20 most recent innovations in environment

Thin Film Cools Without Electricity or Water

Wed, 15 Feb 2017 00:00:00 Z

Engineers at the University of Colorado Boulder have developed a thin, artificially structured “metamaterial” that can cool objects without the use of water or energy. The film works to lower the temperature of the surface beneath it through a process known as “passive cooling,” meaning that it vents the object’s heat through thermal radiation while bouncing off any incoming solar energy that may negate those losses. As described in the journal Science last week, the glass-polymer hybrid material could provide an “eco-friendly means of supplementary cooling” for thermoelectric power plants, which require colossal amounts of water and electricity to keep their machinery chugging along at optimum temperatures.

The film measures a lithe 50 micrometers thick, or just slightly more substantial than the aluminum foil you’d find in your kitchen. And, much like foil, researchers say it can be easily and economically manufactured by the roll for large-scale residential and commercial applications.

Air-Ink Made from Captured Pollution

Tue, 14 Feb 2017 00:00:00 Z

The Air-Ink from Graviky Labs and Tiger Beer lets artists turn pollution into works of art.

The Air-Ink is collected via a proprietary device called KAAILNK developed by a team at MIT’s Media Lab. The KAALINK unit is attached to the exhaust pipe of vehicles or machinery to capture the particulates, with 45 minutes of exhaust producing one fluid ounce of ink. The harnessed soot is processed to a purified, carbon-rich pigment that is then used to create the ink and paints.

Graphene ‘biofoam’ Makes Filthy Water Drinkable

Thu, 11 Aug 2016 00:00:00 Z

Engineers have found a way to use graphene oxide sheets to transform dirty water into drinking water.

The new approach combines bacteria-produced cellulose and graphene oxide to form a bi-layered biofoam.

The new biofoam is extremely light and inexpensive to make, making it a viable tool for water purification and desalination.

Green Energy Storage Solution

Wed, 10 Aug 2016 00:00:00 Z

The Ice battery is an innovative energy storage solution designed to lower the energy cost for airconditioning systems.

When electricity demand starts to peak the energy-intensive AC compressor turns off and uses the ice stored during off-peak hours to provide cooling instead. This way of working boosts grid resiliency and increases energy efficiency.

Wearable Wood

Thu, 09 Jun 2016 00:00:00 Z

Ligneah is the first fashion and design material made from solid wood that offers the look, feel and performance of leather at a significantly lower production and environmental cost.

To create this novel textile, cotton is adhered to a thin layer of wood veneer then subjected to a laser process, creating thousands of microcuts that soften and make it pliable. The result is a 100% natural, beautiful, versatile, and cruelty-free "fabric" that has applications in fashion, furniture, and automotive, among other uses.

Graphene-Based Ultracapacitors Give Trucks A Boost Of Acceleration

Tue, 26 Apr 2016 00:00:00 Z

At the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham, UK, French transportation technology developer Adgero will unveil a curtainsider semi-trailer fitted with a regenerative braking system that utilizes ultracapacitors to provide a boost of acceleration. The kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) is designed to provide a 25 percent cut in fuel usage and carbon emissions.

Adgero describes its UltraBoost ST system as the world's first operational energy-saving, hybrid electric system for road transport. It works in a way similar to the kinetic recovery systems used in automotive racing, including GT and Formula One, with an axle-mounted unit underneath the cargo trailer converting slowing and braking energy into electricity that is stored in a bank of graphene-based ultracapacitors. When required, this energy is used to power the electrically-driven axle for a boost of acceleration, helping take some load off the engine of the truck pulling it.

An intelligent management system controls how the energy is recovered, stored, and re-used, with the system making use of a lightweight YASA motor to capture the kinetic energy usually lost as heat when braking. The system has been installed by SDC Trailers on a 13.6-meter (44.6-ft) curtainsider trailer that carries the livery of UK-based transportation company Eddie Stobart, which will be conducting road testing of the Adgero system.

Adgero used ultracapacitors due to the short amount of time in which the power is generated, requiring faster storage options. Unlike the regenerative system in a hybrid car, which is generally inefficient in terms of the amount of potential energy versus the actual capability of the system, a KERS with ultracapacitors can store much more of the braking energy as power and return it much faster than most battery storage options.

In racing, KERS using flywheels have also shown promise, but those add a complex semi-mechanical system whereas ultracapacitors do not. Adgero has signed a deal with Skeleton Technologies for the ultracapacitors, which are SkelMod 50F 160V units. The test trailer houses five of those ultracapacitors.

The trailer kitted out with the UltraBoost St system will be on display at the Commercial Vehicle Show from April 26 to 28.

Solar Panels Generate Energy From Raindrops

Fri, 15 Apr 2016 00:00:00 Z

A new solar cell prototype developed by a team of scientists in Qingdao, China may change the way we use solar panels in the not so distant future.

Solar panel technology has changed the way many people bring energy into their homes, but this type of technology has always posed one concern: panels cannot output optimal power without ideal weather conditions. When you have rainy days or a lot of cloud cover, there is only so much energy that panels can store for later use. While engineers and material scientists have been able to make their efficiency far better over the years, with solar panels that store decent amounts of energy to be used when sun is not readily available, there has never quite been a development like the one discovered this year.

Chinese scientists are now able to create electricity with the assistance of raindrops. This is thanks to a thin layer of graphene they use to coat their solar cells during testing. Graphene is known for its conductivity, among many other benefits. All it takes is a mere one-atom thick graphene layer for an excessive amount of electrons to move as they wish across the surface. In situations where water is present, graphene binds its electrons with positively charged ions. Some of you may know this process to be called as the Lewis acid-base interaction.

These new solar cells can be stimulated by incident light on sunny days and raindrops when it’s raining, yielding an optimal energy conversion efficiency of 6.53 % under 1.5 atmosphere thickness irradiation and current over µA, along with a voltage of hundreds of mV by simulated raindrops.

The salt contained in rain separates into ions (ammonium, calcium and sodium), making graphene and natural water a great combination for creating energy. The water actually clings to the graphene, forming a dual layer (AKA pseudocapacitor) with the graphene electrons. The energy difference between these layers is so strong that it generates electricity.

These new all-weather solar cells are discussed in depth in the Angewandte Chemie journal.

Mobile Turbine Harnesses Traffic Airflow

Thu, 14 Jan 2016 00:00:00 Z

The Capture Mobility wind turbines can harness airflow from any direction to capture the wind generated by passing cars and generate electricity.

The turbines each measure just under four feet tall and are topped with an integrated solar panel. Instead of relying on specific environmental conditions, the turbines can be installed along existing roads, where each unit can generate as much as seven kilowatts a day—enough to power an averaged sized home. The Capture Mobility turbines are also equipped with filtering sheets that capture hazardous particles (such as car emissions) in the air.

The Capture Mobility system has already captured the attention of Shell, who have awarded the developer both the Live Wire award and their Let’s Go Trade award.

Street Lamps Lure Mosquitoes

Tue, 05 Jan 2016 00:00:00 Z

It’s a Venus flytrap for the streets: A solar- and wind-powered lamp that attracts and captures mosquitoes, aiming to reduce rates of mosquito-borne diseases while illuminating roads.

Developed by researchers at Malaysia’s University of Malaya, the Eco-Greenergy outdoor lighting system consists of an LED street lamp that produces low levels of carbon dioxide to lure mosquitoes.

Head researcher Chong Wen Tong says the smell of CO2, produced by combining ultraviolet light with titanium dioxide, is irresistible to mosquitoes. He says the level of CO2 emitted by the light is relatively low, and the benefits of the clean energy it provides outweigh the emissions.

“The mosquito trap takes advantage of the mosquito’s sensory abilities by tricking them with features that mimic the odours associated with humans,” Chong says.

“Decoyed mosquitoes enter the trap through the capture windows on the upper part, and then are strongly sucked into the capture net in the lower part by a suction fan. Once they are sucked into the capture net, they cannot fly away.”

The light was developed primarily to fight dengue fever, the mosquito-borne viral disease that has increased 30-fold in the past 50 years. The disease has taken particular hold in Asia-Pacific countries, where 1.8 billion people are at risk. Malaysia experienced an unprecedented outbreak of dengue fever in 2015, which killed more than 200 people. In Asia, the economic cost of the disease is estimated at $2bn a year.

Chong says the light’s ability to function on wind and solar energy makes it a viable option in developing countries. “For remote areas with no access to the electrical grid, this system can serve as a stand-alone, self-sustained renewable energy source to supply basic electricity needs. It is scalable to match the energy demand,” he says.

Eight street lamps have been installed at the University of Malaya campus and other sites in Kuala Lumpur as part of a pilot programme. The research team says the first version of the light is ready for market and a licensing agreement with one private company has already been signed.

De-Icing Asphalt

Mon, 21 Dec 2015 00:00:00 Z

Living someplace that gets snow in the winter may have its perks, but the ice-melting salt that's spread on the roads isn't one of them. Besides the fact that it gets all over our cars and clothing, it also has to be reapplied throughout the winter, harming the environment in the process. If a new type of asphalt reaches production, however, salt-spreading may become a thing of the past.

Led by Dr. Seda Kizilel, a team of scientists at Turkey's Koc University mixed the salt potassium formate with a hydrophobic (water-repelling) polymer known as styrene-butadiene-styrene. That mixture was in turn added to bitumen, which is the main binding ingredient in asphalt. The resulting composite material was found to be just as tough as regular bitumen, yet its salt content "significantly delayed" the formation of ice on its surface.

In lab tests, it continued to release salt for a period of two months, still melting ice as it did so. The effect could reportedly last for much longer on an actual road, however. This would be because as the top layer of salt-depleted asphalt was worn away by traffic, fresh "salty" asphalt would be exposed from beneath.

With this in mind, the researchers believe that the salt-polymer composite asphalt could remain active for years. A paper on their research was recently published in the journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.

Hyper-Efficient Shower Head

Wed, 19 Aug 2015 00:00:00 Z

For all the crazy technology we have at our disposal these days, the way we bathe every morning is still pretty archaic. We’ve got robots on Mars and computers in our pockets, but we still wash ourselves in the same way that people did a century ago — under a wasteful, inefficient shower head.

Nebia, an up-and-coming Silicon Valley startup, aims to change that. The company’s cutting edge new shower head is designed with high-precision components, and allegedly uses 70 percent less water than the average shower head. That’s insane. Nebia certainly isn’t the first water-shaving shower head on the market, but if those stats are legit, it’s arguably the most resource-efficient one in existence right now.

The key to the shower head’s crazy low water consumption is the nozzles. Nebia uses aerospace-grade spray nozzles deigned to atomize water under extreme pressure, causing the stream of water to be broken up into millions of tiny droplets. Atomized into tiny droplets like this, a given amount of water has somewhere around 10 times the surface area as it would as a normal water droplet — meaning the shower uses a drastically smaller volume of water, but still gets you just as wet.

“To innovate on the shower experience, we had to look outside of the current industry and approach the engineering problem from a completely new angle,” Nebia co-founder Gabriel Parisi-Amon explains. “The last half century of nozzle technology has completely changed what we can do with droplet sizes and distributions. However, this tech has only been applied to very specialized fields, like rocket engines and medical devices. We used these same tools and technology to develop Nebia.”

More Efficient Airplane

Fri, 07 Aug 2015 00:00:00 Z

The AHEAD aircraft concept boasts a “blended wing body” that could save enough fuel to allow the plane to fly non-stop from Europe to Australia.

Created by teams from the Dutch airline KLM and Delft University of Technology, the AHEAD aircraft (Advanced Hybrid Engine Aircraft Development) would be fitted with two pairs of wings—one in front and a larger set at the back of the plane. The wings are designed to blend into the body to form a smooth, curving shape that improves airflow and reduces drag—thereby also reducing fuel consumption. The AHEAD aircraft would also replace turbofan engines with a hybrid engine, and the engines would be mounted on the back of the aircraft instead of beneath the wings.

Direct Wind To Turbines

Thu, 18 Jun 2015 00:00:00 Z

The shield-shaped EcoROTR dome directs the wind around turbines to help them generate more power.

Still in the development stages, the EcoROTR dome is designed to be attached at the center of the turbine’s blades, where it will direct wind to the outer edges of the blades—which are more effective at harnessing the wind. This wind-directing effect would also increase the efficiency of short-bladed turbines, which are less expensive to manufacture and transport.

Wind Turbines Without Blades

Tue, 19 May 2015 00:00:00 Z

It’s no longer surprising to encounter 100-foot pinwheels spinning in the breeze as you drive down the highway. But don’t get too comfortable with that view. A Spanish company called Vortex Bladeless is proposing a radical new way to generate wind energy that will once again upend what you see outside your car window.

Their idea is the Vortex, a bladeless wind turbine that looks like a giant rolled joint shooting into the sky. The Vortex has the same goals as conventional wind turbines: To turn breezes into kinetic energy that can be used as electricity. But it goes about it in an entirely different way.

Instead of capturing energy via the circular motion of a propeller, the Vortex takes advantage of what’s known as vorticity, an aerodynamic effect that produces a pattern of spinning vortices. Vorticity has long been considered the enemy of architects and engineers, who actively try to design their way around these whirlpools of wind. And for good reason: With enough wind, vorticity can lead to an oscillating motion in structures, which, in some cases, like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, can cause their eventual collapse.

Where designers see danger, Vortex Bladeless’s founders—David Suriol, David Yáñez, and Raul Ingeniero—sees opportunity. “We said, ‘Why don’t we try to use this energy, not avoid it,’” Suriol says. The team started Vortex Bladeless in 2010 as a way to turn this vibrating energy into something productive.

The Vortex’s shape was developed computationally to ensure the spinning wind (vortices) occurs synchronously along the entirety of the mast. “The swirls have to work together to achieve good performance,” Villarreal explains. In its current prototype, the elongated cone is made from a composite of fiberglass and carbon fiber, which allows the mast to vibrate as much as possible (an increase in mass reduces natural frequency). At the base of the cone are two rings of repelling magnets, which act as a sort of nonelectrical motor. When the cone oscillates one way, the repelling magnets pull it in the other direction, like a slight nudge to boost the mast’s movement regardless of wind speed. This kinetic energy is then converted into electricity via an alternator that multiplies the frequency of the mast’s oscillation to improve the energy-gathering efficiency.

Its makers boast the fact that there are no gears, bolts, or mechanically moving parts, which they say makes the Vortex cheaper to manufacture and maintain. The founders claim their Vortex Mini, which stands at around 41 feet tall, can capture up to 40 percent of the wind’s power during ideal conditions (this is when the wind is blowing at around 26 miles per hour). Based on field testing, the Mini ultimately captures 30 percent less than conventional wind turbines, but that shortcoming is compensated by the fact that you can put double the Vortex turbines into the same space as a propeller turbine.

The Vortex team says there are some clear advantages to their model: It’s less expensive to manufacture, totally silent, and safer for birds since there are no blades to fly into. Vortex Bladeless says its turbine would cost around 51 percent less than a traditional turbine whose major costs come from the blades and support system. Plus, Suriol says, it’s pretty cool-looking. “It looks like asparagus,” he says. “It’s much more natural.”

The company has already raised $1 million from private capital and government funding in Spain, and they have plans to close a round in the United States soon. There’s enough interest, Suriol says, that he fields upward of 200 emails a day from people inquiring about the turbine. Of course, the technology still has a ways to go. They’re hoping to have their first product, a 9-foot, 100-watt turbine that will be used in developing countries, ready before the end of the year. The Mini, it’s 41-foot counterpart, will be ready in a year.

For the time being, you’ll continue seeing pinwheels dotting the landscape, which Suriol is actually happy about. “We can’t say anything bad about conventional wind turbines; they’re great machines,” he says. “We’re just proposing a new way, a different way.”

All-In-One Bowl

Fri, 08 May 2015 00:00:00 Z

Caveman Factory has created an ingenious strainer bowl which they call the ‘Anton,’ allowing you to soak, rinse, and strain your produce or fruit all-in-one water-saving, efficient package.

With 10 to 20 minutes of submersion needed to remove pesticides from our produce, it is absolutely essential to do so to ensure safe consumption of our food. But traditional bowls are inconvenient and waste large amounts of water.

The Anton slowly drains the water, while keeping your food away from dirty dishes in the sink. The funnel also acts as a convenient handle, and a higher lip keeps your food in place when tilting the bowl to increase flow rate. Learn more at Caveman Factory.

Vending Machine Accepts Batteries As Money

Wed, 15 Apr 2015 00:00:00 Z

Volkswagen and DDB Russia created a new kind of eco-currency for the car company’s campaign. To make it easier for locals to recycle, they installed a specially-made vending machine in different parts of Russia that only accepts batteries as payment.

Think Blue embodies Volkswagen’s commitment to creating a whole new standard of technologically progressive, environmentally friendly products in order to shape a more sustainable future. The aim of this latest initiative was to encourage consumers to recycle their old batteries. VW made it easier to do so and also offered a number of items as incentives.

Battery recycling is a problem in Russia, where over 15 million batteries and accumulators are thrown away every year in big cities like Moscow. One battery can pollute more than 20 square meters of the ground and many young people aren’t concerned about the problem, so Volkswagen and DDB Russia tried to motivate them.

The Think Machine is a vending machine that accept batteries as payment instead of banknotes and coins. It was installed in popular locations around Moscow such as Flacon, the biggest design center in the city. The machine enabled passersby to buy items from local community shops by parting with their old batteries. Two batteries would get them an anti-stress ball, four batteries would buy them a bottle of water, and for six batteries they could purchase an eco t-shirt.

One single machine collected over 8,000 batteries during the first month it was installed. In comparison, a regular collection point in Russia usually gathers less than a thousand in a month. The Think Machine successfully encouraged more people to recycle their batteries and also gave them a little something in return.

Handheld Hydropower Plant

Thu, 19 Mar 2015 00:00:00 Z

Blue Freedom may sound like a comic book name, but it’s actually one of the most interesting eco-tech projects on Kickstarter, a mini hydropower generator designed to be used just about anywhere there’s running water.

The principles of hydroelectricity are pretty simple: Use the force of moving water to turn a turbine. Make sure that turbine movement generates electricity that can be stored, and then use it or store it in batteries and capacitors for later use. The team behind Blue Freedom just scaled the whole idea down – very down.

The result is a hydropower plant that you can hold in one hand, a friendly-looking, disc-like device with a large fan-based turbine installed in the center. Put it in running water, such as a river or stream, and it will store a charge – apparently, just one hour in a current can create a 10-hour battery charge for common mobile devices like smartphones. It uses an USB port for charging, and is designed to work for common, useful items like MP3 players, GPS units, LED maps, electric razors, and even small camping fridges.

Blue Freedom is marketed primarily as an eco-friendly addition to your camping pack. Of course, you have to go camping and hiking on routes that actually include easily accessible running water, which may be a problem in some locations. But if there’s a river near, you don’t need to worry about carrying along extra batteries or bulkier fuel-based generators.

Fold Up Toilet

Thu, 19 Mar 2015 00:00:00 Z

Gareth Humphreys and Elliott Whiteley, two design students at the University of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England, have conjured up a new design for the toilet – something which hasn’t changed for a long period of time. Their university final year project design, named the Iota, is not only reduced in size compared to traditional toilets, but also uses less water per flush – 50% less in fact.

This 50% reduction in waste water means that 10,000 litres of water could be saved per year for a single person. The average toilet uses 5-6 litres of water per flush and in America, this accounts for more than 26% of water use for the whole household – more than showers, faucets or even washing machines. The Iota fold up toilet on the other hand, uses just 2.5 litres of water per flush, which is unarguably an impressive design specification when compared to the amount wasted in traditional toilet design.

And all this water saving is not just for your average environmental enthusiasts; California just became the first state in America to require that citizens install low-flow toilets during all bathroom renovations.

Not only does the Iota save on water, it is also reduced in size compared to the average toilet. When in the closed position, it is 1/3 the size of a normal toilet and this could be another promising factor of the design, as cities are becoming ever denser and space is becoming a design issue. The design could help reduce space required for a bathroom, allowing for a more compact design, leaving space for other rooms.

It works because the toilet bowl contains a built-in U bend that disengages from the waste pipe when in the seated position.

When the flush mechanism is activated by folding the toilet into its upright position, the U bend re-engages simultaneously and an air-tight seal ensures that waste stays where it should be.

An internal frame supports the bowl using a sliding hinge mechanism and a nylon roller. The hinge mechanism keeps the toilet straight, while the roller takes the weight of the user and transfers it through the frame to the floor.

The design remains a concept and Gareth and Elliot have applied for a patent on the design, looking to sell the idea and get it into production. As no prototype has been produced there are still some unanswered questions like how easily can it be cleaned and will it be able to cope with overweight users. That said, the eco-friendly and simplistic design may just be the answer to the future of toilets.

Wave Energy Generator

Tue, 03 Mar 2015 00:00:00 Z

Inspired by the pumping of the human heart, the Wave Energy Generator from CorPower Ocean can deliver up to five times more energy than current systems.

The system is made up of buoys that absorb the wave energy and send it to a geared drivetrain—instead of the more usual hydraulic pump. The drivetrain, developed by the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, is equipped with an array of smaller wheels that convert the linear motion of the moving buoy into rotating motion that spins a flywheel. According to the team, the drivetrain system allows the buoys to use all of the wave's motion, no matter how high or long the waves may be.

The system was inspired by Swedish cardiologist Stig Lundbäck's research into heart pumping.

Electricity Generating Water Pipes

Thu, 19 Feb 2015 00:00:00 Z

There's a lot of water constantly moving through the municipal pipelines of most major cities. While the water itself is already destined for various uses, why not harness its flow to produce hydroelectric power? Well, that's exactly what Lucid Energy's LucidPipe Power System does, and Portland, Oregon has just become the latest city to adopt it.

LucidPipe simply replaces a stretch of existing gravity-fed conventional pipeline, that's used for transporting potable water. As the water flows through, it spins four 42-inch (107-cm) turbines, each one of which is hooked up to a generator on the outside of the pipe. The presence of the turbines reportedly doesn't slow the water's flow rate significantly, so there's virtually no impact on pipeline efficiency.

The 200-kW Portland system was privately financed by Harbourton Alternative Energy, and its installation was completed late last December. It's now undergoing reliability and efficiency testing, which includes checking that its sensors and smart control system are working properly. It's scheduled to begin full capacity power generation by March.

Once up and running, it's expected to generate an average of 1,100 megawatt hours of energy per year, which is enough to power approximately 150 homes. Over the next 20 years, it should also generate about US$2 million in energy sales to Portland General Electric, which Harbourton plans on sharing with the City of Portland and the Portland Water Bureau in order to offset operational costs. At the end of that period, the Portland Water Bureau will have the right to purchase the system outright, along with all the energy it produces.

For now, the new LucidPipe Power System is the only one in Portland. If it proves successful, however, others may follow. A previously-installed system has been providing power in Riverside, California since 2012.