Tag: Clean energy

Recycling rare earths, which are vital for electronic components, is critical. Carbon dioxide is reusable, too, and can generate sustainable electricity - just like in hydroelectric plants. In their test facility, a research team in Texas exchanged water for supercritical CO2. Above a temperature of 31℃ and pressure of 74 bar, sCO2 resembles a gas, but acts more like...

Waste from apple juice production improves chickens’ health. When they die, chicken feathers are generally burned. This fact gave an international research team from Zurich and Singapore pause. In particular, as the 40 tons of feather waste discarded annually produce CO2 while containing 90% keratin. The team extracted the protein, turned it into extremely fine fibres and used the...

Some weeds have anti-inflammatory properties. Now, a female PhD student from the Netherlands has discovered that another weed, soft rush, also has hidden qualities. The lightweight plant takes oxygen from the air, transporting the gas through internal flue-like channels. A cross section revealed a highly porous structure and coarse surface. Therefore, the student pressed two layers together to create...

Unfolding wheels are useful on all terrains. Now, a Utah-based startup has employed the origami principle to develop a handy solar panel for those on the move. Using their experiences with space agency NASA, the founders created a design with a surface area eight times its folded size. Thus, a 19x19 cm packet becomes a hexagonal panel measuring 2500㎠...

Mini-robots can collect microplastics in the sea. And, according to a Munich-based startup, in future small hydrokinetic underwater power plants will generate electricity using a river’s flow rate to drive their internal turbine. The devices are anchored to the river floor by rope, and are designed to present no threat to fish or divers. A connected system continuously monitors...

The smallest wave movements can be converted into electricity. Air streams, meanwhile, power wind turbines. But their enormous blades take up a lot of space and only last for 15 years. Instead of vibrating alternatives without blades, a founder from New York is backing a slender design whose vertical axis is divided into individual floors like a building. Fixed...

A natural alternative to single-use plastic was inspired by spiders. Now, an international research team from India and the US has turned its attentions to the animal kingdom to generate sustainable electricity for domestic use. The team struck lucky while experimenting with silkworm cocoons. When dry, the protein membrane is insulating. But with the help of water vapour it...

Trains could remove CO2 from the atmosphere and self-driving containers on rails may bridge logistics gaps. But, according to a Swiss startup, the railway network has greater potential still. Why not use the area between tracks to generate clean energy? Create 2 megawatts of solar energy on a 10-kilometre stretch of rail, instead of 10,000㎡ of productive land… Instead...