Posts by Lisa McDonald
Ceramic and glass business news of the week for August 24, 2020
Pilkington launches online ‘glass-opedia,’ first floating PV plant commissioned in Russia, and more ceramic and glass business news of the week for August 24, 2020.
Read MoreAn ‘udder’ way to make money: Sorbent-based purification may make biogas production economically feasible for farmers
Farmers are in the midst of an economic crisis. Production of methane fuel from biogas, a natural byproduct of organic wastes, may be a way to turn a profit, but the current processing methods are too expensive for small farmers. Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory developed a composite sorbent that may make the production process economically feasible.
Read MoreSingle-step synthesis of refractory ceramics, plus more inside September 2020 ACerS Bulletin
The September 2020 issue of the ACerS Bulletin—featuring single-step synthesis of refractory ceramics—is now available online. Plus—Awards and C&GM
Read MoreVideo: Tracking the moon with laser beams
For more than 50 years, the Apollo-era Laser Ranging Retroreflector experiment helped scientists track the moon’s orbit and distance from Earth. The efficiency of the moon-based reflectors decreased over time, though, so NASA scientists looked to reflect light from a spacecraft-based reflector instead—a feat they recently achieved for the first time.
Read MoreOther materials stories that may be of interest
Ion-pump photovoltaics, eggshell-based surgical material for skull injuries, and other materials stories that may be of interest for August 19, 2020.
Read MoreMaximize production of electricity and crops—tinted semitransparent solar panels for agrivoltaics
Agrivoltaics, the practice of co-locating photovoltaic infrastructure and agriculture, can lead to reduced crop yield if the solar panels block too much light. Researchers in the United Kingdom and Italy investigated using tinted semitransparent solar panels that selectively absorb certain wavelengths and found a substantial overall financial gain compared with classical agriculture.
Read MoreCeramic and glass business news of the week for August 17, 2020
Mexican utility confirms first investment in solar, BASF acquires glass-fiber 3D-printing business form Owens Corning, and more ceramic and glass business news of the week for August 17, 2020.
Read MoreA real power brick—polymer-coated bricks store energy
Construction and refractory applications are main uses of bricks, but unusual applications show up in academic journals as well. In a recent paper, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis explain how they made ordinary bricks capable of storing energy like a battery.
Read MoreVideo: The hidden history of Vietnamese ceramics
In the 15th and 16th centuries, the village of Chu Dau in Hải Dương Province, Vietnam, produced unique ceramic pieces that were shipped throughout the world before war put an end to the practice. This history was only recently uncovered in the 1980s, and a recent documentary details the story.
Read MoreOther materials stories that may be of interest
Bring agrivoltaics to the next level, make nonmagnetic materials magnetic, and other materials stories that may be of interest for August 12, 2020.
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