Environment

Obstacles and opportunities to commercializing carbon capture and storage

By Lisa McDonald / April 27, 2021

Despite extensive support, the vast majority of projects that seek to commercialize carbon capture and storage technologies have ended in failure. Researchers led by the University of California, San Diego investigated the factors important to determining failure or success.

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Video: Recent Greenland election sets new course for rare earth mining operations

By Lisa McDonald / April 14, 2021

Greenland is at the center of many recent discussions on establishing new rare earth mining operations outside of China. Greenland’s election on April 6, however, gave a different party its first-ever chance to form a government, which will likely shape the island’s future mining decisions.

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Video: Ghanaians turn waste into art

By Lisa McDonald / March 31, 2021

Some countries that are significant importers of global waste do not have strong waste management infrastructures, which makes handling the waste difficult. In the absence of government programs, entrepreneurs have started their own initiatives to aid local communities in managing waste. Learn about two individuals in Ghana combating e-waste and glass waste, respectively.

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Video: Paper bottle prototype aims to reduce plastic waste

By Lisa McDonald / March 3, 2021

Glass and aluminum containers are among the most frequently discussed alternatives to plastic packaging—but they are not the only materials being considered. The Coca-Cola Company and Danish startup Paboco are aiming to develop a bottle that will be made entirely from paper.

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Ceramics for sustainable energy, plus more inside March 2021 ACerS Bulletin

By Lisa McDonald / February 18, 2021

The March 2021 issue of the ACerS Bulletin—featuring ceramic and glass materials for sustainable energy—is now available online. Plus—process modeling of a tunnel kiln.

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Reinforcing waste-based concrete: Plastic fibers improve mechanical properties of cement–glass composite

By Lisa McDonald / February 16, 2021

Substituting waste materials for cement in concrete helps lower the concrete industry’s carbon emissions and keeps waste materials out of landfills. However, large amounts of glass cullet in concrete will decrease the concrete’s mechanical properties. Researchers in Poland investigated reinforcing the cement–glass composite using plastic fibers.

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Recycling robot aims to generate separate material waste streams, right in your kitchen

By April Gocha / February 5, 2021

Challenges with recycling systems have resulted in a dead end for many materials. But a new robotic kitchen concept called Lasso has a solution—the appliance can clean, sort, process, and store recyclable materials, generating highly pure recyclable waste streams right at their point of use.

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Strategic charging infrastructure can lead to strong electric vehicle ecosystem

By Lisa McDonald / February 2, 2021

Developing an electric vehicle ecosystem is about more than just manufacturing cars—you also need to build the infrastructure necessary to support such a system. Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers published a paper focusing on two potential solutions for supporting electrification: expanded charging infrastructure and access to supplementary long-range vehicles.

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Video: Decommissioned wind turbine blades get a second wind through reuse and recycling

By Lisa McDonald / January 20, 2021

The vast majority of wind turbine blades that reach end-of-use are either being stored in various places or taken to landfills because there are few options for recycling. Numerous companies and universities are working to change that.

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Locked in rock: Carbon capture strategy looks to olivine to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

By April Gocha / December 22, 2020

As we face dangerously rising carbon dioxide levels in the earth’s atmosphere, new strategies for carbon capture and storage that are not only effective but also scalable, affordable, and easy to implement are drastically needed. Could a simple green silicate mineral called olivine provide the solution?

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