Green Technology

The rubber industry is looking for alternatives to petroleum based rubber as pricing for petroleum is going up fast.

Researchers at Ohio State University, The University of Akron, Oregon State University, Cooper and Bridgestone are looking to see if the Russian dandelion is a route to rubber. 

"... "Russian dandelion ... is being domesticated ... and produces high-quality natural rubber in its fleshy taproot. ... performance mirrors the natural rubber produced from ... Brazilian rubber tree ... "

Via: Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center (OBIC) LINK

Posted by Green Dude at 04:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Sustainability can be addressed through leveraging the strengths and capabilities of green cities and regions.  Each area has a legacy that can be repurposed to create positive impact.  …

… “Toledo, Ohio, is building on its strength in auto glass production to build thin-film solar panels. Cleveland hopes to build wind turbines that can be used on Lake Erie. The Pittsburgh and Syracuse, NY, regions are transforming building supply industries into green building suppliers. ”   …

Via Northeastern: Emerald Cities: Urban Sustainability and Economic Development.

Posted by Green Tech at 03:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

... "In this project, Ferro will engineer a vitreous frit system to provide reliable air-tight and water-tight seals for second- and third-generation thin-film solar cells. Ferro will collaborate with the Edison Welding Institute, StrateNexus Technologies, and The Ohio State University, all of Columbus, Ohio, in developing, testing and commercializing this new technology. If successful, the new sealing materials will enable Ferro to solve a significant problem with second- and third-generation thin-film solar cells. As with all solar cells, thin-film cells require a hermetic seal to operate reliably for their expected lifetimes of 20-plus years. This can be a problem because most current thin-film solar cell modules are designed to be sealed with organic sealants that typically lose their hermeticity in time, especially if exposed to sunlight containing UV radiation. " ...

Continue reading "Ferro Solar Cell Sealing Research Project" »

Posted by Green Tech at 08:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

... "Greater Cincinnati Water Works (Hamilton County) - $775,655 to install a 280 kW photovoltaic solar array rooftop system; Hull & Associates Inc, Bedford Office (Cuyahoga County) - $266,254 to install a 93 kW solar photovoltaic system at its office building in Northeast Ohio; Hull & Associates Inc, PNA Solar Project (Wood County) - $680,782 to install a 250 kW solar array project on Pilkington North America, Inc’s (PNA) Plant 21 site. " ...

Posted by Green Tech at 01:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Oberlin College's Living Machine® is a waste water treatment system that teaches students how nature purified water for years ... but is unlike most modern systems.

"Invented by Dr. John Todd, of Living Machines, Inc. ... Wastewater flows from the building into two underground reactors ... an anaerobic biological process begins digestion of the wastes.  ... wastewater flows through two closed aerobic reactors ... where the remaining organic compounds are further degraded. ...[then] ... enters the Living Machine® solarium and flows through three open aerobic reactors. ... plants such as papyrus, calla lilies and willows root into the planted aerobic reactors and assist in the treatment process."

" ... biosolids are settled out of the wastewater in a clarifier. ... then flows through a constructed wetland surrounding the open aerobic tanks for final ‘polishing.’ Ultraviolet disinfection is the final step prior to the treated wastewater being reused in the buildings’ toilets."

Posted by Green Dude at 09:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ohio State University engineers have developed a process that can use egg shells to (used of course) into Hydrogen Fuel.

How?  Read on for more ...

" ... patented process uses eggshells to soak up carbon dioxide from a reaction that produces hydrogen fuel. ... also includes a unique method for peeling the collagen-containing membrane from the inside of the shells, so that the collagen can be used commercially."

" ... L.S. Fan ... and Mahesh Iyer, hit upon the idea when they were trying to improve a method of hydrogen production...[where] ...  fossil fuels such as coal are gasified to produce carbon monoxide gas, which then combines with water to produce carbon dioxide and hydrogen."

Continue reading "Egg Shells Help Make Hydrogen Fuel" »

Posted by Green Dude at 05:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What can be accomplished in a Green Building?? 

Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio,  takes a careful look ...

>>> Their Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies is detailed below ...

"... was conceived as a demonstration project, ... designed to be a building that would teach. Lessons embodied in its technology and design choices are intended to reinforce those taught in its classrooms. ... "

"...Efforts to research the AJLC's evolution are well underway, providing ongoing opportunities to educate a variety of audiences, including Oberlin College students, regional kindergarten through high school students, other university students and faculty, architecture and design professionals, and lay audiences."

"With over 150 environmental sensors installed throughout the building and landscape, the AJLC's data monitoring and display system provides a unique opportunity to visualize in real-time the flows of energy and cycling of matter that are necessary to support the built environment. ... premise of this work is that real-time feedback on ecological performance increases awareness, ... feedback of this type may be a necessary prerequisite for facilitating a more sustainable relationship among humans, technology and the natural world."

 
Some building details ...

"Energy - Photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof ... meet a substantial fraction of the building's energy needs. Solar energy production is coupled with energy efficient lighting, heating, and appliances to minimize negative environmental impact."

"Heating, Cooling & Air Quality - ... both active and passive systems, ...provides a comfortable working environment ... Active systems use mechanical equipment to extract and move heat, while passive systems do so with a minimum of mechanical devices."

"Landscape - ... landscape features a variety of constructed ecosystems that simulate native Northern Ohio ecosystems and incorporate cultigens that produce food for humans."

"Living Machine & Water Use - ... is an ecologically engineered system that combines elements of conventional wastewater technology with the purification processes of wetland ecosystems to treat and recycle the building's wastewater for reuse in the toilets and landscape."

"Weather Conditions - A weather station ... monitoring real-time conditions and trends for a variety of environmental variables."

"

Materials - Materials ... elected to enhance its sustainability and were evaluated based on criteria that required less energy inputs, encouraged local production and distribution, and supported creative economic structures."

Via:  Oberlin.edu   Link

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