Individual category feed and email subscriptions are available here.

Categories

Blu Homes: Prefabricated ‘Green’ Housing

Our goal at Blu Homes is to save you time on being “green.” Through extensive research on materials and use of advance computer modeling and consultation with experts, we make sure that our products are healthy for you, your family and the natural world.We can ensure that your home achieves LEED certification, depending on the [...]

New Cement-Making Method Uses Fresnel Lens to Split CaCO3

Researchers at George Washington University have bolted together an ungainly contraption that they say efficiently uses the energy in sunlight to power a novel chemical process to make lime, the key ingredient in cement, without emitting carbon dioxide. The device puts to work about half of the energy in sunlight (solar panels, in comparison, convert [...]

Soluble salt removal from MSWI fly ash and its stabilization for safer disposal and recovery as road basement material

Fly ash from municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWI) is classified as hazardous in the European Waste Catalogue. Proper stabilization processes should be required before any management option is put into practice. Due to the inorganic nature of MSWI fly ash, cementitious stabilization processes are worthy of consideration. However, the effectiveness of such processes can be [...]

OriginOil’s algae harvest technology removes 98% of hydrocarbons from frac flowback

In California, OriginOil reports that, in recent independent third-party testing, the company’s algae harvesting process was able to remove 98% of hydrocarbons from a sample of West Texas oil well ‘frac flowback’ water in the first stage alone. Frac flowback describes water used in a drilling process called ‘hydraulic fracturing’, or ‘fracking’.This test sample was [...]

Tinted Windows that Generate Electricity

A startup in Germany has developed a new kind of solar panel made of small, organic molecules deposited on polyester films. The technology is similar to what’s used for OLED displays for phones and flat-screen TVs. The panels are flexible, and far lighter than conventional solar panels, yet in some locations—particularly where it’s hot or [...]

Donald Sadoway: The missing link to renewable energy | Video on TED.com

This is how the idea is introduced: Donald Sadoway is working on a battery miracle — an inexpensive, incredibly efficient, three-layered battery using “liquid metal.” Professor Sadoway explains that his angle has been to design around the oil price point, not around some wild and cool technology that can never compete economically. He goes on [...]

Development and analysis of mineral based coatings for buildings and urban structures

Commonly used materials in the construction of the building façades located in warm climates, often entrap a great amount of heat from the incoming solar radiation, leading to a respective thermal increase in the interior. The aim of the present study is to examine mineral-based coatings as a passive solar technique that contributes to buildings’ [...]