Environment
Carbon capture is one of the many solutions proposed to curb emissions of CO2. But, so far, methods being used require a great deal of energy to release the captured carbon from the capture material for storage. Now researchers at the University of South Florida (USF), in a partnership with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), have announced what they claim is a more energy-efficient alternative in the shape of a cheaper, more efficient and reusable material for CO2 capture and separation. Read More
If you live near the Mediterranean Sea, you might be familiar with little balls of seaweed that regularly wash up on the beach. These come from the Posidonia oceanica plant (better known as Neptune grass), and are generally thought of as a nuisance. Now, however, Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology is involved in a project that’s converting the little balls into high-quality building insulation. Read More
Michelle McDonell, a Bachelor of Design graduate from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in Melbourne, Australia, has come up with an innovative way to recycle old clothing into DIY furniture pieces. Dubbed The Fabricate Project, the concept, which aims to save no longer usable garments from ending up in landfills, won her first prize of the RMIT Green Inventors Competition. Read More
When we first covered the SOCCKET power-generating soccer ball back in 2010, the concept was in the prototype stages of development. Since then, the ex-Harvard University team responsible for the design has launched the for-profit social enterprise company Uncharted Play, filed patents for the SOCCKET’s kinetic energy-capturing technology and, more recently, has launched a SOCCKET Kickstarter campaign. Read More
Wastewater treatment process may keep fish off antidepressants
While some people may wonder about the possible side-effects of antidepressants on the people who are taking them, here’s another thing to consider ... what happens when the residue from those drugs passes through the user’s urine and into the sewage system? As it turns out, it can enter local waterways and affect the fish. Now, researchers from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm have developed technology to keep that from happening. Read More
Water-producing billboard designed to inspire
The University of Engineering and Technology (UTEC) in Lima, Peru has partnered with advertising agency MAYO-DRAFT FCB to create an advertising billboard that grabs moisture from the desert air and converts it into filtered drinking water. Read More
Recycled plastic waste to fuel Sydney to London Cessna flight
British pilot Jeremy Rowsell is set to fly solo from Sydney to London in a Cessna 182 aircraft powered solely by diesel derived from "end-of-life" plastic (ELP) waste. If all goes to plan, the endeavor will set a new record time for the journey in a single-engine piston plane, and represent a compelling argument for the viability of ELP as a fuel source. Read More
Regional German transport operator Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr GmbH (RNV) is set to carry out a pilot project to test the viability of wireless inductive charging technology of electric buses. The trial will see two electric buses fitted with Canadian transportation manufacturer Bombardier's PRIMOVE inductive charging technology that will enable them to be recharged wirelessly as they let passengers on and off at bus stops along the inner city route 63 in Mannheim, Germany. Read More
Energy company to test floating solar islands
Swiss energy company Viteos has announced that it is to build three floating solar arrays on Lake Neuchâtel. Viteos will work with tech company and "energy enabler" Nolaris to build the 25-m (82-ft) diameter islands, each with 100 photovoltaic panels. Read More
Researchers from the Vienna University of Technology, together with colleagues from the U.S. and Germany, have used computer simulations to show how the unique electrical properties of a new class of materials known as layered oxide heterostructures can potentially be used to create a new type of efficient, ultra-thin solar cell. Read More
