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Now, engineers at Princeton University and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology have described a new way to express energy loss in organic solar cells and have extended that description to make recommendations for engineering the best devices. This breakthrough could reimagine the conventional approach to constructing organic solar cells. Their work was published …

New insights into energy loss open doors for one up-and-coming solar tech Read More »

A Sustainable Nitrogen Source The production of nitrogen for fertilizer is an energy-intensive process and accounts for nearly 2% of global carbon dioxide emissions. In the last several years researchers have explored alternatives to the Haber-Bosch nitrogen production process, which has been the standard for more than a century. One promising possibility, recently raised by …

Turning wastewater into fertilizer is feasible and could help to make agriculture more sustainable Read More »

Plastic pollution has been identified as an environmental problem similar in scope and complexity as global challenges like climate change. The QUT research team, from chemistry and law, have published their multi-pronged approach in Polymer Chemistry. The researchers are Dr Hope Johnson, Dr Lewis Chambers, Dr Joshua Holloway, Annastasia Bousgas, Professor Afshin Akhtar-Khavari, Associate Professor …

Tackling plastic pollution with a net of law and chemical coding Read More »

This is according to new Imperial College London research that modelled likely future cliff retreat rates of two rock coasts in the UK. The forecasts are based on predictions of sea level rise for various greenhouse gas emissions and climate change scenarios. The study found that rock coasts, traditionally thought of as stable compared to …

Sea level rise to dramatically speed up erosion of rock coastlines by 2100 Read More »

The research, led by Prof. PAN Ding, looked into the dissolution of CO2 in water, which has significant implications on ways to reduce the return of carbon from underground to the atmosphere. The vast majority of the Earth’s carbon is buried in its interior. That deep carbon influences the form and concentration of carbon near …

Unlocking deep carbon’s fate Read More »

A new study led by scientists at UC Santa Cruz outlines a framework for addressing the impacts of offshore wind farms on marine bird populations and highlights conservation strategies that could potentially more than offset those impacts. “We all want wind energy, but we also want to make sure it can be sustainably produced,” said …

Offshore wind farms may harm seabirds, but scientists see potential for net positive impact Read More »

Sea ice forms in the polar regions because it gets so cold in winter. However, cold water is heavier than warm water, so the chilled water should sink and not remain on the surface. This sinking should bring the warmer water back to the surface preventing ice to form in the oceans. Researchers from the …

Salt more important than cold polar temps in sea ice formation Read More »

The Newcastle University research suggests that sensory deterrents can work in some circumstances and may be part of the solution to reduce bycatch. Sensory deterrents are designed to provide sensory cues for marine megafauna (marine mammals, seabirds, sea turtles, sharks and rays) to avert their contact with fishing gear, whilst maintaining target catch quantity and …

Reducing bycatch with sensory deterrents Read More »

Mercury pollution of soil and water is a worldwide threat to public health. This new work suggests Metarhizium could provide an inexpensive and efficient way to protect crops grown in polluted areas and remediate mercury-laden waterways. The study, which was conducted by UMD professor of entomology Raymond St. Leger and researchers in the laboratory of …

How a common fungus eliminates toxic mercury from soil and water Read More »