90% of a medical implant's volume can be the battery. Glucose fuel cells, which use the body's own sugars to create electricity are not new, but they have traditionally used materials which pose their own set of challenges. But scientists have developed a new form of glucose fuel cell that is only 400 nanometers thick (thinner than a human hair), by using a ceramic electrolyte which is easy to miniaturize and integrate on a silicon chip, is bio-compatible & can withstand high temperatures (for sterilisation).https://www.tum.de/en/about-tum/news/press-releases/details/37397
Per capita, Australians produce a reported 24 kgs of e-waste each year. Recycling e-waste plastics is particularly tricky as it is a mix of up to 20 different resin types, so separation, reuse and recycling becomes tricky.But combine some German smarts with a vision to be Australia's leading 'urban miner' and you get Australia's first e-waste plastic recycling facility that can separate and retain the valuable resins for re-use. https://www.bordermail.com.au/story/7654190/insight-into-new-factory-that-is-transforming-recycling/
Take 500kg of food waste, blast it with oxygen at low heat to speed up decomposition, add no water and no chemicals, and within 24 hours you end up with around 100kg of high-nutrient residual material, free of odour and pathogens, which can be used for fertilizers or in the production of biofuels. Better yet, you simply wheel your food waste bin into the unit, set it and forget it. WasteMaster takes care of the rest, including remote management and trouble-shooting of most operational problems. https://www.greenecotec.com/
India first started covering water irrigation canals with solar panels back in 2014 - providing both water and power to communities. By using the canals the solar panels don't compete for scarce land, they also protect the water from both evaporation and algae blooms, while the water cools the panels increasing their efficiency. Solar Canals come with their challenges, including higher engineering costs. But despite this, California is setting up a pilot project in the Turlock Irrigation District, in the San Joaquin Valley. https://thec
In a 'green chemistry' discovery scientists have taken a molecule of carbon, hydrogen & nitrogen, exposed it to sunlight & then stored the energy-rich isomer as a liquid & film. Returning the isomer to its original state releases heat, link that to a thermoelectric generator and you also get electricity. This creates a zero-emission, long-term solar energy storage system(18years!), which uses benign, all-renewable materials. Not yet delivering large-scale energy, nor cost-effective, but it is MOST promising! Pun intended - as the energy storage process is known as - Molecular Solar Thermal (MOST). https://www.chalmers.se/en/departments/chem/news/Pages/Converting-solar-ene
UV rays carry more energy than visible light, however, most solar panels are designed to capture visible light, not UV. In 2020, a Philippine student found a way to capture UV energy, convert it to visible light and thus deliver conventional solar power. Better yet, his flexible resin (solar film), created from fruit & vegetable waste, can be applied just anywhere, including high-rises to create a vertical solar farm. His innovation won the 2020 James Dyson Foundation Sustainability award and is to be trialled soon in a medical clinic in the Philippines - can't wait for the next update.https://www.dezeen.com/2020/11/27/aureus-carvey-ehren-maigue-james-dyson-awards-sustainability/
