral processes and more advanced battery technology, there is no accident that electric vehicles will continue to reduce overall carbon emissions. At present, only the SMMT in the UK has put forward this data, but if we can see Norway in the future The data should be more interesting.

U.S. soybean meal exports soar! Rising demand for biofuels and feeds drives the expansion of the “bean crushing industry”

Bloomberg reported that U.S. soybean meal exports have soared due to increased demand for biofuels and feed, driving the expansion of the U.S. soybean crushing industry.

Soybeans can be mainly made into soybean oil and soybean meal. Soybean oil is mainly edible oil and is used for cooking; soybean meal is rich in protein and is often used as feed for livestock such as pigs, chickens and dairy cattle. The United States saw the largest soybean meal export since September 2020 last week. quantity.

In addition, the U.S. soybean crush hit a record pace in December, as the production process produces both animal meal and cooking and fuel oil.

The current phenomenon also shows the future development of the industry. As more and more fossil fuel refineries join the ranks of renewable diesel (Green Diesel), the production of soybean meal in the United States is expected to grow significantly in the next few years. Also, as more factories prioritize using soybean oil to make the fuel, soymeal prices could be pushed down, making them more competitive than before Argentina, the world’s top exporter.

The United States has sold large quantities of soybean meal to Asian countries such as the Philippines. Unlike soybean oil, soybean meal is less likely to be shipped from terminals dedicated to the delivery of grains such as corn, because it flows differently, it can clump, and this commodity is also suitable for sitting idle, adding pressure to use and sell.