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🏎️ New catalyst cleans wastewater, Porsche renews battery life, and Sustainable plastic break down

🏎️ New catalyst cleans wastewater, Porsche renews battery life, and Sustainable plastic break down

🌍 Step into the eco-sphere with IE for the 15th issue of Sustainability

August 12, 2024

Welcome back to the fifteenth edition of Sustainability, a weekly newsletter by Interesting Engineering.

Last week, scientists in South Korea developed a self-healing, biodegradable generator that minimizes environmental pollution. This device will power the next-generation soft electronic and wearable devices. it can generate a power density of up to 436.8 mW/m² and has a self-healing efficiency of about 90 percent.

This week, scientists at Hokkaido University in Japan developed a nickel foam catalyst that effectively converts ammonia to clean wastewater. It can also be used to produce clean fuel, primarily hydrogen gas, making the catalyst versatile. The catalyst, called NiOOH-Ni (Nickel Oxyhydroxide-Nickel), was created using an electrochemical process in which nickel foam was treated with an electrical current while submerged in a chemical solution.

In the latest sustainable developments, Porsche AG recently renewed life in used batteries of electric vehicles. The German carmaker developed a five-MW energy storage system from used vehicle batteries in Leipzig, Germany. Made up of 4,400 individual battery modules, the storage system can be operated at up to 20 percent overload for short periods.

Also, scientists in Australia devised a low-energy, sustainable technique to break down many plastics, including polystyrene. It uses a common chemical compound (also seen in high school experiments) along with light and air to separate seven unique categories of polymers by 90 percent taking just 30 minutes.

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NEWS BULLETIN

🏎️ Used EV batteries find new life, turned into powerful energy storage system The project is expected to help other Porsche locations with similar systems and capabilities in the future.
🧑🏼‍🔬 Tough plastics broken down sustainably with common chemical, sunlight, air Engineers in Australia are championing a sustainable, low-energy and low-cost method to break down plastics.
🏔️ 1st direct evidence of Greenland’s ice sheet core melting away in recent past Greenland was greener some million years ago due to warmer weather conditions, indicating the fragility of the region’s ice sheets.
🧊 Cryogenic hydrogen-electric propulsion could lead to net-zero air travel “The vision of net-zero air travel is within our sights. However, to get there, we must push the limits of what is technically possible.”
✈️ World’s 1st hydrogen-powered plane to attempt 9-day nonstop global flight The main difficulty is preserving the liquid hydrogen’s state at an extremely low temperature, nearing absolute zero, for the entire nine-day flight.
🚗 Boost EV safety with one spray: Breakthrough coating enhances battery protection The technology’s ability to create a uniform coating with a single application leads to greater efficiency by boosting speed and production capacity.
☀️ Solar energy development could reduce need for solar farms Scientits developed an approach which could generate increasing amounts of solar electricity without the need for silicon-based solar panels.
🔥 People flee wildfire near Athens as it spreads 'like lightning' Residents fled their homes on Sunday caused by fast-moving wildfire outside Athens fuelled by hot, windy weather burned trees, houses and cars and sent smoke clouds

MUST READ

💧New nickel foam catalyst cleans wastewater and produces clean fuel

Substances that tend to speed up chemical reactions, commonly known as catalysts, have recently been used to develop sustainable methods to convert raw materials into useful products.

Now, scientists from Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan crafted an effective catalyst – NiOOH-Ni (Nickel Oxyhydroxide-Nickel) using an electrochemical process where nickel foam was treated with an electrical current while submerged in a chemical solution.

The catalyst aimed to advance wastewater treatment, green chemicals, and hydrogen production. The substance enhances the efficiency of ammonia conversion. Ammonia has been known to pose a major threat to the environment, leading to excessive algal growth in water bodies. This tends to deplete oxygen and harms aquatic life.

Converting ammonia efficiently could help protect the environment and make industrial processes more eco-friendly. The newly developed catalyst is crucial because it offers a more efficient, durable, and cost-effective solution compared to traditional catalysts like platinum.

The catalyst was made by integrating nickel (Ni) with nickel oxyhydroxide. According to a statement by the scientists nickel foam, a porous material, was treated with an electrical current while immersed in a chemical solution. This treatment resulted in the formation of nickel oxyhydroxide particles on the foam’s surface.

Although the chemical structure was irregular and non-crystalline, the nickel-oxygen particles considerably boosted ammonia conversion. Scientists stated that the catalyst’s design allows it to operate effectively at lower voltages and higher currents than traditional catalysts.

Professor Zhenguo Huang from the University of Technology Sydney, and leader of the study explained that NiOOH-Ni works better than Ni foam, and the reaction pathway depends on the amount of electricity (voltage) used.

“At lower voltages, NiOOH-Ni produces nitrite, while at higher voltages, it generates nitrate,” he said.

In short, the nickel foam catalyst can effectively clean wastewater by transforming ammonia into less harmful substances. Additionally, it can be used to produce clean fuel, primarily hydrogen gas, making the catalyst versatile.

The study was published last week on August 8, 2024, in the journal – Advanced Energy Materials.

OTHER IMPORTANT UPDATES

🧑🏼‍🌾 Act to shrink your carbon footprint

Credit: RyanJLane / iStock

Striving to boost decarbonizing solutions worldwide, the World Economic Forum’s multistakeholder initiatives program—the Centre for Nature and Climate has been working toward achieving net-zero goals. Additionally, it promotes responsible land and ocean use and improves the management of key resources like food, water, and raw materials. Some of their climate action initiatives are:

First Movers Coalition

This movement is a global coalition that aims to advance critical but emerging climate technologies by leveraging members' collective purchasing power. According to the organization, First Movers Coalition is a global coalition of companies leveraging their purchasing power to decarbonize the world's heavy-emitting sectors. The initiative makes the adoption of new climate technologies faster so net zero goals can be achieved particularly in heavy-emitting sectors.

Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders

Business leaders across the globe have formed a community to support and boost climatic ambition. The organization says the aim is to accelerate the net zero transition by setting science-based targets, disclosing emissions, and catalyzing decarbonization and partnerships across global value chains. In the alliance’s annual report, CEOs have called for a systemic change through 10 high-impact measures for governments and corporations to close the 600 gigaton gap in emissions reductions to stay on a 1.5C pathway.

Alliance for Clean Air

Global corporations including Google, Mahindra, Ikea, Accenture, Siemens, Bloomberg, and many others have come together to tackle air pollution and eradicate harmful pollutants from Earth’s atmosphere. They are acting by establishing air pollution footprints and setting ambitious targets to reduce air pollution emissions. Additionally, their goal is to act as champions by raising awareness among stakeholders about the impact of air pollution. Finally, they aim to harness their innovation capabilities to showcase and pilot pioneering projects that reduce air pollution.