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🔋 Self-healing green generator, Flash battery recycling breakthrough, and Shrinking Andean glaciers

🔋 Self-healing green generator, Flash battery recycling breakthrough, and Shrinking Andean glaciers

🌍 Step into the eco-sphere with IE for the 14th issue of Sustainability

August 05, 2024

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

Last week, scientists in Scotland aiming to decarbonize the steel industry, developed a model to simulate scenarios where climate interventions enhance steel production. The model showed that integrating carbon removal technologies could make lower-grade ores commercially viable, providing a sustainable path for the industry.

This 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.

Recently, researchers from Rice University in Houston, Texas, developed a new method to extract purified active materials from battery waste. The method aims to adequately separate and recycle battery materials at a low cost and contribute to the greener production of electric vehicles.

Scientists studied rocks in the tropical glaciers of the Andean Mountains of Peru, Bolivia, and Columbia and discovered that glaciers in the tropical regions are melting or retreating due to warming temperatures in the tropical regions along the borders of the Earth’s equator. Tropical glaciers shrank to their smallest size in more than 11,700 years, a first since the last ice age. In a more hopeful development, experts discovered a type of wood that captures and stores carbon more efficiently. They identified wood branches of tulip trees that perform carbon sequestration well but don’t fit the typical categories of hardwood or softwood.

With that, I, Shubhangi Dua, your author for Sustainability, welcome you to the fourteenth edition.

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NEWS BULLETIN

🔋 Flash recycling breakthrough achieves 98% efficiency in battery recovery The researchers rapidly heated battery waste to 2,500 Kelvin, transforming it into structures with distinct magnetic shells and stable cores.
☢️ Fusion energy breakthrough: Neutron impact on tokamak components uncovered Understanding how neutron radiation damages thyristors will allow researchers to develop more radiation-resistant materials and designs.
⚡️ Energy storage breakthrough: New carbon nanotube wires show record conductivity Double-wall carbon nanotube fibers (DWCNTFs) are created with dry-jet wet spinning, improving nanotube alignment and density significantly.
🏔️ Catastrophe again? Andean glaciers reach their smallest size since Ice Age Tropical glaciers reaching their small-ever size revealed tropics having already warmed past limits last seen earlier in the Holocene age, scientists say.
🪵 ‘Midwood’: New wood type that locks in carbon effectively discovered Planting more Tulip Trees could aid in tackling climate change owing to its highly effective carbon-sequestering properties.
🤖 Self-sustaining water bug-like aquatic robot devised to boost ocean IoT Inspired by biological digestion, an advanced tiny aquatic robot was designed and equipped with a self-sustained energy system.
🌫️ Weather tracker: Flooding may hit Florida and Georgia as Storm Debby intensifies Japan suffers under extreme heat but cooler conditions in Europe provide welcome reprieve at Olympics.
🐾 Scientists find a human “fingerprint” in the upper troposphere’s increasing ozone Knowing where to look for this signal will help researchers identify specific sources of the potent greenhouse gas.

MUST READ

⚙️ New green generator self-heals, has biodegradable and high electro-positive properties

A new sustainable power source gas has been devised for the next-generation soft electronic and wearable devices. Scientists from the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology in Daegu, South Korea developed an ionic polyurethane-based triboelectric generator with self-healing, biodegradable, and high electro-positive properties.

This green energy-centric device uses ionic liquid to enhance the power output performance. Meanwhile, the self-healing qualities are achieved via the use of imidazolium ions and high electro-positive properties, and polycaprolactone (PCL)-based polyurethane, is employed for biodegradable "ionic polyurethane," to develop a triboelectric generator.

According to a statement by scientists, ionic polyurethane is highly efficient in producing electrical energy and a sustainable power source for next-generation soft electronic devices, which minimizes the impact on environmental pollution.

The research team tested the new ionic polyurethane-based device to confirm its effectiveness. They discovered that it can generate a power density of up to 436.8 mW/m² and has a self-healing efficiency of about 90 percent. After 300 days of biodegradation, only 21 percent of the device's original mass remains.

Prof. Lee Joo-hyuk from the Department of Energy Science & Engineering, DGIST that the team developed an efficient material that integrates self-healing and biodegradation functions while maintaining high power output performance.

"This innovative technology can provide a sustainable power source for next-generation wearable devices, and in our follow-up research, we will endeavor to commercialize the technology."

The study was published in the journal – Nano Energy on August 2, 2024.

OTHER IMPORTANT UPDATES

🧑🏼‍🌾 Act to shrink your carbon footprint

Credit: adamkaz/iStock

California government officials have initiated plans for major agricultural changes to address climate extremes, an environmental regulation encouraging environmental justice policies, and economic pressures.

Due to the rising consequences of climate change, agricultural practices need to evolve and adapt. Therefore, a new study published in the journal – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on July 29, 2024 proposes new solutions.

Researchers explained that proposed approaches are aimed at managing urgent needs as water availability limits have already been exceeded. Meanwhile, adaptation pathways adequate to address these challenges require faster interventions than current trends. “Approaches that decrease exposures to stress, reduce vulnerabilities, and enhance stress resistance and recovery are important for California to address its climate change challenges."

The strategies have been categorized into three sections – demand-side, supply-side, and institutional.

Demand-side actions

Improving irrigation timing

To align with soil water depletion, enhancing irrigation timing is necessary. It would considerably reduce non-beneficial water losses without impacting crop yields or increasing infrastructure and production costs. Techniques recommended include remote sensing to improve water accounting, tracking spatial and temporal water use patterns, and distinguishing between water withdrawals, consumptive use, and return flows.

Shifting crop types to less water-intensive crops

Experts recommend replacing high-consumption field crops such as alfalfa with crops that require less water such as vegetables or unirrigated winter cereals. Encouraging growers to change their crop mix through water pricing that reflects scarcity, rather than just delivery costs can incentivize these changes. This approach allows growers to make economically driven decisions to reduce water use while maintaining agricultural productivity without relying on heavy regulations.

Repurpose land for nonagricultural uses

Where groundwater is depleting in California, experts suggest reducing irrigated cropland and instead, repurposing the land for other uses, such as shifting expanding solar energy, restoring habitats, and supporting land repurposing for multifunctional landscapes.

Supply-Side actions

Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR)

Researchers propose Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) to enhance California's water resources by intentionally recharging aquifers using flood flows, especially due to its low cost and environmental impact. Crops like almonds and vines, dormant in winter, could be particularly suitable for this method.

Recycling and reusing wastewater

This solution aims to elevate recycled water consumption to 3,100 hm³ over the next decade in California. The state’s wastewater is underutilized at the moment. Therefore, experts propose treating it for agricultural use, which is cost-effective too, especially when crops don't require high-quality treatment.

Desalination

Experts propose focusing on brackish water desalination for agriculture, as it has low concentrations of salt and is not too expensive. Inland non-seawater desalination presents a lower-cost alternative, though brine disposal challenges persist.

Institutional

Central to change is policy development and execution by officials. Combating climate change is finally pushing stakeholders, policymakers, researchers, and advisors to create economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable systems. Water management could be a critical part of this solution. However, it will require better coordination among local agencies, investments in water data platforms, and more watershed-level governance. Enhanced water accounting and monitoring will lead to more informed decision-making and greater resilience.

More to come in the forthcoming edition of Sustainability.