Pollution
Solar-Powered, Oil-Cleaning Robots: Solution for Oil Spill?
Posted in Remediation Technologies, Solar Power, Pollution, News, Videos on
Wednesday, August 25 2010
A team of researchers at MIT's SENSEable City Laboratory have developed Seaswarm, a robot that autonomously navigates the water’s surface and uses nanofibers to absorb 20 times its weight in oil, which could be made into a viable solution for cleaning up the Gulf oil spill.
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Paving Slabs Clean the Air
Posted in Building Technologies, Remediation Technologies, Solar Power, Pollution, Government Initiatives, News on
Monday, August 16 2010
Innovative paving slabs that are coated in titanium dioxide nanoparticles can reduce the amount of nitrogen oxide in the air. Titanium dioxide is a photocatalyst; it uses sunlight to accelerate a naturally occurring chemical reaction, the speed of which changes with exposure to light.
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Sustainable Biochar to Mitigate Climate Change
Posted in Biomass, Remediation Technologies, Climate, Renewable Energy, Pollution, Carbon Dioxide, News on
Wednesday, August 11 2010
By producing biochar - a charcoal-like substance made from plants and other organic materials - up to 12 percent of the world's human-caused greenhouse gas emissions could be sustainably offset, which is more than what could be offset if the same plants and materials were burned to generate energy.
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Switchgrass Lessens Soil Nitrate Loss Into Waterways
Posted in Biomass, Remediation Technologies, Renewable Energy, Pollution, News on
Tuesday, August 10 2010
By planting switchgrass and using certain agronomic practices, farmers can significantly reduce the amount of nitrogen and nitrates that leach into the soil, according to Iowa State University research.
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Making Hydrogen From Waste Vegetable Oil
Posted in Alternative Fuels, Energy Efficiency, Pollution, Hydrogen, Carbon Dioxide, News on
Tuesday, July 27 2010

Researchers at the University of Leeds have found an energy-efficient way to make hydrogen out of used vegetable oils discarded by restaurants and other establishments. The process generates some of the energy needed to make the hydrogen gas itself and is also essentially carbon-neutral.
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Metal Alloy Increases Cooling Efficiency, Reduces CO2 Emissions
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Pollution, Carbon Dioxide, News on
Thursday, July 22 2010
Researchers at the University of Maryland are developing a new "thermally elastic" metal alloy for use in advanced refrigeration and air conditioning systems. The technology promises far greater efficiency and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
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Effects of Cerium Removal from Glass on Photovoltaic Module Performance and Stability
Posted in Solar Power, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Pollution, Tech Briefs on
Wednesday, July 14 2010
In recent years, better stabilizer formulations for ethylene vinyl-acetate have been developed, giving more confidence in the long-term stability of PV packaging materials. Because of this, some manufacturers have stopped using Ce-doped glass. National Renewable Energy Laboratory researchers studied Ce-free glass.
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