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Energy

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The underwater 'kites' generating electricity as they move
Aircraft looking "tidal kites" will generate electricity from the ocean's tidal power, as tested at the Faroe Islands over the past year providing power to the islands.The technology has been developed by Swedish engineering firm Minesto, with larger versions of the tidal kites being rolled out in 2022.To find more, click the link:https://www.bbc.com/news/business-59401199
1 December 2021 by Marcus Gordon

Energy

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Decarbonising Paper Production - Replacing Natural Gas with Geothermal Steam
The paper industry is energy-intensive. According to the EIA, the industry consumed 1483.2 trillion British thermal units (Btu) of energy in 2019.  At the same time, the CO2 emissions of the paper industry reached 48 million tons. Utilising renewable energy is a well established way to try to reduce the emissions footprint of processing steps reliant on electricity.  But replacing natural gas needed for high temperature drying is harder. In what could well be a world-first, a NZ company is replacing natural gas in its drying hood with geothermal steam instead. https://www.eeca.govt.nz/about/news-and-corporate/news/essitys-groundbreaking-geothermal-project-a-world-first/
30 November 2021 by Kylie Hargrea...

Energy

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Re-thinking Solar Panel Waste
Science Direct forecasts worldwide solar PV waste will to reach around 78 million tonnes by 2050. Recovery of materials such as silicon has traditionally needed hydrofluoric acid, a highly toxic and corrosive chemical. Scientists have found a new way to recover silicon which uses a specific chemical treatment sequence, using less toxic chemicals. The process delivers a silicon purity of 99.9984%, recovers more useful materials than just silicon and delivers a profit of $185 on every 1kg of solar panel recycled in this manner.https://www.saurenergy.com/solar-energy-news/indian-scientists-recover-pure-silicon-from-obsolete-solar-cells
19 November 2021 by Kylie Hargrea...

Energy

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Future Lifestyle: Powerwall Battery
Powerwall battery is an integrated battery system that can store your solar energy for backup protection when the grid fails. In short, the Powerwall battery is a home energy storage device that can store energy directly from the grid, or it can store electricity generated by renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy. Households can install a single battery, or couple them together for greater storage capacity.https://www.bsl-battery.com/
4 November 2021 by Powerwall bat...

Energy

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AtmosFuel - Guilt free fuel from Air + Water
Take CO2 from the Air, combine it with Hydrogen extracted from Water ( using renewable energy) and you can make various fuels like ethanol, diesel, kerosene, petrol and aviation fuel.  Fuels made like this can notionally get to Net Zero, although are more likely to generate  90% fewer emissions than the conventional hydrocarbons. Still pretty good, and another benefit is they work without needing expensive modifications to the car or plane. https://carbonengineering.com/news-updates/ce-lanzatech-jet-fuel/
26 October 2021 by Kylie Hargrea...

Energy

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Circular Economy Sewage Sludge
Sewage sludge, which is fully of organics and nutrients, is often used for fertiliser. But sewage sludge can contain pathogens, microplastics, heavy metals, PFAS and chemicals. Pyrolysis (high heat/no oxygen) is a process often used to render biomass (sludge) safe. RMIT have developed a novel pyrolysis reactor which optimises heat/mass transfer processes. This translates directly into savings in capital and operating costs. It also delivers a 30% reduction in CO2 emissions, while shrinking the tech to make it highly mobile. Trials of the new reactor in real-world applications are underway in Victoria, Australia.
24 October 2021 by Kylie Hargrea...