Cleantech and Environmental News – Latest Headlines

Manganese water-splitting catalyst shows promise for future hydrogen economy

The discovery of an Earth-abundant catalyst promises to make the production of hydrogen fuel more feasible.

June 7, 2019 Read more

Chemicals from carbon dioxide - with plasma and perovskite membranes

Researchers aim to use the climate-damaging greenhouse gas carbon dioxide as a raw material for the production of chemicals. To do this, they are developing a combined plasma and membrane process that splits CO2 into oxygen and the chemical base material carbon monoxide.

June 4, 2019 Read more

Floating power plants - recycling CO2 from the ocean

Huge floating solar islands on the ocean that produce enough energy to enable CO2-neutral global freight traffic - what sounds like science fiction researchers have now calculated for the first time.

June 4, 2019 Read more

Economical energy storage for the electric car of tomorrow

Dry electrode coating technology allows environmentally friendly battery cell production.

June 3, 2019 Read more

Cement as a climate killer: Using industrial waste to produce carbon neutral alternatives

Producing cement takes a big toll on our climate: Around eight per cent of annual global carbon dioxide emissions can be attributed to this process. However, the demand for cement continues to rise. A team of geoscientists has found a way to produce more environmentally friendly and sustainable alternatives.

May 20, 2019 Read more

Clean and effective electronic waste recycling

E-waste recycling is far below what it should be to reduce its impact on the environment and human health simply because it is not economically feasible. Researchers are working on a way to change that using pulsed power technology.

May 15, 2019 Read more

Secrets of fluorescent microalgae could lead to super-efficient solar cells

Tiny light-emitting microalgae, found in the ocean, could hold the secret to the next generation of organic solar cells.

May 10, 2019 Read more

Experimental device generates electricity from the coldness of the universe

Using an infrared photodiode pointed to the sky, a new device harvests energy from the temperature difference between Earth and near absolute zero temperatures of deep space.

May 6, 2019 Read more

Next-generation plastic can be recycled again and again into new materials of any color, shape, or form

Scientists have designed a recyclable plastic that, like a Lego playset, can be disassembled into its constituent parts at the molecular level, and then reassembled into a different shape, texture, and color again and again without loss of performance or quality.

May 6, 2019 Read more

Researchers make organic solar cells immune to the ravages of water, air and light

Researchers have discovered a remarkable means of making organic solar panels more robust, including conferring resistance to oxygen, water and light by doing the opposite: removing, not adding, material.

May 2, 2019 Read more

Record solar hydrogen production with concentrated sunlight

Researchers have created a smart device capable of producing large amounts of clean hydrogen. By concentrating sunlight, their device uses a smaller amount of the rare, costly materials that are required to produce hydrogen, yet it still maintains a high solar-to-fuel efficiency.

April 29, 2019 Read more

Plastic's carbon footprint

Researchers conduct first global assessment of the lifecycle of greenhouse gas emissions from plastics.

April 16, 2019 Read more

'Molecular scissors' for plastic waste

A research team has solved the molecular structure of an important enzyme (MHETase). MHETase was discovered in bacteria and, together with a second enzyme - PETase, is able to break down the widely used plastic PET into its basic building blocks.

April 12, 2019 Read more

Study shows potential for Earth-friendly plastic replacement

New research has shown that combining natural rubber with bioplastic in a novel way results in a much stronger replacement for plastic, one that is already capturing the interest of companies looking to shrink their environmental footprints.

April 9, 2019 Read more

Durability vs. recyclability: Dueling goals in making electronics more sustainable

Researchers looked into the impact of government policies put in place to reduce the amount of electronics waste filling up landfills.

April 5, 2019 Read more

Scientists discover potential sustainable energy technology for the household refrigerator

Advance could reduce both annual energy consumption and cost.

March 28, 2019 Read more

Researchers create hydrogen fuel from seawater

Splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen presents an alternative to fossil fuels, but purified water is a precious resource. A team has now developed a way to harness seawater - Earth's most abundant source - for chemical energy.

March 18, 2019 Read more

Scientists use a blender to reveal what's in our smartphones (w/video)

Scientists blended an entire smartphone to dust before conducting a chemical analysis of the dissolved results to demonstrate why we should all take a keener interest in what is contained within everyday electrical items.

March 14, 2019 Read more