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Progress On Perovskite Solar Cells | Earth Wise

August 2, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

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Perovskites are semiconductors with a specific crystal structure. Their properties make them well suited for making solar cells. They can be manufactured at room temperature, using much less energy than it takes to make the silicon-based solar cells widely used today. As a result, perovskite solar panels would be cheaper and more sustainable to produce. Manufacturing silicon solar cells takes a lot of energy because silicon is forged at around 3000 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition, perovskites can be made flexible and transparent, making it possible to use them in ways unavailable with silicon solar technology.

But unlike silicon, perovskites are very fragile. The early solar cells made from perovskites in 2009 and 2012 lasted for only minutes. Lots of potential, but little practicality.

Recently, Princeton Engineering researchers have developed the first perovskite solar cell with a commercially viable lifetime, which is a major breakthrough. The team projects that the device can perform above industry standards for about 30 years, which is much more than the 20 years designated as a viability threshold for commercial cells.

The research team has developed an ultra-thin capping layer between two of the layers of a perovskite solar cell. The layer is just few atoms thick but has been demonstrated to dramatically increase the durability of the device.

There is great potential for the new solar cell technology. It has efficiency to compete with silicon cells but can be tuned for specific applications and can be manufactured locally with low energy inputs. If successfully commercialized, the result will be solar panels that are cheaper, more efficient, and more flexible than what are available today.

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Once seen as fleeting, a new solar tech shines on and on

Photo, posted January 8, 2020, courtesy of David Baillot/UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

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Increasing Palm Oil Production Without Harming The Environment | Earth Wise

May 5, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Palm oil is the most important source of vegetable oil in the world. The oil itself and ingredients based on it are found in approximately 50% of the products on supermarket shelves, including both food and non-food items. Many of the mysterious chemicals that show up on ingredient lists such as sodium lauryl sulfate are actually derived from palm oil.

Dozens of countries produce palm oil, but about 2/3 of the world’s supply comes from Indonesia and the demand for its oil keeps growing. To keep up with that demand, Indonesia continues to convert valuable ecosystems that contribute greatly to biodiversity to palm production.

A four-year research project at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln has found that keeping up with palm oil demand may not necessarily mean converting valuable, fragile ecosystems into agricultural land. According to the study published in Nature Sustainability, palm oil yields on existing farms and plantations could be greatly increased with improved management practices.

The researchers identified key practices that could lead to larger yield. These include improved harvest methods, better weed control, improved pruning, and better plant nutrition. With such practices, Indonesia could produce 68% more palm oil on existing plantation areas.

The results were surprising to the researchers and are significant from both environmental and economic standpoints. In particular, it could have a great impact on the millions of individual farmers who draw their livelihood from small palm farms often containing just a few acres. In Indonesia, about 42% of land used for palm oil production is owned by smallholder farms.

The researchers are now working with various stakeholders in Indonesia to put these management techniques into practice.

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Husker research shows palm oil production can grow while protecting ecosystems

Photo, posted August 15, 2006, courtesy of Lian Pin Koh via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Caribbean Coral Reefs Under Siege | Earth Wise

January 4, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Coral reefs around the world have been suffering from warming seas and increasing acidification, both a result of human activity. In the Caribbean, a new threat has emerged in the form of invasive algae.

New research published in Scientific Reports explains how an aggressive, crust-like alga is overgrowing shallow reefs and taking the place of coral that was damaged by powerful storms that exposed areas of the undersea rock where corals grew.

Researchers from Oxford University, the Carnegie Institution, and California State University Northridge have been studying these peyssonnelid algal crusts, or PACs, for several years in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The PAC has been out-competing coral larvae for surface space and then growing over the existing reef architecture, greatly damaging delicate reef ecosystems.

New corals actually prefer to settle on crusty surfaces created by a different type of algae called crustose algae, or CCA. CCA acts as guideposts for coral larvae by producing biochemical signals as part of a microbial community that entice baby coral to affix itself.

In contrast, the destructive PAC algae exclude coral settlement. The researchers determined that the microbial community associated with PAC algae is deployed to deter grazing from fish and other marine creatures. Unfortunately, it also deters coral.

Fragile coral ecosystems are already under assault by environmental pollution and global warming. Now, in the aftermath of powerful hurricanes like Irma and Maria, algal crusts are taking over reef communities and posing an existential threat to Caribbean corals.

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An unusual microbiome characterises a spatially-aggressive crustose alga rapidly overgrowing shallow Caribbean reefs

Photo, posted January 11, 2015, courtesy of Falco Ermert via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Pine Barrens Threatened

September 29, 2017 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Pine barrens occur throughout the northeastern U.S. from New Jersey to Maine. They are plant communities that occur on dry, acidic, infertile soils dominated by grasses, forbs, low shrubs, and small to medium-sized pines. The Pine Bush Preserve in Albany, New York is one of the larger inland pine barrens in the country.