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Tracking down PFAS toxins

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PFAS – per- and polyfluoralkyl substances – are a group of organic compounds that have been extensively used to provide water-, oil-, and dirt-resistance to a wide range of products ranging from non-stick pans, clothing, and packaging to paint, car polish, and fire-suppressant foam.  Exposure to specific PFAS compounds is associated with multiple adverse health effects, including altered immune and thyroid function, liver disease, kidney disease, poor reproductive and developmental outcomes, and cancer.  PFAS compounds do not break down in the environment and therefore, over time, become concentrated in plants, animals, and people.

Government agencies such as the EPA in this country and the EU have set strict limits for allowable levels of PFAS in drinking water.  Testing water for the trace amounts of PFAS that constitute the limits is time-consuming and expensive and requires complex equipment and experienced personnel.

Researchers at MIT have now introduced a technique for making a portable, inexpensive test that can easily and selectively detect PFAS in water samples.  The test makes use of a special polymer containing fluorinated dye molecules that cause the polymer to fluoresce red.  If PFAS are present in the sample, they enter the polymer and displace the dye molecules and switches off the red fluorescence. 

The new technique is suitable for on-site detection in highly contaminated regions.  Detecting smaller concentrations can be achieved with sufficient precision after pre-concentrating the samples using the process of solid-phase extraction.

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Tracking down Environmental Toxins

Photo, posted October 16, 2021, courtesy of Nenad Stojkovic via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Protecting berries with sunflower extract

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Many of us buy blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and more in those little clear plastic clamshell boxes.  We try to check them out at the store to make sure they are ok and even if are, many soon end up coated with gray mold and other fungi.  It is a problem that is both disappointing and expensive.

Researchers from several Chinese Universities recently reported that compounds extracted from sunflower crop waste are quite effective at preventing rotting in blueberries.  They suggest that the food industry could use these natural compounds to protect berries from postharvest diseases.

Sunflowers are grown globally for their seeds and oil.  The flower stems themselves are generally considered to be a waste product.  Sunflowers are known to be particularly resistant to many plant diseases so the researchers decided to investigate whether there might be chemical constituents within the plants that are responsible for the protective property.

Their research led to the isolation of 17 different compounds known as diterpenoids, including four that have never been identified before.  They found that 4 of the compounds, including 2 of the newly discovered ones, were effective at preventing the growth of fungus on the blueberries. 

Berries were wetted with the compounds and then dried off and injected with mold spores.  Half of the treated berries were protected from the mold.

There is no reason that the method couldn’t be applied to a variety of crops.  There is great appeal in the concept of using a harmless extract from a plant to render a food crop safe from fungal infestation.  The technique holds great promise in preventing postharvest disease in fruit.

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Sunflower extract fights fungi to keep blueberries fresh

Photo, posted August 26, 2006, courtesy of Liz West via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The right to not buy fossil fuels

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Minnesota has been one of the most aggressive states in setting and realizing clean energy goals.  As of this year, Minnesota gets 55% of its energy from net zero carbon emission sources.  The state has goals of reaching 80% green energy by 2030, 90% by 2035, and 100% by 2040.  Recent legislation in Minnesota aims at further reducing carbon emissions and job creation in the clean energy sector.

All of this is very good news, but not for the neighboring state of North Dakota.  Minnesota getting all of its energy from clean energy sources means that it would no longer be a customer for the fossil fuel products of North Dakota.

North Dakota is known for its vast reserves of coal, oil, and natural gas and, apart from agriculture, the energy industry is the biggest moneymaker in the state.  Faced with the aggressive clean energy initiatives of its next-door neighbor, North Dakota has threatened to sue Minnesota. 

What would be the basis of such a lawsuit?  The argument would be that Minnesota’s clean energy goals would be in violation of interstate commerce laws and infringe upon North Dakota’s economic sovereignty.  The claim would be that the energy regulations in Minnesota unfairly discriminate against North Dakota’s energy products.

Minnesota, on the other hand, would defend its energy goals as a legitimate exercise of its own state sovereignty and a necessary response to the climate crisis.

The outcome of any legal battle that may take place will have far-reaching implications for Minnesota and North Dakota as well as for other states across the country that have clean energy initiatives.

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North Dakota plans to sue Minnesota over its clean energy goals. What comes next?

Photo, posted June 8, 2019, courtesy of Tony Webster via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Enhanced Geothermal Energy | Earth Wise

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Steam produced by underground heat is an excellent source of clean energy.  In a few fortunate places around the world – notably Iceland and New Zealand – people have been using this source of power for more than a century.   In the U.S., a few places in the West have access to geothermal energy, and thus it provides roughly half-a-percent of the total U.S. power supply.

There is no shortage of underground heat but tapping into it is not so easy.  Enhanced geothermal energy refers to drilling down to where the rock is hot and injecting water to be heated and thereby provide steam that is then used to generate electricity.  According to the Department of Energy, there is enough energy in the rocks below the surface of the US to power the entire country five times over.

Recently, in northern Nevada, a company called Fervo Energy successfully operated an enhanced geothermal system called Project Red that generated 3.5 megawatts of clean electricity, the largest enhanced geothermal plant ever demonstrated.

There are now multiple start-up companies pursuing enhanced geothermal energy and the reason is somewhat ironic.  Much of the research and development needed for new geothermal technologies has already been done by the oil and gas industry for their own purposes  – notably fracking.  Those industries have gotten extremely skilled at drilling into rock and such skills are what are needed for enhanced geothermal technology.

Enhanced geothermal faces some of the same challenges as drilling for gas, such as intensive water use and potential triggering of earthquakes.  There are also issues related to permitting.  But the urgent need for more sources of clean energy has made enhanced geothermal energy a potentially very valuable addition to our energy portfolio.

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Enhanced Geothermal Could Be A Missing Piece Of America’s Climate Puzzle

Photo, posted October 12, 2022, courtesy of David Stanley via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Biosurfactants And Oil Spills | Earth Wise

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About 400 million gallons of oil leaks into the ocean every year.  This is a major source of environmental pollution.  Oil contains many hazardous compounds that are toxic or mutagenic for marine organisms. 

When oil spill incidents occur, large quantities of chemical dispersants, sometimes as much as millions of gallons, are applied to dissolve oil slicks, prevent oil from reaching coastlines, and enhance the dispersion of the oil in the water.  The hope for doing this is that microbial oil degradation will be enhanced as a result.  Certain microorganisms present in the water can feed on crude oil components and break them down into harmless substances.

A study at the University of Stuttgart in Germany in 2015 showed that chemical dispersants in fact can slow down microbial oil degradation and therefore inhibit water purification.  The oil components need to be broken down sufficiently for them to be bioavailable to microorganisms.  The study found that dispersants were not accomplishing this.

A new study by the same group along with researchers from the University of Tubingen in Germany and the University of Georgia has found that using biosurfactants rather than chemical dispersants stimulates different microbial oil degraders with respect to their growth and activity and can enhance our ability to deal with oil spills.   Treating the water with the biosurfactant rhamnolipid rather than any of the generally-used dispersants provided much higher rates of microbial breakdown of oil components.

The hope is that this work can lead to the development of effective and environmentally friendly approaches to combatting oil spills.

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Biosurfactants might offer an environmentally friendly solution for tackling oil spills

Photo, posted June 11, 2010, courtesy of Deepwater Horizon Response via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Big Oil And Big Lithium | Earth Wise

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The world’s big oil companies have worked pretty hard to prolong society’s dependence on petroleum.  When there are trillions of dollars at stake, there is plenty of motivation.  But those companies do see the writing on the wall.

An Exxon Mobil-funded study last year estimated that light-duty vehicle demand for combustion engine fuels could peak in 2025 and that electric vehicles of various types could grow to more than 50% of new car sales by 2050.  This is pretty pessimistic compared with most other surveys, but it is still a big number.  Exxon also projected that the global fleet of EVs could reach 420 million by 2040.

As a result of all this, Exxon is preparing for a future far less dependent on gasoline by drilling for lithium rather than oil.  The company recently purchased mining rights to a sizable chunk of Arkansas land for over $100 million from which it aims to produce lithium for electric car batteries.

Exxon’s consultants estimated that the 120,000 acres in the Smackover formation of southern Arkansas could have as much as 4 million tons of lithium carbonate, enough to power 50 million cars and trucks. 

Exxon plans to spend $17 billion through 2027 on cutting carbon emissions and developing low carbon technologies.  Other large oil producers have also been looking at the lithium business.  At the same time, some large oil companies like BP and Shell are investing in renewable energy.

The prospect of EVs dominating transportation in the coming decades is a strong incentive for oil-and-gas companies to adapt their businesses to the new world.

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Exxon Joins Hunt for Lithium in Bet on EV Boom

Photo, posted August 16, 2014, courtesy of Mike Mozart via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Abandoned Oil Wells In The Gulf Of Mexico | Earth Wise

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There have been offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico for 85 years.  After all those decades of drilling, there are now more than 14,000 old, unplugged wells out in the water, and they are at risk of springing dangerous leaks and spills.  There are now more unplugged, non-producing wells than active wells in the gulf.   According to a new study, plugging all those abandoned wells could cost more than $30 billion.

Most of these wells are in federal waters and nearly 90% of them were owned at some point by one of the so-called supermajor oil companies:  BP, Shell, Chevron, and Exxon.  Under federal law, those companies would still be responsible for cleanup costs, even if they might have sold the wells in the past.

Oil and gas companies are legally responsible for plugging wells that are no longer in service, but such companies often go bankrupt, leaving wells orphaned and unplugged and taxpayers end up footing the bill.  The 2021 trillion-dollar infrastructure bill sets aside $4.7 billion to plug orphaned wells, but that is nowhere near enough.  

It may be possible to go after the supermajors to get them to pay for plugging wells in federal waters, but it will undoubtedly be a battle.   In state waters, whose wells are generally in shallower locations, it is even more urgent to act because any pollution from the wells is more likely to reach shore and wreak environmental havoc.

As the world starts to transition away from fossil fuels, decades of mining and drilling in almost every corner of the world, including the oceans, has left behind the need for an immense plugging and cleanup effort.

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Price to Plug Old Wells in Gulf of Mexico? $30 Billion, Study Says

Photo, posted July 8, 2010, courtesy of John Masson / Coast Guard via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Electric Cars Getting Cheaper | Earth Wise

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A sticking point for buying electric cars has always been that they are typically more expensive than equivalent gasoline-powered cars.  But increasing competition, government incentives, and falling prices for lithium and other battery materials is changing the equation.  In fact, the tipping point when electric cars are as cheap or even cheaper than internal combustion cars is likely to happen this year for many cars and, in fact, has already happened for some.

Battery production is ramping up for Tesla, General Motors, Ford, and others, creating cost savings from mass production. Companies manufacturing batteries in the United States are receiving government subsidies as part of a drive to establish a domestic supply chain and reduce dependence on China.  Before anyone cries foul, it should be noted that globally, oil companies received a trillion dollars in subsidies last year.  The Inflation Reduction Act is making it cheaper for automakers to build electric cars (provided they do it in the United States using US materials) and cheaper for consumers to buy them because of tax credits.

Multiple companies have lowered the price of their electric vehicles in recent months, including both the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, which are the best-selling electric cars in the United States. GM’s electric Equinox crossover will start at about $30,000, which is still about $3,400 more than the gas-powered version.  But once the electric vehicle tax credit is figured in, it will actually be cheaper.

Electric cars are already cheaper to own and operate because of the much lower cost of powering with electricity instead of gas as well as the greatly reduced maintenance costs for the vehicles.  Once the purchase price of these cars is less than that of gas-powered cars, the economics becomes a no-brainer.

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Electric Vehicles Could Match Gasoline Cars on Price This Year

Photo, posted May 11, 2021, courtesy of Chris Yarzab via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Mining Metals From Water | Earth Wise

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Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington are working with industry to develop a method of extracting valuable materials from various sources of water.  The technique is the 21st-century equivalent of panning for gold in rivers and streams.

The patent-pending technology makes use of magnetic nanoparticles that are surrounded by an absorbent shell that latches on to specific materials of interest that are found in certain water sources.  These sources could include water in geothermal power plants (known as geothermal brines), water pulled from the subsurface during oil or gas production, or possibly effluents from desalination plants.  Extracting valuable materials from geothermal brines could greatly enhance the economics of geothermal power plants.

The initial focus of the development is on lithium, which is an essential element in many high-technology applications, especially in the batteries that power cell phones, computers, and electric cars.  The global market for lithium is projected to reach over $8 billion a year by 2028 and very little of it is currently produced in the United States.

The tiny particles are added to the water and any lithium is drawn out of the water and is bound to them.  Using magnets, the nanoparticles can be readily collected.  Once the particles are no longer suspended in liquid, the lithium can easily be extracted, and the nanoparticles can be reused.

PNNL is developing the technology in partnership with a company called Moselle Technology as well as with other commercial partners.  This new technology offers the promise of extracting critical materials in a quick, cost-effective manner.

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Tri-Cities Scientists “Magically” Mining Metals From Water

Photo, posted June 4, 2012, courtesy of Tom Shockey via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Fuel From Coffee Grounds | Earth Wise

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The world drinks a lot of coffee.  Americans alone consume 400 million cups a day.  Each cup of coffee results in about half an ounce of coffee grounds.  Adding that up, this country produces over 6,000 tons of coffee grounds each day.  While coffee grounds are not particularly harmful, that is an awful lot of waste that mostly ends up in landfills or is incinerated.

Researchers at Aston University in the UK have developed a method of producing high-quality biodiesel fuel from coffee grounds.  Their study was published in the journal Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews.

The technique consists of growing a particular species of microalgae (Chlorella vulgaris) directly on spent coffee grounds.  The coffee grounds provide both the nutrients for the microalgae and a structure upon which it can grow.   Exposing the algae to light for 20 hours a day and dark for just four hours a day produced the best quality biodiesel.

Microalgae is well-known as a feedstock for biodiesel production.  Previously, it has been grown on materials like polyurethane foam or nylon which don’t provide any nutrients.   Using the coffee grounds as the substrate for growth means that no external nutrients are needed.

The resultant enhanced biodiesel produces minimal emissions and good engine performance and meets both US and European specifications.  This feedstock for producing biodiesel is ideal since it doesn’t require any competition with food crops and instead makes use of a widely available waste product.  The hope is that it may reduce the cutting down of palm trees to extract oil for biofuel.  In southeast Asia, this has been a major source of deforestation and increased greenhouse gas emissions.

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Aston University researchers ‘feed’ leftover coffee grounds to microalgae to produce low emission biodiesel

Photo, posted October 13, 2007, courtesy of David Joyce via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Renewable Energy Booming in India | Earth Wise

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India is the country with the second largest population in the world – over 1.4 billion people – second only to China – and will undoubtedly pass China soon based on population trends in the two countries.   India is the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide, after China and the U.S.  With its rapidly growing population and an economy heavily dependent on coal and oil, emissions in India are on a steep upward trajectory.  Currently, fossil fuels account for about 60% of India’s installed energy capacity.  It is essential that actions are taken to curb its rapid increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

To that end, India’s renewables sector is booming.  The country is projected to add 35 to 40 gigawatts of renewable energy each year until 2030.  That’s enough energy to power up 30 million more homes each year.  The country has established a target of producing 50% of its electricity from non-fossil fuel sources by the end of this decade.

 India is expected to reach over 400 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030

according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis and Climate Energy Finance.  The Indian government’s own projections estimate that the country will reach 500 gigawatts of renewable capacity in that timeframe.

As is the case with China, a country with an enormous population undergoing major economic growth and modernization has vast energy needs.  While it is imperative for the entire world that India puts a cap on its growing greenhouse gas emissions, it is a difficult challenge for an energy-hungry country.

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Renewable energy booms in India

Photo, posted November 14, 2011, courtesy of Amaury Laporte via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The Clean Energy Transition Is Accelerating | Earth Wise

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The world’s economies including its energy markets have been in turmoil in recent times but despite the chaotic conditions, the shift to clean energy is gaining momentum.  This year, for the first time, the world is investing more in wind and solar power than in oil and gas drilling.  Investments in renewables are expected to reach $494 billion this year, more than the $446 billion directed towards oil and gas extraction.  It is rather sobering to realize that the world is still spending nearly half a trillion dollars a year to dig up more oil and gas.

According to the International Energy Agency, there will be an estimated 340 gigawatts of new renewable power capacity installed in 2022.  This is roughly equal to the total installed power capacity of Japan, which has the world’s third-largest economy.  This year is also seeing tremendous growth in electric cars, which are projected to make up 13% of all light-duty vehicle sales across the globe.

According to analysis by Bloomberg Green, 87 countries are now getting at least 5% of their power from wind and solar.  This number is considered to be a critical tipping point at which emerging technologies become more widely adopted.  The United States reached that 5% threshold in 2011.  Last year, our country surpassed 20% solar and wind power.  If we follow trends set by pioneering countries like Denmark, Ireland, and others, wind and solar will supply at least half of our power within the next decade.

Despite the turbulence in global energy markets, the shift to clean power is ongoing.  Estimates are that global spending on renewables will double over the next 10 years. 

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Despite Turmoil in Energy Markets, the Shift to Clean Energy Is Gaining Steam

Photo, posted June 12, 2013, courtesy of Activ Solar via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Sinking Cities | Earth Wise

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Sea levels across the globe are rising as a result of the changing climate.  Two factors are largely responsible: the melting of ice sheets in the polar regions and the fact that as the oceans get warmer, the water in them expands.  

Estimates are that by 2050, there will be over 800 million people living in 570 cities that will be at risk from rising sea levels.   The rising waters can drown neighborhoods, put people’s lives at risk, and wreck entire economies.  Unless global emissions can be reduced sufficiently, sea levels will continue to rise.

A new study, published in the journal Nature Sustainability by Nanyang Technical University in Singapore in collaboration with the University of New Mexico, ETH Zurich, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, has focused on yet another aspect of the threat to coastal cities.  They have found that many densely populated coastal cities worldwide are even more vulnerable to sea level rise because much of their land is sinking. 

The researchers processed satellite images of 48 cities from 2014 to 2020 using a system called Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar.  They found that land subsidence varied on a neighborhood and even individual block level but across all the cities studied, there was a median sinking speed of 6/10” a year.  Some places had land that is sinking at 1.7” per year.  Meanwhile, the global mean sea-level rise is about .15” per year.

The increasing prevalence of industrial processes such as the extraction of groundwater, and oil and gas, along with the rapid construction of buildings and other urban infrastructure are leading to the sinking of the urban areas. 

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Rapid land sinking leaves global cities vulnerable to rising seas

Photo, posted October 24, 2015, courtesy of Jeffrey via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Low Fares Clean German Air | Earth Wise

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Germany’s parliament set summer public transport fares at 9 euros a month as a way to slash pollution and reduce imports of Russian oil.   The low price included all buses, trams, subways, and regional trains, effectively lowering prices by more than 90% in some cities.  Berliners saved 98 euros on their monthly travel pass; commuters in Hamburg saved even more.

The program began June 1 and ended August 31.  The bargain rates drove widespread use of public transport and discouraged the use of cars, which already was undesirable due to high gasoline prices.   Over the three-month period, transit authorities sold over 50 million subsidized tickets.  One out of five travelers were using public transport for the first time, according to surveys.

According to an estimate from the Association of German Transport Companies, the program helped to avoid 1.8 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.  This is roughly equivalent to taking 1.5 million cars off the road for the summer or planting 30 million trees.

The discount transit program had a clearly positive effect on the climate and, obviously, was a source of financial relief for German citizens.  Last year, Germany was the largest buyer of Russian oil in Europe and it wanted to make drastic reductions in its purchases.  The success of the program prompted many to ask for it to be continued.  However, the program cost the government about 2.5 billion euros in reimbursements to transit companies.  The German government has said it would not be extended.

Nonetheless, German policymakers are weighing other proposals for low-cost public transit.  Clearly encouraging people to use public transit pays dividends.

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Germany’s Cheap Summer Train Fares Prevented 1.8 Million Tons of Carbon Pollution

Photo, posted June 6, 2022, courtesy of 7C0 via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A Miracle Tree | Earth Wise

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The world needs to be fed without destroying the environment.   We need to grow more trees to store more carbon on earth and reduce the amount in the atmosphere.  But meanwhile, we decimate rainforests to produce palm oil and grow soybeans.

A startup company in California called Terviva thinks they have a solution.  It’s called pongamia, which is an ordinary looking tropical tree.  It produces beans packed with protein and oil, much like soybeans.  However, it has the potential to produce much more nutrition per acre than soybeans and it is hardy enough to grow on pretty much any kind of land without the use of pesticides, fertilizers, or irrigation.  In short, it is a miracle crop for a hot and hungry planet that is running out of fertile farmland and fresh water.

Pongamia is not a new or rare tree.  It is common in India but grows all over the world.  It is often planted as an ornamental here in the U.S.

The initial idea for making use of the hardy tree was to use its oil as a biofuel.  The seeds of pongamia are known to have a bitter taste and disagreeable odor, which is why the seeds or oil were never used for human or animal feed.  However, Terviva has developed a way to de-bitter pongamia oil.  Once this is done, it becomes a golden-colored substitute for olive oil. It also has enormous potential as a protein for plant-based milks and meats, since it contains all nine essential amino acids.

Terviva has raised more than $100 million to further develop pongamia and is now partnering with Danone, a $25 billion multinational food company, to develop pongamia as a climate-friendly, climate-resilient, non-GMO alternative to soy and palm oil.

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This super-tree could help feed the world and fight climate change

Photo, posted December 15, 2015, courtesy of Lauren Gutierrez via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A Law To Tackle Climate Change | Earth Wise

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The Inflation Reduction Act signed into law in mid-August is the most comprehensive U.S. legislation addressing climate change ever enacted.   It contains $369 billion in funding for clean energy and electric vehicle tax breaks, domestic manufacturing of batteries and solar panels, and pollution reduction.

The legislation for the most part makes use of carrots rather than sticks to coax American consumers and industry away from reliance on fossil fuels.  Rather than establishing more carbon taxes, mandates, and penalties, the law largely makes use of tax credits to provide incentives for the use of clean energy.

The law provides a large mix of tax breaks intended to bring down the costs of solar, wind, batteries, electric cars, heat pumps, and other clean technology.  For example, consumers will get a $7,500 credit for purchasing many new electric car models and about $4,000 for buying a used vehicle.

On the stick side of the ledger, oil and gas companies that emit methane above certain threshold levels will incur fees that escalate over time.  The law also increases the cost to the oil industry for extracting fossil fuels from public lands.

The act provides $60 billion for overall environmental justice priorities, including $15 billion targeted specifically for low-income and disadvantaged communities. There are many other provisions in the law addressing multiple climate-related issues.

According to three separate analyses by economic modelers, the investments from the Inflation Reduction Act are likely to cut pollution by about 40% below 2005 levels by the year 2030.

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The US finally has a law to tackle climate change

Photo, posted December 15, 2021, courtesy of Mario Duran-Ortiz via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

A Better Way To Recycle Plastic | Earth Wise

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The current state of plastic recycling is not very effective.  Plastic recycling is only able to replace 15-20% of the fossil-fuel-derived raw material needed to produce society’s demand for plastic.

Researchers at Chalmers University in Sweden have now demonstrated how the carbon content in mixed waste could be used to replace all of the fossil raw materials in the production of new plastic.  In principle, their technology could completely eliminate the climate impact of plastic materials.

According to the researchers, there are enough carbon atoms in waste to meet the needs of all global plastic production.

The Chalmers process is based on thermochemical technology and involves heating waste to 1100-1500 degrees Fahrenheit.  The waste is thereby vaporized and when hydrogen is added, becomes a carbon-based substance that can replace the fossil-fuel building blocks of plastic.  The method does not require sorting the waste materials.  Different types of waste, such as old plastic products and even paper cups, with or without food residues, can be fed into the recycling reactors.  The researchers are now developing the techniques required to utilize their recycling technology in the same factories in which plastic products are currently being made from fossil oil or gas.

The principle of the process is inspired by the natural carbon cycle in which plants break down into carbon dioxide when they wither and die, and then photosynthesis uses carbon dioxide and solar energy to grow new plants.

Producing new plastics would no longer require petroleum or other fossil fuels as raw materials.  If the energy needed to drive the recycling reactors is taken from renewable sources, plastics could become the basis of a sustainable and circular economy.

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Pioneering recycling turns mixed waste into premium plastics with no climate impact

Photo, posted August 10, 2013, courtesy of Lisa Risager via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Methane Leaks Are Worse Than We Thought | Earth Wise

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Methane leaking from oil and gas wells is a real problem for the environment because methane is far more potent at trapping heat than carbon dioxide.   The EPA has estimated that about 1.4% of the methane produced by wells nationally leaks into the atmosphere.   However, environmental experts and energy industry engineers have been concerned that leaks from mines, wells, refineries, storage facilities, and pipelines are vastly underreported.  But until recently, there really wasn’t a good way to find out.

Researchers at Stanford University have developed a technique based on the use of hyperspectral cameras mounted to airplanes.  The cameras measure sunlight reflected off of chemicals in the air that are invisible to the human eye.  Each chemical, including methane, has a unique fingerprint.  Using these sensors, methane is easy to spot and the technique can measure the output of individual wells.

The researchers performed a study of almost every oil and gas asset in the New Mexico Permian Basin, one of the largest and highest-producing oil and gas regions in the world.  They surveyed the sites for an entire year.  They estimate that more than 9% of all methane produced in the region is being leaked into the skies, far more than EPA estimates.

The positive outcome of the survey is that the researchers found that fewer than 4% of the 26,000 sites studied produced half of all the methane emissions observed.  Being able to identify the so-called super-emitter sites and dealing with them could lead to a major improvement in the situation.

The new technique is more accurate, faster, and more cost-effective than current ways to monitor emissions.

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Stanford-led study: Methane leaks are far worse than estimates, at least in New Mexico, but there’s hope

Photo, posted July 10, 2016, courtesy of Ken Lund via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

New York Bight Offshore Wind | Earth Wise

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Late in February, the U.S. completed the most successful offshore wind lease auction in history.  The auction for rights to develop offshore wind in the New York Bight brought in a record $4.37 billion from the companies bidding for them.

The New York Bight is an area of ocean off the coasts of New York and New Jersey that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has divided into six lease areas for offshore wind development.  It covers a total of 480,000 acres.  The more than $4 billion secured in the auction is more than three times the revenue received from all U.S. offshore oil and gas lease auctions over the past five years.

Five out of the six winning bids have European connections in the form of various partnerships.  Europe has a far more advanced offshore wind market than the U.S. with a total of 25 GW of installations as of 2020.  Winning bidders included participation by RWE from Germany, British-owned National Grid, and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, among others.  Chicago-based Invenergy was the only American company without a European partner to have a winning bid.

The expected installed capacity for the 6 leased areas in the New York Bight is expected to be between 5.6 and 7 GW, enough to power 2 million homes.  The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said capacity could be even higher.

The successful action has set the tone and expectations for auctions to come.  BOEM has six more offshore wind auctions planned over the next three years.  Forthcoming auctions are for areas of the Carolinas, Northern and Central California, the Gulf of Mexico, the Central Atlantic, Oregon, and the Gulf of Maine.

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New York Bight: 5 takeaways from the record-breaking offshore wind auction

Photo, posted August 13, 2013, courtesy of Larry via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Turning Pollution Into Cash | Earth Wise     

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Power plants and other industrial facilities are a major source of carbon emissions.  There are a variety of techniques under development to prevent those emissions by capturing them rather than releasing them into the atmosphere.  All of them add costs to the functioning of the facility.  A good way to offset those costs is to convert the emissions into useful products, ideally making it profitable to capture emissions.

Engineers at the University of Cincinnati have developed an electrochemical system that converts carbon dioxide into ethylene, which is a chemical used in a wide range of manufacturing.  Ethylene has sometimes been called “the world’s most important chemical”.  It is used in many kinds of plastics, textiles, and the rubber found in tires and insulation. It is also used in heavy industry such as steel and cement plants as well as in the oil and gas industry.

The Cincinnati process is a two-stage cascade reaction that converts carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide and then into ethylene.  It is based on the underlying principle of the plug-flow reactor that is used for variety of production applications.  The study, published in the journal Nature Catalysis, demonstrates that the process has high ethylene selectivity – meaning that it effectively isolates the desired compound – as well as high productivity – meaning that it makes a lot of it.  The system will take more time to become truly economical, but the researchers are continuing to make progress on that front with improved catalysts.

The researchers believe that this technique can reduce carbon emissions and make a profit doing it.  Power plants and other facilities emit a lot of carbon dioxide.  With this process, it may be possible to capture it and produce a valuable chemical.

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Conversion process turns pollution into cash

Photo, posted February 27, 2018, courtesy of Cyprien Hauser via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

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