Mercedes has opened a battery recycling factory in Germany to close the loop on its battery supply chain.
Category: sustainability – Page 48
Lignin, a…
Trees are the most abundant natural resource living on Earth’s land masses, and North Carolina State University scientists and engineers are making headway in finding ways to use them as sustainable, environmentally benign alternatives to producing industrial chemicals from petroleum.
Lignin, a polymer that makes trees rigid and resistant to degradation, has proven problematic. Now those NC State researchers know why: They’ve identified the specific molecular property of lignin — its methoxy content — that determines just how hard, or easy, it would be to use microbial fermentation to turn trees and other plants into industrial chemicals.
The findings put us a step closer to making industrial chemicals from trees as an economically and environmentally sustainable alternative to chemicals derived from petroleum, said Robert Kelly, the corresponding author of a paper in the journal Science Advances detailing the discovery.
A flow battery, also known as a reduction-oxidation (Redox) flow battery, is an electrochemical cell that uses two moving liquid electrolytes to generate electricity.
Ion transfer occurs across the cell membrane, accompanied by current flow through an external circuit, while the liquids circulate in their respective spaces. The liquids required are stored in separate tanks until required.
Flow batteries have existed for some time, but earlier versions had low energy density, making them impractical for cars. However, recent advancements in the technology have improved energy density, making it increasingly viable for long-duration energy storage and potentially for electric vehicles.
Various types of flow batteries, including inorganic and organic forms, have been demonstrated. Flow battery design can be classified into full flow, semi-flow, and membranesless variants.
Researchers from UCLA’s Institute for Carbon Management have developed a method that could eliminate nearly all of of the carbon dioxide emitted during the process of cement production, which accounts for about 8% of global atmospheric CO2 emissions.
In a new study published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, the researchers describe how the new approach could be easily incorporated into existing cement-production processes, providing a more affordable alternative to existing solutions to decarbonize the industry.
It has a bunch of solar panels on the roof and there’s also a battery-equipped model on offer.
This sounds very promising! The researchers are investigating the use of nuclear microreactors to power faster and more efficient electric propulsion systems.☢️🚀
To develop spacecraft that can “maneuver without regret,” the U.S. Space Force is providing $35 million to a national research team led by the University of Michigan. It will be the first to bring fast chemical rockets together with efficient electric propulsion powered by a nuclear microreactor.
The newly formed Space Power and Propulsion for Agility, Responsiveness and Resilience Institute involves eight universities, and 14 industry partners and advisers in one of the nation’s largest efforts to advance space power and propulsion, a critical need for national defense and space exploration.
Right now, most spacecraft propulsion comes in one of two flavors: chemical rockets, which provide a lot of thrust but burn through fuel quickly, or electric propulsion powered by solar panels, which is slow and cumbersome but fuel efficient. Chemical propulsion comes with the highest risk of regret, as fuel is limited. But in some situations, such as when a collision is imminent, speed may be necessary.
The new technology uses square steel pipes and plates for a flexible foundation structure.
A Japanese company has designed an earthquake-resistant foundation for fixed-bottom offshore wind turbines. Developed by J-Power and the University of Tokyo, the ‘flexible tripile’ foundation is tailored for Japan’s topography.
The newly devised technology incorporates square steel pipes and steel plates in the foundation’s base plate, creating a flexible structure that can deform relatively easily, according to the company.
J-Power claims that the design provides seismic isolation from the ground, improving constructability in areas with shallow bedrock and reducing vibrations caused by earthquakes.
Plants can emit electric potential when pulling water from their roots to nourish their stems and leaves.
Experiments showed that the electrical potential in plants varies in a cyclic rhythm that matches their daily biological processes. This potential increases with decreased ion concentration or increased pH in the fluid, linking it to the plant’s water transpiration and ion transport mechanisms.
“Our eureka moment was when our first experiments showed it is possible to produce electricity in a cyclic rhythm and the precise linkage between this and the plant’s inherent daily rhythm,” Chakraborty added. “We could exactly pinpoint how this is related to water transpiration and the ions the plant carries via the ascent of sap.”
Chakraborty also noted that not only did the researchers rediscover the plant’s electrical rhythm, articulating it in terms of voltages and currents, alongside potentially tapping electrical power output from them in a sustainable manner with no environmental impact and no disruption to the ecosystem.
Exposure to certain pollutants, like fine particles (PM2.5) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), during pregnancy and childhood is associated with differences in the microstructure of the brain´s white matter, and some of these effects persist throughout adolescence. These are the main conclusions of a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by “la Caixa” Foundation. The findings, published in Environmental Research, highlight the importance of addressing air pollution as a public health issue, particularly for pregnant women and children.
An increasing amount of evidence suggests that air pollution affects neurodevelopment in children. Recent studies using imaging techniques have looked at the impact of air pollutants on the brain’s white matter, which plays a crucial role in connecting different brain regions. However, these studies were limited in that they only looked at one timepoint and did not follow the participants throughout childhood.
“Following participants throughout childhood and including two neuroimaging assessments for each child would shed new light on whether the effects of air pollution on white matter persist, attenuate, or worsen,” says ISGlobal researcher Mònica Guxens. And that is what she and her team did.
The world’s largest maker of advanced chips has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of a global race to develop artificial intelligence.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. shares hit a record high after the chipmaker topped quarterly estimates and raised its target for 2024 revenue growth, allaying concerns about global chip demand and the sustainability of an AI hardware boom.