Author Archive

Maggie Puniewska

Maggie Puniewska is a freelance writer based out of the greater Chicago area. She has a B.A. in communications from University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. In addition to Please Conserve, she currently writes for the buzz, an entertainment magazine on campus. She has written and published on a wide range of subjects and her specialty for Please Conserve is conservation and environmental topics.

Switch to grass – In a recent study at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, researchers have been looking at switch grass as a potential source for biofuel production. The 5 year study determined that switch grass yields 540 percent more energy than is needed to grow it. This discovery not only indentifies the grass as an energy efficient alternative to fossil fuels, it also can be used as a means to enhance rural economies and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
http://ianrnews.unl.edu/static/0801070.shtml
http://www.biofuelreview.com/content/view/1399/

More, more, more – Many companies are moving toward the idea of using ethanol from crops as an alternative fuel. But the amount of ethanol produced by the crops is not as efficient as it could be. Until now. Researchers at the University of Georgia are looking into a new method that would increase the yield of ethanol produced by as much as 10%. The process involved pre-treating non-food crops such as switchgrass and Bermuda grass with an eco-friendly wash to increase sugar production. The sugar is then converted into ethanol. An increased yield has many benefits including more biofuel availability as well as reduced costs and carbon emissions in comparison to contemporary fuels such as petroleum and coal.

http://www.uga.edu/news/artman/publish/080728_biomass.shtml

Trash to treasure – Researchers at the University of California-Berkeley have found a way to convert an unwanted by-product of biodiesel to a usable form. The procedure uses formic acid to change glycerol from biofuel waste to allyl alcohol, which is used as a starting material in many products made from petroleum. This solution could decrease our dependence on petroleum, creating an alternative method of producing petroleum based products such as polymers, organic compounds, pesticides, etc.

http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2009/06/11/replacing-petros-with-biomass/

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090616144533.htm

Heavy metal – Plants have long been used to clean up contaminated soil. But the process is long and takes many successive crops before the soil is actually clean. Scientists in Ireland have found a way to speed up the process-bacteria. They are studying methods that add heavy metal tolerant bacteria to oilseed rape, the crop being studied because it is widely used for biofuel production in Ireland. Scientists have seen increased growth of the crop after adding the bacteria, meaning more crop production, which results in a greater biofuel yield. Researchers plan to extend the study to test different biofuel crops as well as different bacteria.

http://www.tcd.ie/civileng/research/environmental/energy.php

Out of thin air – Well, the air may not be as thin as we think. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart, Germany, are working on a way to capture drinking water from air humidity. The process involves using a hygroscopic brine which is a saline solution that absorbs water. The water is then sucked into a tank by a vacuum, where it is boiled using the energy from solar panels. The water that evaporates from the boil is does not contain salt and it is condensed into a separate tube. Researchers state that is technique can be implemented on a variety of scales-from use in homes to large corporations.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090605091856.htm

High as a kite -New technology is all about flying high. Researchers at the Carnegie Institution and California State are looking into using kites and high altitude wind power as an alternative energy source. The technique proposes the use of kite-like turbines that would be flown to the altitude of the jet stream and transmit the energy via a tether. Up to 40 megawatts of energy could b produced using this method. If enough kites were flown out, the power generated could meet the world demand for energy 100 times.
http://www.skywindpower.com/ww/index.htm
http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news/chiefeditor/2009/06/kite-turbines-could-power-cities.html

Power of Clean -Bacteria harnessed by Chinese scientist may help clean up pollution. Professor Gejiao Wang at Huazhong Agricultural University is using a strain of Brachybacterium that absorbs manganese, nickel, and zinc from solutions. All these chemicals are also found in pollution, making this deep-sea bacteria a valuable candidate to use in pollution clean-up.
http://mic.sgmjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/mic.0.024141-0v1
http://esciencenews.com/sources/science.centric/2009/06/05/bacteria.deep.can.clean.heavy.metals

Reuse and Recycle -Empty lots can now be used for more than just loitering. Michigan State University professor, Kurt Thelen, is studying potential agricultural uses for abandoned industrial lots. He proposes to use these empty spaces as growing grounds for crops such as soybeans, corn, sunflower, and canola. Not only can these plants be used for biodiesel, they can also help clean contaminated soil.

http://news.msu.edu/story/1072/

Titanium dioxide is in the air – Architects Daniel Schwaag and Allison Dring have figured out a way to ‘purify’ polluted air. The solution is called Prosolve-370 and is a series of  special tiles coated with titanium dioxide, which are placed on  homes and buildings. When exposed to UV light and humidity, the titanium neutralizes pollution.

http://updating-germany.de/projects/014-prosolve-370

Power lilies – A firm called ZM architecture has harnessed solar power in an aesthetically pleasing way. They have designed giant solar water lilies covered in solar panels. The lilies range from 15 to 45 feet in diameter and are made of recycled steel and rubber. The solar panels are motorized to track the best angle of the sun to attain maximum exposure. The city of Glasgow in Scotland has considered placing these lilies on the Clyde River. The energy from the lilies can be transferred to the city’s grid and help offset electrical bills.

http://www.zmarchitecture.co.uk/index.php?id=232