nanoparticles Archives – The Green Optimistic

Researchers Find Alternative Way to Clean Oil Sands Wastewater

Annika Tostengard — Sat, 05 Dec 2015 07:44:08 +0000

Contaminants in wastewater left after drilling in Canadian oil sands can remain in the environment for years. It is an environmental pollutant and can also be harmful to human health. However, researchers at the University of Waterloo have come up with an alternative way to clean water left after drilling operations, and it is both […]

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Superconducting Ink Boosts Efficiency of Solar Water Heaters

Mila Luleva — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 17:38:05 +0000

Mexican researchers developed a superconducting ink, containing nano particles, which can boost the efficiency of solar water heaters by as much as seventy percent. Solar water heaters are one of these great inventions that often serve more than one incredible purpose. Using the energy of the sun, this technology not only provides free hot water, […]

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Move Over Giant Hard Drives, Scientists Store 1TB of Data in a Spoon of Liquid

Mila Luleva — Fri, 25 Jul 2014 12:42:45 +0000

Advances in the field of nanotechnology have managed to completely transform our portable electronic gadgets from what they used to be. The most fascinating part is, the new and improved technologies, are not only better, but also cooler. After all, who wouldn’t want to be able to store the entire content of their laptop, in a […]

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Light and Nanoparticles Help Split Water into Hydrogen and Oxygen

Danny Harper — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 19:33:00 +0000

The recent discovery of a catalyst allowing for the creation of hydrogen from sunlight has led to what scientists say could be a realistic path to a clean and renewable source of energy. A team of researchers at the University of Houston, attempting to split water using light (an ongoing task since the 1970’s), made the breakthrough by using […]

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Plasmons Make Liquid Solar Cells More Efficient And Affordable

Mila Luleva — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:31:22 +0000

A new generation liquid solar cells are being developed at SUFY Buffalo. Although the new technology is expected to have lower efficiency than conventional silicon or cadmium solar cells, the new solar cells will be much cheaper to produce and can cover much larger surfaces. The new liquid solar cells, made of metal nanoparticles, are […]

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Nanoparticles Covert Solar Energy into Steam at Rice University

Mila Luleva — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 13:38:30 +0000

Scientists at Rice University Laboratory for Nanophotonics (LANP) have discovered an effective way to use nanoparticles to convert solar energy into steam. ACS Nano published an article on the revolutionary technology that reveals the 24% overall energy efficiency. Surprisingly, however, the team is hoping to use the solar steam invention not for electricity generation, but […]

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Blend Aluminum Nanoparticles and Biodiesel to Get Fewer Emissions, Study Says

Ovidiu Sandru — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 18:38:40 +0000

A study performed at the National Institute of Technology in Tiruchirappalli, India has revealed that aluminum nanoparticles inserted in biofuels could enhance their burning properties. That would drastically reduce the emissions of nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide, also creating less smoke.

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Scientists Develop a Quantum-Dot Process to Split Water and Generate Hydrogen

Cristi — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:16:57 +0000

Fuel cells can be used in various applications such as spacecraft, remote weather stations, large parks, rural locations, military applications and automotive industry. Fuel cells have hydrogen as the base element for their power.

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Thermochemical System Combines Production of Ethanol and Thermal Energy

Cristi — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:24:53 +0000

Iowa State University started a new project of developing a thermochemical system that combines production of ethanol and thermal energy. With a low-emission burner and a new catalyst for ethanol production, the technologies use synthesis gas produced from discarded seed corn, switch-grass, wood chips and other biomass.

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Scientist Develops Way to Transform CO2 into Methane

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:55:44 +0000

Pennsylvania State University researchers found out a way to transform the messy CO2 from the atmosphere into burnable gas, with the help of the Sun. They made use of nanotechnology for this matter, and their results showed a 20 times yield, compared to other findings.

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NiFe Nanoparticles Raise Electrolysis Hydrogen Production by 300%

Ovidiu Sandru — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 11:11:24 +0000

A company, named QuantumSphere, has designed a metal coating system made for electrolyzers, made out of nanoparticles of NiFe (Fero-Nickel, or in plain english, a combination between iron and nickel). This coating would cover the electrolyzers' anode and cathode and increase the actual contact surface with water by over 1000 times!

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Hydrogen Cheaper Than Gasoline: Thanks To Nanoparticles

Ovidiu Sandru — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 09:43:32 +0000

QuantumSphere Inc. says it has perfected the manufacture of highly reactive catalytic nanoparticle coatings that could up the efficiency of electrolysis, the technique that generates hydrogen from water. Moreover, the coatings could also eliminate the need for expensive metals like platinum in hydrogen fuel cells. The coatings can be used to retrofit existing electrolysers to […]

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