Environment

Solar cement — Solar-driven electrolysis for making lime and no CO2 emission

By Eileen De Guire / April 12, 2012

Conventional thermal decomposition of calcium carbonate for cement-making generates almost as much CO2 as lime. Solar-driven electrolysis of calcium carbonate yields calcium oxide and carbon (or carbon monoxide) and oxygen.…

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Video: On golf, lobsters and cruises

By Eileen De Guire / April 8, 2012

A BBC video imagines a Masters golf tournament with putt-putt hazards. Credit: BBC; You Tube. What I know about golf would not fit inside the head of a putter. In…

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Ceramic materials as enablers of clean and green technologies

By Eileen De Guire / March 23, 2012

Materials engineering will drive development of the next generation of energy efficient vehicles. Credit: Wikipedia. News is ubiquitous about efforts and advances in the realm of energy, often in the…

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Greenroads groups award first LEEDs-type certification to ‘Poticrete’ project

By / March 20, 2012

Old toilets await new life as Poticrete aggregate. Credit: City of Bellingham, Wash. There seems to some new and interesting surges of interest in using recycled material in roadways, both…

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CNT ‘nanobrushes’ coated with nanocatalysts show promise for cleaning polluted water

By Eileen De Guire / March 13, 2012

A Pakastani mother gives her child clean water in Charsarda District, an area severely affected by monsoon floods. The UN World Water Assessment Programme released its triennial report on global…

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Donut sweat the little stuff: Nanostructured ceramics and safety, processing, applications

By Eileen De Guire / March 2, 2012

Is there a recommended daily allowance for nanoparticles? If so, powdered donuts are a reliable source. Credit: kilrothi; Wikipedia; Creative Commons license. How do you like your nanopowders? I like…

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Ceramics and glass business news of the week

By / February 10, 2012

Mitsubishi i-MIEV battery electric vehicle was rated highest in latest environmental rankings provided by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. See story below. Credit: Mitsubishi. Here is what we are hearing:…

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Toughened, flexible silica aerogel? Joint Japanese–Chinese group shows how to do it

By / January 31, 2012

Demonstration of the flexibility of cellulose–silica composite aerogel. Credit: J. Cai et al.; Angewandte Chemie. This sounds like the type of breakthrough aerogel fans have yearning for. A newly published paper…

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Minerals consumption: Tale of two countries

By / January 26, 2012

This is part of the chart USGS’s W. David Menzie presented today at a hearing in Washington, DC. Credit: USGS. Not totally surprising, but I hadn’t seen these number aggregated like…

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Nanomaterials safety research: National Academies sound alarm and urges cohesive plan

By / January 26, 2012

Framework for new report by a committee of the National Research Council for the National Academies. Credit: NRC. Nano environmental health and safety is clearly an important topic and one…

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