Browsing by Author "Rohwer, Egmont R."

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Open Access
Preserving cultural diversity in rural Africa using renewable energy
(2023) Roduner, Emil; Rohwer, Egmont R.
Ninety percent of the large interior, rural part of Africa is not an abundant user of fossil fuels and is not connected to an electricity grid. This limits habitability and leads to significant migration to larger cities in attempts to improve economic and social welfare, which happens at the cost of its rich cultural diversity by inevitable adaption and mixing of societies. A direct transition from a firewood to an off‐grid renewable electricity age can mitigate this detrimental development. This perspective discusses the interdisciplinary requirements linking cultural, sociological, economic, and technical aspects for a transition to modern life without loss of valuable traditions. Photovoltaic power and wind energy can provide local affordable electricity in off‐grid locations. Intermediate storage for day–night cycles is catered for by novel types of batteries. Purifying and recycling water, refrigerating food and medicine, and benefitting from contact with the world via electronic media permit a tremendous increase in living conditions and significantly lower the pressure of migration into cities. Access to energy is a fundamental requirement for the preservation of the rich cultural diversity with family and tribal bindings, local languages, traditions, and religions, and allows for a more moderate transition to a modern society.
Open Access
Technical principles of atmospheric carbon dioxide reduction and conversion : economic considerations for some developing countries
(2020) Roduner, Emil; Rohwer, Egmont R.
Since natural photosynthesis in our biosphere does not have the capacity to cope with the additional atmospheric CO2 due to combustion of fossil fuels, CO2 has to be actively removed. Efficient methods are currently being developed, but the captured gas has to be dumped in safe and permanent storage environments. Alternatively, it has to be purified before it can be recycled catalytically, using renewable energy, to high-value chemicals as feedstock for the synthesis of polymers, fine chemicals, or in large quantities liquid solar fuels. The combustion of solar fuels is carbon-neutral. If produced at locations where renewable energy is cheap, they become an important economic opportunity. The requirement to achieve a carbon-zero energy supply also for air traffic allows planning for an as yet unknown higher price compared to that of fossil fuels. Use of solar fuels in closed cycle applications may also relieve the energy situation in the large number of off-grid households in rural Africa. The availability of energy, in particular of electricity, is essential for advanced living conditions, prevents migration to urban areas, and therefore protects a rich variation of tribal cultural, religious and social traditions.