Tag Archives: CO2
CO2 sucker could just clean the air
Researchers in California have produced a cheap plastic capable of removing large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air. Down the road, the new material could enable the development of large-scale batteries and even form the basis of “artificial trees” that lower atmospheric concentrations of CO2 in an effort to stave off catastrophic climate change.
These long-term goals attracted the researchers, led by George Olah, a chemist at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. Olah, who won the 1994 Nobel Prize in chemistry, has long envisioned future society relying primarily on fuel made from methanol, a simple liquid alcohol. As easily recoverable fossil fuels become scarce in the decades to come, he suggests that society could harvest atmospheric CO2 and combine it with hydrogen stripped from water to generate a methanol fuel for myriad uses.
Olah and his colleagues also work on making cheap, iron-based batteries that can store excess power generated by renewable energy sources and feed it into the electrical grid during times of peak demand. To function, the iron batteries grab oxygen from the air. But if even tiny amounts of CO2 get into the reaction, it kills the battery. In recent years, researchers have come up with good CO2 absorbers made from porous solids called zeolites and metal organic frameworks. But they’re expensive. So Olah and his colleagues set out to find a cheaper alternative.
They turned to polyethylenimine (PEI), a cheap polymer that is a decent CO2 absorber. But it only grabs CO2 at its surface. To boost PEI’s surface area, the USC team dissolved the polymer in a methanol solvent and spread it atop a batch of fumed silica, industrially produced porous solid made from microscopic droplets of glass fused together. When solvent evaporated, it left solid PEI with a high surface area.
When the researchers tested the new material’s CO2-grabbing abilities, they found that in humid air each gram of the material sopped up an average of 1.72 nanomoles of CO2. That’s above the 1.44 nanomoles per gram absorbed by a recent rival made from aminosilica and among the highest levels of CO2 absorption from air ever tested, the team reported in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Once saturated with CO2, the PEI-silica combo is easy to regenerate. The CO2 floats away after polymer is heated to 85 degree Celsius. Other solid CO2 absorbers must be heated to over 800 degree Celsius to drive off the CO2.
New Zealand wine set to display carbon footprint
Scrutinizing bouquet, viscosity and finish on the palate is no longer enough for the accomplished wine connoisseur but carbon footprint as well. Now they can consider a vintage’s environmental credentials — for one brand at least.
A New Zealand wine has become the first in the world to display the carbon footprint of each individual glass serving on its label — laying bare to the shopper or drinker the full environmental impact of making and transporting it. Each bottle of Mobius Marlborough sauvignon blanc — which takes its name from the highest peak of the range of hills above the town — will display its carbon footprint emissions for a typical 125 ml glass.
On the new label the relevant emissions, which are calculated to reflect the environmental impact of factors such as transportation and refrigeration, will be measured separately for every export market. So, bottles sold in New Zealand, for example, will carry a figure of 140g CO2, whereas bottles shipped to Australia will display 190g.
Significantly, the wine is the world’s first to be certified by the UK’s Carbon Trust which is leading a drive to influence consumer choice by encouraging universal carbon footprint labeling — using its own Carbon Reduction label — across all products.
This certification is a milestone for the New Zealand Wine Company (NZWC), which is based in Marlborough in the country’s South Island and which has been pursuing sustainable management within the New Zealand wine industry.
Craig Fowles, NZWC’s sustainability manager, said, “It’s a very important certification as it is a full-life cycle carbon approach. In a very recent development, the Carbon Trust in the UK announced that sales of products carrying its carbon footprint reduction label will shortly top GBP 2bn per annum.”
Definitely a great move to display carbon footprint on their products.
Do some green deeds while sleeping
Ecotypic Bed
Sleeping till late hasn’t really been too productive for any of us before but here is Ecotypic Bed. Well, sleeping and lazing around on the Ecotypic Bed could do a lot more!
Designed by Arthur Xin is a marvel of technology. Packing a battery below, this Ecotypic Bed generates electricity from the activities carried out on the bed. Basically, everything you do in bed and around the bed is turned into energy. This electricity generated is then use to power up the LED reading lamps, the speakers that play some soothing music to wake you up, and also LED lights that help the plants on this one grow.
The Ecotypic Bed has hooked on a bunch of straps and pulleys for you to exercise with, that helps generate electricity too.
“This is a green bed.” It has everything you need! A LED reading lights, speakers and a flower box.
There’s a battery below the bed which turns the activities you do on the bed and around the bed into energy.
Do everything all day long on the Ecotypic bed!
Running on wind power
Wind power could meet about a fifth of the world’s electricity demand within 20 years, an industry group and environmental watchdog Green-peace predicted in a new report released on October 5. The global market for wind power grew 41.7 per cent in 2009, beating average annual growth of 28.6 per cent over the past 13 years, said Steve Sawyer, secretary general of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). China ranked second in the world in installed wind generating capacity in 2009 and was the largest buyer of wind technology, Sawyer told reporters at the launch of GWEC and Green-peace’s Global Wind Energy Out- look 2010 report. “We would expect China to continue to be the largest market and perhaps even be the (overall) largest market in the world by the end of this year,” he said.
The report’s “advanced scenario”— its most optimistic outlook — projects the world’s combined installed wind turbines would produce 2,600 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity by 2020 — equal to 11.5 to 12.3 percent of power demand. By 2030, wind energy would produce 5,400 TWh — 18.8 to 21.8 per cent of the world’s power supply, the report said. The more conservative “reference” scenario based on figures from the UN’s 
International Energy Agency saw wind power triple in the next decade to cover up to 4.8 percent of electricity — equal to Europe’s current total production.
The “moderate” scenario based on current industry figures would see wind power meet up to 9.5 per cent of the world’s power demand by 2020, the report said. “For more than the last 10 years, the actual performance of the wind industry has exceeded our advanced scenario every time,” said Sawyer. Under the advanced forecast, 1.6 billion tones of carbon dioxide emissions would be saved each year, the report said. This would increase to 3.3 billion tones of CO2 saved each year by 2030. The cumulative amounts of CO2 saved would be 10 billion tones by 2020 and 34 billion tones by 2030, the report said.
Paris hosts sustainable fashion show
Ethical fashion is riding the recession in style, with a major show opening in Paris on September 25. The Ethical Fashion Show, the world’s largest event devoted solely to sustainable fashion, is now in its seventh year. Over a hundred brands represented the four-day long fashion show that has outgrown its humble origins in disused ware-houses to occupy the new Docks en Seine building, home of the French Fashion Institute.
The clothes on display ranged from the impressive but quirky — a jaw-dropping couture dress made from recycled film stock — to the more wearable and commercial, like 50s-style skirts in organic cotton and silk from French/Vietnamese brand All, and British company Terra Plana’s recycled leather shoes.
This year the show was taken over by Messe Frankfurt, the world’s largest trade show organiser — a sign that despite the recession, ethical fashion is still a growth market. “It’s become more professional, it looks a lot more like a trade show now,” said Gilles Richard of childrenswearbrand La Queue du Chat, who have been exhibiting here for four years. 
Several brands from Britain also made the trip. Sarah Ratty of Ciel, who was showcasing a stunning new digital print, colour-fixed with algae, said she had been lured here for the first time by the involvement of Messe Frankfurt. “It’s nice to be able to have a platform abroad to showcase great British design with a green twist,” she said.
Other highlights included an ingenious dress by Danish company Diffus, embedded with tiny lights that visibly react to the CO2 levels in the environment around it. Celebrating the UN’s Year of Biodiversity, there was also a particular focus on sustainable fabrics, including loose-knit scarfs and jumpers made from nettle, pineapple and super-soft banana fibres.
Algae can help in trapping CO2
The green slimy algae can play a major role in reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and cleaning industry-polluted air. The Orissa government in India is launching a project to capture carbon dioxide using algae, the first such venture in India, with the rising number of industries in the state. The project will be started this month on a pilot basis at public sector undertaking Nalco’s (National Aluminum Company) thermal power plant at Angul in Orissa. As per the project, algae will be grown in shallow ponds and carbon dioxide produced from the thermal power plant will be tapped and introduced in the pond. Being soluble in water, carbon dioxide will get absorbed in it. Carbon dioxide and water are the basic requirements for algae growth and this in turn will release oxygen as a by-product.
“A few countries in the world — the US, China, Canada and Israel — have used the technology for cap- turing carbon. However, it hasn’t been used for commercial purpose so far, though laboratory tests have shown positive results. We are starting a pilot project and by the end of 2011 results will start coming,” Siddhanta Das, member secretary of the Orissa Pollution Control Board, said. The project is said to be 100 times more efficient 
0in carbon sequestration or capturing compared to plantation. Das added, “If positive results come out, it will be a major breakthrough and the state government may replicate it in other industries across the state. We will ask other industries to start similar projects to bring down the emission levels.”
Canada-based researcher Ranjan Pradhan, who worked on a similar project in Toronto, is guiding the state in the venture. Explaining the efficiency of carbon sequestration using algae, Das said, “The algae will grow fast in the pond and has to be harvested every six months. This will be up 50 times.” An algae has got an inherent value and bio-fuel can be produced from it. The high end user can even produce protein as its protein value is 20 times more than soybean,” he said.
Stopping CO2 emissions cannot avert climate change
With carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air approaching alarming levels, even halting emissions altogether may not be enough to avert catastrophic climate change. A new study by Carnegie institution scientists suggests that while removing excess CO2 would cool the planet, carbon cycle complexities would limit the effectiveness of a one time effort. To keep CO2 at low levels would require a long term commitment spanning decades or even centuries. Previous studies have shown that reducing CO2 emissions to zero would not lead to appreciable cooling because CO2 already within the atmosphere would continue to trap heat. 
For cooling greenhouse gas concentrations need to be reduced. “We want to see what the response will be if carbon dioxide were actively removed from the atmosphere,” says study co-author Ken Caldeira of Carnegie’s Department of Global Ecology. Caldeira and study co-author Long Cao did not focus on any specific method of capturing and storing CO2 from the air. The posibilities include approaches as diverse as industrial scale chemical technologies and changing land use so more CO2 is naturally absorbed by vegetation.
According to the simulations conducted by the researchers, for every 100 billion tonnes of carbon removed from the atmosphere, average global temperature would drop 0.16 degree Celcius, said a Carnegie institution release. Further simulations showed that in order to keep CO2 at low levels, the process of CO2 extraction from the air would have to continue for many decades, and perhaps centuries, after emissions were halted.
Know the emissions of your car and keep it efficient
The cars we use today just keep chocking the life out of our environment. And every time we rev our engines or leave our cars on at traffic signals, we blow up a load of fuel and at the same time, spout out carbon emissions.
Here’s a device to help keep a check on your current car’s emissions. The Eco-Navigator is basically a GPS navigation device with a high- speed Internet access and an Eco-Way mode. This mode plugs into your car’s diagnostic port, and keeps a check on your car’s current miles-per-gallon, throttle position (as a 0-100 per cent), and pounds of CO2 emitted per mile. The device also gives out information on the ideal stats your car should throw up, allowing you to alter the way you drive accordingly and helping increase fuel efficiency!
A smart device that helps you drive smart, the Eco-Navigator is the answer to current day efficiency woes.
Italy says bye bye to plastic bags
Italy, which uses more than 20 billion plastic bags a year, is starting 2011 with a ban on the non-biodegradable bags. “Every year each Italian uses 400 plastic bags, and Italy in total is responsible for 25 percent of all plastic bags that are used and produced in Europe,” Eva Alessi, a spokeswoman for the World Wildlife Fund, said. The new ban on plastic bags has been phased in gradually since 2006, when Italian lawmakers first approved the measure. But an original deadline of January 2010 was postponed because of opposition from industry groups, who complained that the ban could create chaos in supermarkets and hurt local manufacturers.
The full ban has been into effect since January 1. It requires all retailers to offer customers only special biodegradable plastic bags, or paper or fabric bags. The emphasis is on reusable bags, which the Government is promoting as fashionable and earth-friendly.
Supporters of the law say plastic bags use too much oil to manufacture and take decades to break down in landfills. The Italian environmental group Legambiente estimates that the plastic bag ban will save Italy 180,000 tones of CO2 emissions. “This marks a key step forward in the fight against pollution, and it makes us all more responsible in terms of recycling,” Italy’s Environment Minister, Stefania Prestigiacomo, stated.
Other European cities have implemented similar measures, but Italy’s is believed to be the first nation-wide ban on plastic bags on the continent. Many countries charge customers for plastic bags.
Most popular posts of 2010 on Green Planet Fan
Another beautiful years is about to end and I want to wish you all a happy new year. Here are the top ten list of post which was most popular for the year 2010.
All these datas are based on Google Analytics.
http://www.greenplanetfan.org/celebrities-with-green-homes/
http://www.greenplanetfan.org/how-to-reuse-old-shoe-laces/
http://www.greenplanetfan.org/pollution-renders-quarter-of-chinas-water-unusable/
http://www.greenplanetfan.org/how-to-reuse-plastic-cups/
http://www.greenplanetfan.org/sunderbans-may-submerge-by-2020/
http://www.greenplanetfan.org/stopping-co2-emissions-cannot-avert-climate-change/
http://www.greenplanetfan.org/how-green-is-hydroelectricity/
http://www.greenplanetfan.org/hong-kong-brings-plastic-bags-use-down-by-90-percent/
http://www.greenplanetfan.org/spain-boasts-of-worlds-largest-solar-station/
http://www.greenplanetfan.org/are-you-willing-to-give-up-bathing-for-environment/