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Archive for the ‘sustainability’ category: Page 187

Mar 7, 2022

Ocado-backed firm plans to build vertical farm are up for debate

Posted by in categories: food, sustainability

Jones Food Company Ltd wants permission to change the use of the former JD Norman Foundry in Lydney to provide an indoor hydroponic farming facility gloucestershirelive.

Mar 6, 2022

A ‘greener’ way to clean wastewater treatment filters

Posted by in categories: chemistry, energy, finance, nanotechnology, sustainability

Membrane filters don’t require much energy to purify water, making them popular for wastewater treatment. To keep these materials in tip-top condition, they’re commonly cleaned with large amounts of strong chemicals, but some of these agents destroy the membranes in the process. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have developed reusable nanoparticle catalysts that incorporate glucose to help efficiently break down contaminants inside these filters without damaging them.

Typically, dirty wastewater filters are unclogged with strong acids, bases or oxidants. Chlorine-containing oxidants such as bleach can break down the most stubborn organic debris. But they also damage polyamide membranes, which are in most commercial nanofiltration systems, and they produce toxic byproducts. A milder alternative to bleach is hydrogen peroxide, but it decomposes contaminants slowly.

Previously, scientists have combined hydrogen peroxide with iron oxide to form that improve hydrogen peroxide’s efficiency in a process known as the Fenton reaction. Yet in order for the Fenton reaction to clean filters, extra hydrogen peroxide and acid are needed, increasing financial and environmental costs. One way to avoid these additional chemicals is to use the enzyme glucose oxidase, which simultaneously forms and gluconic acid from glucose and oxygen. So, Jianquan Luo and colleagues wanted to combine glucose oxidase and into a system that catalyzes the Fenton-based breakdown of contaminants, creating an efficient and delicate cleaning system for .

Mar 6, 2022

Solar panel-covered Sun Rock will generate 1 million kWh of clean energy per year

Posted by in categories: solar power, sustainability

Dutch firm MVRDV has launched the first look at its upcoming “Sun Rock” project in Taiwan, an environmentally conscious and design-minded power supply building. Anticipating Taiwan’s planned transition to green energy, the features of the Sun Rock building, from its shape to its façade, are focused on generating solar energy as efficiently as possible.

Located at the Changhua Coastal Industrial Park, near Taichung, the building’s primary purpose is to store and maintain suitable energy equipment. The building is almost totally covered with solar panels, capable of generating roughly 1 million kWh of green energy every year.

The site for Taipower’s new facility receives a significant amount of solar exposure throughout the year, and so the rounded shape of Sun Rock is designed to maximize how much of that sunlight can be harnessed for energy. The building slopes gently downwards on the southern side, creating a large surface area that directly faces the sun during the middle of the day. At the northern end, on the other hand, the dome shape is intended to maximize the area of the building exposed to the sun in the mornings and evenings.

Mar 5, 2022

Tritium partners with Wise EV to roll out national US charging network

Posted by in categories: energy, sustainability, transportation

Charging station manufacturer Tritium (Nasdaq: DCFC) has formed a partnership with Wise EV, a subsidiary of renewable energy service provider Wise Power, to provide DC fast chargers for a new national EV charging network.

The new network is expected to start with 25 locations at Florida gas stations. Florida is the number-two US state for EV sales, and received the third largest state allocation under the new National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program Guidance.

Wise EV plans to build its network using a hub-and-spoke strategy, centering the charging around metropolitan hubs and connecting those cities with Interstate highways as spokes. The eventual goal is to build a coast-to-coast charging network. The company plans to establish its metropolitan charging hubs in 2022, and connect those hubs with Interstate charging spokes in 2022 and 2023.

Mar 5, 2022

New York City Pursues Net-Zero in the Borough of Queens

Posted by in categories: climatology, habitats, sustainability

As cities address climate change, they are looking at passive buildings and novel approaches to energy and heating.


Cities are being challenged to tackle climate change through net-zero strategies that include passive homes, geothermal heating, and more.

Mar 5, 2022

New Solar Panel Design Uses Wasted Energy to Make Water From Air

Posted by in categories: solar power, sustainability

The system directly addresses clean water shortages and crop devastation worldwide.

Mar 5, 2022

‘Extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures’: Elon Musk says the US needs to increase oil and gas output

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, energy, sustainability

“Sustainable energy solutions simply cannot react instantaneously to make up for Russian oil & gas exports,” Musk said.

Mar 4, 2022

Reprogrammed bacterium turns carbon dioxide into chemicals on industrial scale

Posted by in categories: chemistry, economics, genetics, sustainability

Process achieved at industrial scale in 120 litre reactor.


Factory

The 120 litre LanzaTech pilot plant that can convert carbon dioxide into acetone and isopropanol.

Continue reading “Reprogrammed bacterium turns carbon dioxide into chemicals on industrial scale” »

Mar 4, 2022

Panasonic plans new massive battery plant in U.S. to supply Tesla —NHK

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

TOKYO, March 4 (Reuters) — Japan’s Panasonic Corp (6752.T) is looking to purchase land in the United States for a mega-factory to make a new type of electric vehicle (EV) battery for Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), public broadcaster NHK reported on Friday.

Panasonic is looking at building the factory, to cost several billion dollars, in either Oklahoma or Kansas close to Texas, where Tesla is preparing a new EV plant, NHK reported. NHK gave no timeline for Panasonic’s U.S. project.

NHK did not cite the source of its information. Panasonic said the reported plan was not something it announced.

Mar 4, 2022

Tesla factory in Germany gains conditional approval to start commercial production

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, sustainability

Tesla has gained approval to begin commercial production at its new factory near Berlin, local German officials announced Friday.

The conditional license for the vehicle and battery plants in Brandenburg was expected following months of delays. Tesla had intended to start production of vehicles by early summer of 2021 in Brandenburg, but the Covid pandemic, supply chain complications and clashes with environmentalists all slowed their pace.

The project, which was approved with the 536-page decision, includes the plant for the production of up to 500,000 vehicles per year, according to a translated release.