This document discusses various examples of biomimicry being applied in clean energy technologies. It describes how oysters inspired a non-toxic solution to prevent hard water scaling in solar thermal pipes. Shark skin was mimicked to create non-toxic coatings that prevent barnacles from attaching to water turbines. Other examples discussed include arranging solar panels and wind turbines based on patterns in nature like oak trees, rice leaves, schools of fish and humpback whale fins to improve efficiency. Strategies from camels, saguaro cacti and hibernating bears are also cited for insights into thermal regulation, water collection and energy conservation.

1. Biomimicry in
the Clean
Energy World
Nature’s strategies used in
the clean energy world.
2011 New World Fest Presentation, Santa Monica, CA

2. Solar Thermal

3. Challenge : Hard Water Concentrations
Hard Water contains Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3)

4. Problem : Hard Water Clogs Pipes
Heat exchangers lose efficiency quite rapidly in hard water applications.
Today’s commercial antiscalants called palyacrylates are used to unclog
these pipes but are not biodegradable.

5. Solution : Oysters
Oyster shells are also made from calcium carbonate.
Larry Koskan, an organic chemist, made an amazing discovery about how oysters regulate
the growth of their shells using a biopolymer, called thermal polyaspartate (TPA), which is
nontoxic & biodegradable.

6. Water Turbines

7. Challenges : Barnacles
Goose Barnacles
Rock Barnacles

8. Problem : Anti Fouling Paints
Most antifouling paint contains elemental copper, cuprous oxide (a copper compound), or
tinoxide compounds (tributyl tinoxide) which kill organisms attempting to attach to a painted
surface.

9. Solution : Sharks
Shark skin is made up of microscopic hard scales which provides little effective
contact surface preventing barnacles from attaching themselves.

10. Artificial Shark Skin Based Products
One product contains a combination plastic/rubber coating that is made of billions of tiny
raised diamond-shaped patterns. Each “shark-let” diamond measures 15 microns and
contains seven raised ribs that at close examination resemble different lengths of raised
horizontal bars.

11. Roof Top Solar

12. Challenge : Different Sun Angles

13. Current Solutions
active passive

14. Solution 1 : Oak Tree
Leaves arranged in Fibonacci pattern also referred as
Phyllotaxis capture optimal amount of energy over
each day.
7th grader Aidan Dwyer, who as inspiration to
arrange an array of solar panels in a way that
generates 20-50% more energy than a
uniform, flat panel array

15. Solution 2 : Rice Leaf
Many plants are heliotropic, gradually
tilting towards the sun to optimize solar
energy capture.
MIT students Forrest Liau, Vyom Sharma, and
George Whitfield used the difference in temperature
between shaded and sunny areas to change the
properties of the material supporting the solar
photovoltaic cells. The solar panels are mounted
at the top of a curved arch made up of two kinds
of metal, such as aluminum and steel.

16. Wind Turbine Farms
Downstream wind turbines may lose 20 percent or even
30 percent of their power compared to their fellows in front,
according to a study on wake effects at Horns Rev

17. Solution : School of Fish
Arranging wind turbines like a school of fish could
reduce the amount of land they take up by 100-
fold while maintaining their electrical output, say
researchers. Wind farms based on the approach
might also be considerably safer for migrating
birds.
Researchers found that arranging the VAWT arrays just
like schools of fish produced the best results. Such
tightly packed VAWT arrays can produce as much
electricity as conventional windmills, all while using
as little as one-hundredth of the land area.

18. Wind Turbines

19. Betz Law
 No turbine can capture more than 59.3 %
of the kinetic energy in wind
 Todaysbest wind turbines at best capture
about 30-35 %

20. Solution 1 : Winged Seeds
The twirling seeds of maple trees spin like miniature
helicopters as they fall to the ground. Because the
seeds descend slowly as they swirl, they can be
carried aloft by the wind and dispersed
over great distances.
David Lentink, an assistant professor at Wageningen, and
Michael H. Dickinson, the Zarem Professor of Bioengineering
at Caltech, revealed that, by swirling, maple seeds generate
a tornado-like vortex that sits atop the front leading edge of
the seeds as they spin slowly to the ground. This leading-edge
vortex lowers the air pressure over the upper surface of the
maple seed, effectively sucking the wing upward to oppose
gravity, giving it a boost. The vortex doubles the lift generated
by the seeds compared to nonswirling seeds.
Video: http://mr.caltech.edu/assets/619-mapleseed.mp4

21. Solution 2 : Humpback Whale
The average humpback whale weighs about 36 tons,
yet it is one of the most graceful swimmers, divers,
and jumpers in the sea. It was discovered that their
Fins have leading edge bumps, called Tubercles,
which reduce drag and increase lift.
WhalePower President, Dr. Frank E. Fish designed
this turbine blade with bumps on the leading
edge. Early wind tunnel tests of model flippers
with tubercles by the U.S. Naval Academy
showed that wind drag was reversed by
32 % and lift was increased by 8 %.

22. Clean Energy Challenges
 Energy Conversion Efficiencies
 Energy Storage
 Energy Conservation

23. Camel
One thing that a camel can do to
conserve water is to handle large
body-temperature swings. A camel
might start the day at 94 degrees F and
allow its temperature to rise as high as
105 degrees F. Only at the upper end
of this range does it need to sweat to
prevent overheating. When you
compare this temperature range to the
range the human body can handle
(where only a 2 degree rise indicates
illness), you can see the advantage.
Clean Energy Application:
Solar Panel performance degrades by -.5% / degree Celsius
Maintain maximum efficiency of solar panels by maintaining
coolest temperatures.

24. Saguaro cactus
A fully-grown Saguaro cactus
(Carnegiea gigantea) can absorb up to
800 gallons of water in ten days.
This is helped by the ability to form new roots
quickly. Two hours after rain following a
relatively long drought, root formation begins
in response to the moisture. Apart from a few
exceptions, an extensively ramified root
system is formed, which spreads out
immediately beneath the surface. The salt
concentration in the root cells is relatively
high, so that when moisture is encountered,
water can immediately be absorbed in the
greatest possible quantity.
Clean Energy Application:
Water collection strategy which can be used for cooling and
generating power.

25. Hibernating Bears
It can go for as long as 100 days without eating, drinking,
urinating, defecating, or exercising. its sleeping heart
rate had slowed to as few as eight beats a minute. Fat
tissues break down and supply water and up to
4,000 calories a day; muscle and organ tissues break
down and supply protein. Bears' bodies are somehow
able to take urea—a chief component of urine that is
produced during tissue breakdown and that, if left to
build up, becomes toxic—and use the nitrogen in it to
build new protein.
Clean Energy Application:
Energy conservation strategies for homes & businesses.

26. Resources
 Greenwavelength.com
 Asknature.org
 Biomimicry.net
 Zomeworks.com
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllotaxis
 http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/youngnaturalistawards/2011/aidan.html
 http://database.portal.modwest.com/item.php?table=strategy&id=1089
 http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-01/wind-turbines-leave-clouds-and-
energy-inefficiency-their-wake
 http://mr.caltech.edu/assets/619-mapleseed.mp4
 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/bear-essentials-of-hibernation.html
 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/satoyama/hibernation.html
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibernation