Technology
Oil adsorbent material cleans spills, recovers oil
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21 May 2013
- Published on Tuesday, 21 May 2013 08:49
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Big oil spills are an environmental and public health disaster – not to mention an economic one. The last big oil spill, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill resulted in millions of gallons of oil spilling into the sea – a nightmare to clean up. While big oil spills are a cause of concern and often spur an indignant cry from the global community, everyday, little oil spills are occurring in our waters. Along our...
Making it stick, adding boron improves graphene’s ability to absorb lithium
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17 May 2013
- Published on Friday, 17 May 2013 08:36
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Rice University scientists have developed a battery anode made up of a mix of graphene and boron for use in high-capacity lithium ion batteries. Graphene is considered a promising material with many applications. Despite being only one-atom material, it has a massive surface area. Counting both sides, one gram would cover around 2,630 square meters or nearly half a football field. Battery manufacturers...
Paint-like organic solar cells to be the future of solar
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15 May 2013
- Published on Wednesday, 15 May 2013 08:55
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The next-generation of photovoltaic materials could be cheap, organic and as easy to apply as a coat of paint. Qiaoqiang Gan, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at the University of Buffalo, is developing a new generation of photovoltaic cells that could produce more power but cost less to manufacture than what is currently on the market. He uses plasmonic-enhanced organic photovoltaic...
Finding flaws on the manufacturing floor for better lithium-ion batteries
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14 May 2013
- Published on Tuesday, 14 May 2013 08:09
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Researchers at Purdue University have developed a technique to check the electrodes of a lithium-ion battery for defects as early as the manufacturing stage. Defects and inconsistencies in the thickness of lithium-ion batteries electrodes can affect battery life and reliability. A lithium ion-battery has two electrodes, an anode and a cathode. Lithium ions travel from one to another while the...
Better organic compound developed for thermoelectric devices
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09 May 2013
- Published on Thursday, 09 May 2013 09:14
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By mixing two polymers used in L.E.D.s and solar cells, researchers from the University of Michigan have developed a better thermoelectric material. Thermoelectric materials can turn heat into electricity and are being looked at as a way to harness waste heat from industrial processes or even automobiles as a source of power. Most efficient thermoelectric materials are made of rare inorganic semiconductors...
Low-cost flow batteries for effective grid energy storage
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07 May 2013
- Published on Tuesday, 07 May 2013 09:39
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In order for renewable energy sources to be completely integrated into the power grid, there has to be a way to store and release quantities of renewable energy into the grid as needed. A low-cost, long-life battery is needed to incorporate more solar and wind in the grid as it cannot tolerate large and sudden power fluctuations caused by a decrease or increase in power produced. When talking...
Lower-quality silicon can produce more efficient solar cells – U.N.S.W.
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07 May 2013
- Published on Tuesday, 07 May 2013 08:53
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Controlling the hydrogen atoms in low-grade silicon could enable the creation of more efficient, less costly solar panels. Solar engineers from the University of New South Wales have developed a patented technique to improve the quality of low-grade silicon. “The process will allow lower-quality silicon to outperform solar cells made from better-quality materials,” said Scientia Professor Stuart Wenham...
Meeting a community’s power needs with battery-based energy storage systems
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03 May 2013
- Published on Friday, 03 May 2013 09:07
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A reliable energy storage system – enough to power homes and buildings for a given time – is considered crucial to developing more energy efficient green communities. A good energy storage system could facilitate the integration of more renewable power generation into the grid, as it could store energy that could be used when gaps arise due to the sun going down or the wind blowing soft. Community energy storage...
Sponge-like foam allows for better exhaust gas clean-up
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29 Apr 2013
- Published on Monday, 29 April 2013 09:13
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A new catalytic substrate made of ceramic foam allows for cheap and efficient clean-up of exhaust gases from diesel vehicles. Empa has developed the catalytic substrate which has an irregular structure, much like a sponge, which allows it to better filter the exhaust gases while using less material then the exhaust filters currently in used. In a basic exhaust cleaning unit, a catalytically active layer...
Boeing, U.N.S.W. getting hopes up for lighter-weight, more fuel efficient aircraft
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25 Apr 2013
- Published on Thursday, 25 April 2013 08:32
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Stronger and more lightweight materials could result into more fuel efficient aircraft. With the rising concern over aviation industry’s emissions, many major air carriers are seeking to reduce their fossil fuel use – either through the development of alternative fuels or more fuel-efficient aircraft. To this extent, air carrier Boeing is looking into new, lighter-weight materials for their aircraft. Boeing Research and...
