To celebrate this year’s National Robotics Week, we have curated some of our past CTTs featuring fun innovations in robot technology.
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Recycling green technology: Microwave radiation facilitates deconstruction and reuse of solar panels
Semiconductor processing could benefit from the use of microwaves, which allows materials to be annealed faster and more selectively. Now, researchers in Australia demonstrated another benefit—it would make the deconstruction and reuse of solar panel components easier.
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Reliance on single-use packaging significantly contributes to plastic pollution. Chicago-based startup Kadeya designed a unique “closed-loop” water vending service based on reusable glass bottles that could help cut plastic waste in the vending sector.
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Improving recyclability of wind turbine blades is essential to enhancing sustainability of the wind industry. University and industrial researchers announced two new developments in this regard last month.
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The August 2021 issue of the ACerS Bulletin—featuring materials for electronics—is now available online. Plus—USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries and PACK Fellowship Program.
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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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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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In 2017, a report on global e-waste predicted the amount of e-waste would increase to 52.2 million metric tonnes by 2021—but we already passed 53 million metric tonnes in 2019 alone, according to a new report released this month. Learn more about why e-waste amounts are surging, why current recycling systems are not keeping up, and what can be done to combat the problem.
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Recycling is currently a materials dead end—but what does that mean for other container materials? Glass could capitalize on the void left by discarded single-use plastics.
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Researchers at MIT developed a robot that can effectively separate mixed recyclable materials, using two flexible silicone “hands” to feel the difference between paper, metal, and plastic.
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