Tag: CO2

People can grow sustainable vegetables from their sofas and know exactly where they come from. The same cannot be said for supermarket-bought food, even organic produce. Which is why an Argentinian startup is developing solutions to verify the agricultural supply chain’s sustainability. First, NASA images of the production area are analysed. This helps determine whether areas were created through...

Smart buoys are preventing ships from colliding with whales. Normally, container ships and tankers are directed to reach their destinations as quickly as possible. In the harbour, however, they're at anchor for a long time. Enter a British startup aiming to bring all those involved together on its independent platform in order to reduce CO2 emissions promptly. Using pre-specified...

In Italy, tomatoes have a life after dinner. Chocolate is another cherished Italian staple. Yet, instead of using cocoa, a regional startup began looking to carob for a more sustainable alternative. Sweet and high-in-fibre, the legume also works against free radicals in the body. The carob tree thrives in the dry, southern Italian climate. If used, 2,400 litres of...

Efforts are underway to remove CO2 from seawater. Shipping is currently responsible for around 3% of greenhouse gas emissions - a figure that is on the rise. For our planet every reduction counts. Which explains why a female-led startup from London has developed a system that removes up to 95% of the carbon dioxide generated by a ship’s engine....

Sustainable food can be conjured out of thin air. Now a Hamburg-based startup has used CO2 to manufacture oil alternatives. CO2 is placed in a bioreactor with different bacteria and converted into oil. Using yeast makes the oil suitable for cosmetic or cleaning products; oxyhydrogen bacteria, meanwhile, means it can be used for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), lubricant or...

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...

Recycled glass is saving beaches from erosion; while a remote-controlled buoy could rescue those in peril at sea. Seaweed’s high CO2 uptake means that it is contributing significantly to climate rescue. Still, Sargassum, a brown algae that spreads rapidly (see the 5,000 mile long slick in the Atlantic) has unwanted side effects. It deprives marine life of vital light...

A toilet break on Mars could be a constructive use of astronauts’ time. And it isn’t just human urine that’s suitable as building material. Algae, already used to make blue lemonade, are showing their versatility here too. The founders of a US startup licensed a proprietary process from their former University in Colorado, harnessing microalgae to develop ersatz cement....