Innovation Pipeline

There are a lot of big ideas in the field of alternative power, from massive solar arrays to fields of wind turbines stretching toward the horizon. And then there are microbes.
Scientists are hoping that some sophisticated bioengineering on their part can leverage billions of years of bacterial evolution to combat our growing energy crisis.
Single-celled bacteria [...]

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Water is usually an underappreciated and neglected resource. Until a city, community or village finds it depleted or contaminated.
Similarly, the energy involved in transporting and treating water is obscured, particularly its economic and environmental implications. But as developed countries come to grips with these issues, there’s an awakening about water management much different from its [...]

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Case Western University researchers have developed an ultralight sponge material that’s able to draw oil out of contaminated water. Composed of clay and plastic, it was originally invented by Ph.D. student Matt Gawryla as a new kitty litter.
University scientists first make an aerogel by mixing clay with a polymer and water in a blender. Once [...]

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The old saying is that oil and water don’t mix. But in fact separating oil from water is no easy task.
Research engineers at the University of Utah http://www.unews.utah.edu/p/?r=111209-1 have come up with an inexpensive way to remove oil from on water. It’s accomplished by applying pressurizing and depressurizing cycles of ozone gas in a containment [...]

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Plant researchers have long studied why certain plants survive environmental stresses like drought while others wither and die. Now, with global warming, growing water crises around the world and increased interest in growing plants for biofuels, the question of plant survival is a hot-button issue.
Scientists from the University of California at Riverside made a significant [...]

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For all the unpleasant characteristics green algae possesses, it is beloved in cleantech circles because it can manufacture biofuels.
Now, scientists at the Angstrom Laboratory at Uppsala University in Sweden have discovered green algae’s distinctive cellulose nanostructure can also provide an effective coating substrate for batteries. It provides two advantages: it’s lighter in weight and much [...]

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The U.S. stimulus package had a clear message and mandate for renewable energy. There was far less stimulus devoted to the water industry and people wondered how that would impact the business.
As it turns out, a recent water industry survey of businesses and technologists indicates there’s a rebound in water-project spending expected over the next [...]

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Evolution is an elegant and powerful force. And if you’re looking for an effective design, what better source to borrow from than nature? That’s what researchers do in the emerging field of biomimicry, which uses natural forms for inspiration.
They study how nature solves problems and maximizes efficiency in areas like propulsion and mobility. Leonardo da [...]

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Chemists are the latest stars in the emerging field of cleantech. They’re work of note is concocting a new generation of chemicals that are less harmful to the environment. University research labs are also developing new combinations of chemicals as part of this green chemistry shift.
Purdue University researchers recently announced an eco-cleaner that can remove [...]

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists have discovered algae with the remarkable ability to detect contaminants in municipal water supplies.
The ORNL researchers created a process that uses a fluorometer to measure the fluorescence signal of algae in a river. By watching the known characteristics of photosystems I and II, which convert light energy into chemical energy, [...]

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