Author: lp2539

100% Leaf Plates

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Sustainability Problem:

Plastic waste is a problem, because it takes hundred of thousands of years to degrade.

Technology:

Bowl is made out of a layer of leaves, a layer of water-proof leaf-made paper, and another layer of leaves. These layers are compressed with a machine press and the leaves are stitched together with palm fibers

Stakeholders:

  • Citizens of the world
  • Waste Management Facilities
  • Governments

Steps to Deployment:

  • Continue gathering support on Kickstarter
  • Advertise on Social Media

 

 

CO2NCRETE – Researchers turn carbon dioxide into sustainable concrete

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Sustainability Problem:

Over 30 billions tons of concrete are produced every year. Cement, main component of concrete, emits 0.8 tons of CO2 per ton of cement produced. This is about 7% of total global CO2 emissions. First source comes from CO2 released from limestone to produce lime. The second source is from lime and clay being heated to 1450 degrees celsius to make cement. UCLA research is trying to create a close loop process.

Technology:

  • CO2 released from limestone to produce lime gets captured
  • CO2 is then separated from gas stream by membrane
  • CO2 is integrated into building material

Stakeholders:

  • Citizens
  • Government
  • Construction Companies

Steps to Deploy Technology:

  1. Develop scalable technique for 3D-printing
  2. Integrate all processes into a pilot facility
  3. Optimize process parameters

 

 

 

 

New technology removes air pollutants, may reduce energy use in animal agricultural facilities

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Sustainability Problem:

The increase in pollution has increased the need to produce food to sustain this growth. Growing livestock produces high levels of ammonia concentration in the barns. This has a negative impact on the quality of the air in the vicinity of the farm.

Technology:

  1. Ammonia polluted air enters the biofilter.
  2. There is also a heat exchanger that captures some of the heat and transfers it back into the barn along with fresh air.
  3. The prototype has been proven successful in a farm with 5,000 chickens.

Stakeholders:

  • Farmers
  • People living around farm land

Steps for deployment:

  • Start by deploying technology is farms with more than 5,000 chickens
  • Approach national brands, because they have resources to implement technology

Reference:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120104115057.htm

Conceptos Plasticos (Plastic Concepts)

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Sustainability Problem:

This technology is addressing plastic waste pollution, by transforming used plastic into bricks. Plastic can take up to 500 years to biodegrade and 75% of plastic produced globally is in a landfill or not formally disposed of.

Technology:

  • The industrial process is called extrusion
  • Uses a multilayered plastics, mixtures of different plastics and rubber to make a quality construction material
  • The bricks are shaped into pieces that interlock with each other making the pieces connect like a puzzle.

Stakeholders:

  • Government
  • Waste Management Facilities
  • People without homes

How to deploy this technology:

  • Estimate cost of extrusion process
  • Estimate amount of plastic needed
  • Involve Waste Management Facilities

References:

Oscar Mendes The man who  provides decent housing for the homeless while reducing waste plastic.

 

 

New technique turns common plastic waste into fuel

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Problem: Synthetic plastics are used to produce food containers, because these plastics do not to chemicals in food. This turns out to be an issue when these containers go to landfills and do not degrade. There current methods for recycling plastics are energy intensive. The technique in this article and the research is geared towards reducing plastic pollution and in turn creating usable liquid fuel.

Technology:

  • Utilizes by-products of petrochemical production known as alkanes
  • The chemical process is known as cross-alkane metathesis 
  • Uses about half the amount of energy needed to breakdown plastics

Stakeholders:

  • Government
  • Wast management/recycling entities

Steps for deploying technology:

  1. Find average cost savings this technology will provide to recycling facilities
  2. Find areas where the fuel can be used in the recycling facilities
  3. Estimate cost of deploying this technology at a recycling facility

 

Dean Kamen’s Slingshot Aims To Bring Fresh Water To The World

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Sustainability Problem: We are running out of potable water, and the current ways of purifying water are too energy intensive.

Technology: 

  1. Heat recovery to minimize energy use
  2. Vapor-compression evaporation – eliminates all toxins from water
  3. Stirling engine

Stakeholders:

  • Governments
  • Any citizen in the world

Steps to deploy technology:

  • Make it energy efficient
  • Find partner to help distribute globally
  • Prepare maintenance procedure

 

 

 

Fighting a Megacity’s Pollution with Mega Panels

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Sustainability Problem:

Air Pollution in major cities around the world has become and issue that affects the health of city dwellers.

Article Summary:

  • Plastic panels coated with titanium dioxide (TiO2) can be placed on building facades that react to sunlight.
  • This material breaks down nitrogen oxides and VOCs when it gets in contact with sunlight.
  • Byproduct of chemical reaction is a non toxic chemical (calcium nitrate), which will get washed away with rain

Stakeholders:

  • Government
  • Private entities
  • Public

Steps for deploying technology:

  1. Getting approval from city government
  2. Secure funding for the project
  3. Finding buildings with larger square footage and sunlight exposure

References:

http://www.ecobuildingpulse.com/projects/fighting-a-megacitys-pollution-with-mega-panels_o

http://www.prosolve370e.com/