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Category: sustainability

Scientists repurpose old solar panels to convert CO₂ exhaust into valuable chemicals

Centuries ago, alchemists worked furiously to convert the common metal lead to valuable gold. Today, chemists are repurposing discarded solar panels to create valuable organic compounds from carbon dioxide (CO2), a common greenhouse gas.

Significantly reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to mitigate the most devastating effects of climate change will require a large reduction in emissions as well as strategies designed to sequester emitted CO2 and other offending gases. While simply sequestering greenhouse gases would fulfill this goal, creating useful organic chemicals from waste CO2 is akin to generating valuable materials from trash.

A team of chemists from Yokohama National University, Electric Power Development Co., Ltd. and the Renewable Energy Research Center at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) recently decided to tackle two waste problems—excess CO2 emissions and decommissioned —in the pursuit of creating value-added organic chemicals. The team designed a study to determine if recycled components of discarded solar panels could be used to efficiently convert CO2 into useful, carbon-based compounds.

Three-layered material separates charges to boost green hydrogen production

The chemical reaction to produce hydrogen from water is several times more effective when using a combination of new materials in three layers, according to researchers at Linköping University in Sweden. Hydrogen produced from water is a promising renewable energy source—especially if the hydrogen is produced using sunlight.

Canadian refinery to reuse 100% of water with GE’s wastewater treatment technology

face_with_colon_three year 2024.

GE today announced that Federated Co-Operatives Limited’s Co-op Refinery Complex in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, is installing GE’s advanced water recycling technology for a wastewater improvement project that will enable the refinery to clean100 percent of its wastewater on-site. Once fully operationally, the Co-op Refinery Complex will be the only refinery in North America to recycle all of its wastewater for steam production, which is used for heating, hydrogen production, to power equipment and for cooling towers.

“Water is a precious resource and our wastewater improvement project allows us to be efficient and sustainable by recovering every drop of water. With GE’s technology, the Co-op Refinery Complex will clean and recycle all of its wastewater in a socially responsible and environmentally sound way to conserve water for Regina and the entire province of Saskatchewan,” said Gil Le Dressay, vice president, refinery operations, Federated Co-Operatives Limited.

Several years ago the refinery expanded its operations to produce 30,000 more barrels of oil per day (BPD) taking it from 100,000 BPD to a 130,000-BPD facility, which increased its water usage. The refinery’s current water source is a blend of well water and city water, and restrictions on water use mandated that the Co-op Refinery Complex had to find a new source of water. GE offered a solution combining ZeeWeed* membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology and a high-efficiency reverse osmosis (HERO• system to recycle and reuse 2 million gallons of wastewater a day. In addition to the water reuse solution, GE provides the refinery with wastewater specialty chemicals and monitoring solutions to provide system optimization.

THIS Problem Prevents a MERGER Between X.AI and Tesla Stock

Questions to inspire discussion.

🏢 Q: What are Elon Musk’s current ownership stakes in Tesla and XAI? A: Musk owns 55% of XAI and 12.9% of Tesla, with potential to increase his Tesla ownership to 20% through a compensation package.

💰 Q: How do the valuations of XAI and Tesla compare? A: XAI’s valuation is expected to reach $200 billion in the next round, while Tesla’s valuation is approximately $1 trillion.

Potential Conflicts and Risks.

⚖️ Q: What conflict of interest exists for Elon Musk in a potential merger? A: Musk’s significant ownership in both companies creates a conflict of interest in merger discussions, as he must balance his interests in XAI (55% ownership) and Tesla (12.9–20% ownership).

🔒 Q: What control risk does Elon Musk face with Tesla? A: Musk currently lacks the 25% voting control needed for major decisions in Tesla, presenting a non-trivial control risk that could be mitigated through Tesla’s investment in XAI. ## Key Insights.

Continue reading “THIS Problem Prevents a MERGER Between X.AI and Tesla Stock” | >

This AI-powered lab runs itself—and discovers new materials 10x faster

A new leap in lab automation is shaking up how scientists discover materials. By switching from slow, traditional methods to real-time, dynamic chemical experiments, researchers have created a self-driving lab that collects 10 times more data, drastically accelerating progress. This new system not only saves time and resources but also paves the way for faster breakthroughs in clean energy, electronics, and sustainability—bringing us closer to a future where lab discoveries happen in days, not years.

Beyond shade: Researchers improve radiant cooling to make outdoor temperatures feel cooler

A team of UCLA engineers and researchers has developed a new technique to make it feel up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit cooler outside while preserving a sense of safe and open space.

Featured in Nature Sustainability, the UCLA-led study demonstrated a new way to harness radiant cooling. Instead of relying on dark and windowless spaces, such as a tunnel, to create radiant cooling that raises safety concerns for public outdoor spaces, the new approach combines water-cooled aluminum panels and see-through, infrared-reflective thin polymer film, which allows both efficient cooling and visibility—a top priority, especially for residents in urban communities.

As climate change accelerates, are occurring with greater intensity and frequency, threatening the safety of people who spend significant time outdoors.

How paper planes could provide sustainable solutions to space debris

Space junk is a huge problem. The surge in satellite launches in recent years is leaving low Earth orbit (LEO) cluttered with debris such as discarded rocket bodies, broken parts and defunct satellites. Beyond the risk of debris colliding with working satellites that are vital for navigation, communication and weather forecasting, large pieces could come crashing back down to Earth.

Space junk may also be a threat to the environment. Old rockets and satellites burn up when they re-enter the atmosphere, leaving a trail of chemicals behind that could damage the ozone layer. The more we launch, the messier LEO gets, and the bigger the problems become.

Space agencies and private companies are looking at ways to clear up the litter we leave behind, but they’re also exploring how to build more sustainable rockets and satellites, using organic polymers instead of metals. In a new study, published in Acta Astronautica, researchers turned to origami, the ancient Japanese art of paper folding, to find a sustainable alternative.