petrochemical

California has aggressively pursued the use of renewable energy, particularly solar and wind power. Last year, renewables supplied 54% of the state’s electricity needs. This year, California has been achieving some remarkable milestones with its renewable energy.

As of May 26th, California had produced more than 100% of its electricity demand with wind, solar, and hydropower for parts of 51 straight days and 75 out of 81 days. On May 25th, California’s grid ran entirely on renewable energy for 10.1 straight hours and renewables provided 83% of the state’s electricity for the entire 24-hour period. California uses more electricity than any other state apart than Texas, which uses more than half its energy for operating refineries and petrochemical plants.

Excess power in California is either exported to other states or is used to charge up the state’s growing arrays of energy storage batteries. California has the largest grid-connected battery storage facility in the world, located in Kern County. The facility can store nearly 3,300 megawatt-hours of energy.

The ability to produce more power than the state needs occurs during the day when the sun is shining, and when many people are not at home. At night, demand goes up and solar power is not available. But as the quantity of energy storage available continues to grow along with additional solar installations, California will ultimately be able to wean off of the gas-fueled power plants it predominantly uses at night.

According to some experts, California may operate entirely on renewables and battery storage as soon as 2035.

**********

Web Links

California exceeds 100% of energy demand with renewables over a record 30 days

Photo, posted January 11, 2016, courtesy of Jared Eberhardt via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Plastic pollution is particularly pernicious because plastics can take hundreds of years to degrade in the environment. For this reason, researchers across the globe search for ways to shift from petrochemical plastics to ones that are biodegradable.

Producing biodegradable plastics is challenging both from the standpoint of the methods needed and from the results obtained. Producing them often requires toxic chemicals and can be very expensive. The materials that emerge often do not have the durability and strength of conventional plastics and can be unstable when exposed to moisture.

Researchers at the Yale School of the Environment have developed a process of decomposing the porous matrix of natural wood into a slurry that can be formed into a biodegradable plastic. The material shows high mechanical strength, stability when holding liquids, and is resistant to the effects of ultraviolet light. Along with all these favorable properties, the material can be recycled or safely biodegraded in the natural environment.

The slurry mixture is created by taking wood powder – a processing residue usually discarded in lumber mills – and deconstructing it with a biodegradable and recyclable solvent. The resulting mixture has a high solid content and high viscosity and can be casted and rolled without breaking.

The researchers conducted a comprehensive life cycle assessment to test the environmental impacts of the bioplastic compared with conventional plastics. Sheets of it were buried in soil and observed to fracture after two weeks and completely degrade after three months. The material can also be broken back down into the slurry by mechanical stirring.

The remaining topic to investigate is the potential impact on forests if the manufacturing of this bioplastic is scaled up.

**********

Web Links

Turning wood into plastic

Photo, posted October 12, 2016, courtesy of the US Forest Service via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

California renewable energy

California has aggressively pursued the use of renewable energy, particularly solar and wind power. Last year, renewables supplied 54% of the state’s electricity needs. This year, California has been achieving some remarkable milestones with its renewable energy.

Web Links

Turning Wood Into Plastic | Earth Wise

Plastic pollution is particularly pernicious because plastics can take hundreds of years to degrade in the environment. For this reason, researchers across the globe search for ways to shift from petrochemical plastics to ones that are biodegradable.

Web Links