Show Notes 15 November 2024
Story 1: Researchers devise a unique upcycling use for old tires: Producing drinking water.
Source: Anthropocene Magazine Story by the staff
See also: https://newatlas.com/environment/solar-still-old-tires-purifies-15-cups-water-per-day/
See also: https://www.dal.ca/news/2024/10/31/saltwater-desalination-device.html
- About 4 billion tires sit in landfills and junkyards around the world. From there, they leach many harmful chemicals and small microplastic pieces into the environment. Finding a way to recycle old tires is on many a scientist’s agenda.
- Now, researchers at Dalhousie University in Canada [in Halifax, Nova Scotia], have turned old tires into a material that produces clean water [from salt water] by harnessing solar energy. Their new floating device can purify over 3.5 liters of water a day [0.9246 gallons]. What’s more, it also generates a small amount of electricity.
- The low-cost device is a version of the well-known solar still. These devices use solar energy to evaporate water, which separates out the salt and impurities. The water vapor is condensed on a cold surface and then collected as pure water.
- The Dalhousie researchers made a floating solar still from a piece [a sheet] of foam. And then, to keep costs low, they made the key ingredient of their solar still from discarded tires.
- They ground tires into crumbs, which they heated to 500°C in the absence of oxygen [that’s about 932 degrees Fahrenheit]. This converts them into a char made of fine carbon particles.
- Next, the team mixed the char with titanium dioxide powder and processed it to make tiny titanium carbide nanoparticles. These particles are excellent at absorbing sunlight and turning it into heat.
- Previously, the team had studied various types of carbon waste, such as coffee grounds and lobster shells, to make the nanoparticles. But tire rubber works best, they found.
- The researchers then coated foam [sheets] with the tire-derived material. Finally, they covered the foam [sheets] with a see-through plastic dome to make their solar still.
- When they placed the device [which looks like a black sheet with a clear plastic dome] on salty water, the water wicked into the foam [like a sponge] and the solar heat generated by the coating of tiny titanium carbide nanoparticles created using the recycled tire char caused the salt water to evaporate.
- As the water vapor rises and condenses on the inside of the dome, the now fresh water then flows down the sides into a bag for collection.
- The research team noted that, “Most floating solar desalination research has been done only in controlled lab environments, with real-world studies remaining scarce.” With this in mind, the research team decided to take their device out into the field.
- They placed the floating device on the Atlantic Ocean off the Halifax harbor for five full days. The device converted solar energy to water vapor with an efficiency of 40% at a calculated rate of 3.67 liters for each square meter each day [0.9695 gallons].
- That’s roughly 1.5 times the amount of water an average person needs each day. Scaling up to serve a community could involve making larger stills or floating a whole fleet of them.
- The researchers say that they could also modify the device to produce a small amount of electricity using a phenomenon called the thermoelectric effect. The electricity should be enough to power small water quality sensors. Next summer, the researchers plan to test the device further in South Asia.
- Side note – The thermoelectric effect refers to the direct conversion of temperature differences to electric voltage and vice versa. Essentially, it enables devices to generate electricity from heat or to use electricity to create a temperature gradient.
Story 2: Half a pound of this powder can remove as much CO₂ from the air as a tree, scientists say
Source: Los Angeles Times Story by Karen Kaplan
See also: https://news.berkeley.edu/2024/10/23/capturing-carbon-from-the-air-just-got-easier/
- A typical large tree can suck as much as 40 kilograms of carbon dioxide out of the air over the course of a year. Now scientists at UC Berkeley say they can do the same job with less than half a pound of a fluffy yellow powder.
- The powder was designed to trap the greenhouse gas in its microscopic pores, then release it when it’s ready to be squirreled away someplace where it can’t contribute to global warming.
- “It performs beautifully,” said Omar Yaghi, a chemist at UC Berkeley and the study’s senior author. “Based on the stability and the behavior of the material right now, we think it will go to thousands of cycles.”
- Dubbed COF-999, the powder could be deployed in the kinds of large-scale direct air-capture plants that are starting to come online to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.
- When viewed under a scanning electron microscope, the powder resembles tiny basketballs with billions of holes.
- The structures are held together by some of the strongest chemical bonds in nature, including the ones that turn carbon atoms into diamonds. Attached to the scaffolds are compounds called amines.
- Side note: Amines are organic compounds derived from ammonia by replacing one or more hydrogen atoms with alkyl or aryl groups. They contain a nitrogen atom with a lone pair of electrons, making them a key component in many biological and industrial processes.
- When air flows through the structures, most of its components pass by undisturbed. But the amines, grab on to carbon dioxide, which is acidic.
- Those CO2 molecules will stay put until scientists loosen them up by applying heat. Then they can vacuum the CO2 molecules up for safekeeping, most likely by pumping them deep underground.
- Once the carbon dioxide is removed from the powder, the entire process can begin again.
- In fact, in tests, the experimental powder material was still in fine form after 100 such cycles.
Story 3: Hyundai Initium Hydrogen Concept Shows Where Design Is Headed Next – It’s powered by a hydrogen fuel cell that provides a maximum range of 404 miles.
Source: InsideEVs.com Story by Andrei Nedelea
Link: https://insideevs.com/news/739422/hyundai-initium-concept-design-language/
See also: https://www.hydrogenfuelnews.com/hyundai-hydrogen-car-innovation/8567996/
- Hyundai’s new close-to-production concept called the Initium will be unveiled at the 2024 Los Angeles Auto Show running from November 22 through December 1.
- Powering the concept is a hydrogen fuel cell system that runs a 201-horsepower motor, and it gives the Initium a claimed range of 404 miles (650 km) on one tank. That’s more than its predecessor, the Nexo, which could only manage 378 miles (609 km) and had 40 horsepower less.
- Hyundai intends to produce the Initium starting in 2025.
- Just like its hydrogen fuel cell predecessors, which only sold a couple thousand cars a year globally at best (most of them in South Korea), the Initium won’t be an important model for Hyundai on the world stage – my comment, that is in terms of revenue.
- But it will be important from a technology perspective—Hyundai, along with a few other automakers, aren’t giving up on hydrogen fuel cells even as they invest vastly more resources into battery EVs.
Story 4: Bioprinter rapidly mimics tissues from brain to bone – Researchers at the University of Melbourne have developed a new 3D bioprinting technique that can rapidly create accurate analogues of virtually any human tissue.
Source: TheEngineer.co.uk
Link: https://www.theengineer.co.uk/content/news/bioprinter-rapidly-mimics-tissues-from-brain-to-bone
- Where most of today’s bioprinters rely on time-consuming layer-by-layer fabrication, this new breakthrough platform uses an optical-based system where vibrating bubbles 3D print cellular structures in seconds.
- The technique is claimed to be 350 times faster than existing bioprinters, as well as enabling more accurate cell positioning for better replication of human tissue.
- According to the Melbourne team, the device can mimic everything from soft brain tissue to tougher substances such as cartilage and bone. This accuracy combined with the platform’s speed could be a major advance for areas including cancer research and drug development.
- University of Melbourne’s associate Professor David Collins, noted, “In addition to drastically improving print speed, our approach enables a degree of cell positioning within printed tissues.”
- He goes on to say, “Incorrect cell positioning is a big reason most 3D bioprinters fail to produce structures that accurately represent human tissue. Just as a car requires its mechanical components to be arranged precisely for proper function, so too must the cells in our tissues be organized correctly. Current 3D bioprinters depend on cells aligning naturally without guidance, which presents significant limitations.
- “Our system, on the other hand, uses acoustic waves generated by a vibrating bubble to position cells within 3D printed structures. This method provides the necessary head start for cells to develop into the complex tissues found in the human body.”
- According to the Melbourne team, the technology is already making waves within the medical community.
Honorable Mentions:
Story: Sustainable hydrophobic cellulose shows potential for replacing petroleum-related products such as packaging and biomedical devices
Source: Phys.org Story by Science X Staff
- A recent study has aimed to create hydrophobic paper by exploiting the mechanical properties and water resistance of cellulose nanofibers, and so produce a sustainable, high-performance material suitable for packaging and biomedical devices. This involved a supramolecular approach, i.e., combining short chains of proteins (peptide sequences) that do not chemically modify the cellulose nanofibers. Sustainable hydrophobic paper may one day replace petroleum-related products.
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Story: Amprius ships EV battery that reaches 90% charge in 15 minutes
Source: Electrek.com Story by Michelle Lewis
Link: https://electrek.co/2024/11/04/amprius-ships-ev-battery-that-reaches-90-charge-in-15-minutes/
- Amprius Technologies has shipped its power-packed A-Sample EV cells to the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC), a research collaboration between major automakers to advance EV battery technology.
- Amprius’ new SiMaxx cells hit an impressive 360 Wh/kg in energy density – far beyond the USABC’s target of 275 Wh/kg. What does that mean for EV drivers? Simply put, longer range without a bulkier battery. Plus, these cells have a power density of 1200 W/kg, meaning more efficient energy delivery.
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Story: Airbus Developing Tech to Control Fighter Jets with Wave of Hand
Source: Flying Magazine Story by Jack Daleo
Link: https://www.flyingmag.com/modern/airbus-developing-tech-to-control-fighter-jets-with-wave-of-hand/
- Airbus Defense and Space, working with Spanish quantum computing and artificial intelligence software firm Multiverse Computing, is developing a system to control fighter jets with the wave of a pilot’s hand.
- The system, which will use physical gestures from pilots to manipulate controls in the cockpit, will be required to function in less-than-ideal circumstances, such as when the pilot is wearing gloves or turbulence causes the aircraft to vibrate.
- “These new non-contact, gesture-based control interactions will enhance pilot situational awareness, mission effectiveness, and overall aircraft performance,” said Enrique Lizaso Olmos, cofounder and CEO of Multiverse Computing.
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Story: Lithium-ion batteries have ruled for decades. Now they have a challenger. ***This article offers a great brief on the growing creation of sodium-based batteries, noting work being done in the United States
Source: Washington Post Story by Sarah Raza
- Sodium has recently emerged as one of the more promising options, and experts say the material could be a cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative to lithium.
- In the past few years, sodium-ion battery production has increased in the United States. Last month, sodium-ion battery manufacturer Natron Energy announced it would open a “gigafactory” in North Carolina that would produce 24 gigawatts of batteries annually, enough energy to charge 24,000 electric vehicles.
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