There is disclosed a method for producing a metal oxide, which comprises the steps of: dissolving a metal organic compound (e.g. a metal organic acid salt, a metal acetylacetonato complex, and a metal alkoxide having an organic group with 6 or more carbon atoms) in a solvent to provide a state of solution, applying the solution onto a substrate, drying the solution, and subjecting the resultant substrate to irradiation with a laser light of a 400 nm or less wavelength, to form a metal oxide on the substrate. According to that method, a metal oxide can be produced without applying a heat treatment at a high temperature of the degree adopted in the conventionally known application thermal decomposition method.

A thermal transportation method utilizes polyvinyl alcohol which is added to a liquid, and the liquid is cooled to form an ice slurry that is pumped through a pipe to effect the thermal transportation.

A heat exchanger which uses a drag reduction fluid as one of its two heat transfer media has a heat transfer plate formed with irregularities.

An apparatus for a method using hydrogen-occluded alloy for recovering power from waste heat includes first and second heat exchangers containing hydrogen-occluded alloy, a first selector valve for alternating introduction of waste heat fluid between the first and second heat exchangers, a second selector valve for alternating introduction of cooling fluid between the first and second heat exchangers, a turbine associated with the heat exchangers, and a power generator connected to the turbine. The hydrogen-occluded alloy in the first and second heat exchangers is in the form of a multiplicity of stages that release the hydrogen gas at different temperatures, with the hydrogen gas being produced at a prescribed pressure by contact with waste heat fluid.

A method for transportation, utilization and recovery of heat comprises the wide-area installation of methanol and reformed gas supply pipelines, combustion of the methanol and reformed gas to obtain high-temperature heat, subjecting reformed gas supplied from the reformed gas supply pipeline to an exothermic reform reaction and feeding the methanol thus produced into the methanol supply pipeline to obtain low-temperature heat, subjecting methanol supplied from the methanol supply pipeline to an endothermic reform reaction and feeding the reformed gas thus produced into the reformed gas supply pipeline and recovering the waste heat that is generated.