Over 8 billion people inhabit the planet, leaving significant consequences and triggering severe environmental disbalances that act like a “domino effect” – leading to grave global climate shifts unsuitable for life in general and resulting in whole ecosystem die-offs. In addition, the vigorous way we occupy and exploit our land to gather resources becomes a field of study to reduce the adverse effects of conventional technology on the natural environment and improve sustainability, automation, and energy efficiency.
Attempts to mitigate the negative impacts that humanity causes on the natural world and the global climate put severe issues, like climate change, high on many governments’ political agendas. Simultaneously with policy and governance, a new wave of emerging technologies assists humanity in comprehending and adjusting the delicate equilibrium between the developed and natural world. Environmental Technology, also referred to as ‘green’ or ‘clean’ technology, utilizes environmental sciences to create new technologies to alleviate, preserve, monitor, or minimize the damage inflicted on the environment by humans.
Sustainability and sustainable development reside at the core of environmental technology – adopted practices that fuel economic growth by avoiding the depletion of natural resources and further pollution. Environmental technologies’ objective is to protect the environment. They offer pollution reduction sustainably and often provide new ways to avoid depleting natural resources altogether. Instances already put into practice are solar and wind energy, electric vehicles, water desalination (removing salt or other minerals from saline water), and pyrolysis (thermochemical decomposition of organic material).
Reduction of resources and waste, as well as energy consumption, are the most critical environmental aims. Sustainable technological development and innovations will not automatically reduce the burden the environment suffers from the polluting human factor. Yet, technological innovation is central to the long-term initiation of cleaner production technologies.
Innovative Environmental Technologies
As global concern for global warming and climate change spreads widely, dozens of innovative environmental technologies emerge yearly. Countries have even started to invest in developing various technologies, primarily based on renewable energy and resources and sustainability as a predicate. Some technologies are becoming final products ready for mass consumption; most are prototypes and proof of concept stages, but all aim to provide sustainable tools for everyday usage.
In the following, let’s take a closer look at a few examples of recent innovations that have the potential to impact and shape our future environmental processes.
Solar Panels Built to Generate Power in Rainy Conditions
It’s surprising to think about solar panels that can generate electricity using rain, but scientists in China are developing exactly that. These solar panels not only convert sunlight into electricity but also harness energy from rain during cloudy or rainy conditions. In traditional panels, photons from light knock electrons free from atoms, generating electricity. This innovation extends the concept by capturing energy from both sunlight and rainwater. Although solar power technology has been getting increasingly efficient, there’s still the tiny problem that solar cells can only produce power when it’s raining. Researchers have improved the panel’s efficiency by adding the graphene layer in a honeycomb structure of solar panels. Due to its unusual properties, the flexible indium oxide and plastic layer coats the solar cells, allowing electrons to move freely throughout the entire layer. Rainwater contains positively charged ions like ammonium, calcium, and sodium. When water binds to the panel surface, it creates a double layer of positive ions and negatively charged electrons, producing a voltage and current. Tests of the new solar panels have made hundreds of microvolts, which is small compared to a standard double-A battery, meaning there is a long way to go before the new solar panels become more widely used and efficient. Future versions could mean big things for the solar industry.
Bacterial Solar Panels?
Ideas merge even with biology as researchers at Binghamton University have an exciting way to generate energy using bacteria as a resource in abundance. Scientists arrange 9 bio solar cells in a 3×3 pattern to harness power from bacteria to form a scalable and stackable panel. Cyanobacteria utilize cells and is a widely spread organism in aquatic and terrestrial habitats. It nurtures as a clean and sustainable energy source. During the daytime, it releases oxygen and electrons through photosynthetic reactions; at night, it produces electrons through respiratory activities. In 12-hour day-to-night cycles over 60 hours, it generated a total of 5.59 microwatts. Solar panels produce about 200 watts in a 6 by 10 configuration. Though not the most efficient, the technology may be a more reliable energy source. Once the panel is functional, it could power small wireless systems in remote areas where frequent battery changes are impractical.
Bionic Leaf Turns Solar Energy Into Liquid Fuel
US scientists developed a bionic leaf that can convert solar energy into liquid fuel. They operated a bionic leaf miming photosynthesis’s chemical processes to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. A bacteria then converts the hydrogen gas into protons and electrons. They are then integrated into carbon dioxide molecules as part of the bacteria’s reproductive cycle to form the liquid fuel isopropanol. Isopropanol is a combustible liquid fuel. Still, it is mainly used as a household disinfectant and industrial drying agent to remove water from fuels.
Underwater Buoys That Can Generate Electricity From the Kinetical Energy of Oceans’ Waves
Sustainable new ways are already here, as shown by a company in Australia working on a system that utilizes underwater buoys to convert sea waves into zero-emission energy and desalinated water. The Australian firm Carnegie Wave Energy has developed a system that uses sea waves to generate power. The steel buoys in the central part of the system currently generate 240 kilowatts. Extreme weather or harsh environmental conditions cannot significantly damage the buoys, allowing them to remain operational. Underwater waves generate sufficient power, and the buoy pump drives high-pressure water to a plant via a subsea pipe. The high-pressure water spins the turbines, generating zero-carbon electricity. This system can power a desalinization plant and utilize high-pressure water to remove salt from seawater through reverse osmosis. The Australian company believes that the cost of the electricity generated by the system will be competitive with diesel if it is deployed on a large scale.
Japanese Engineer Develops a Turbine That Harvests Energy From Typhoons
A new type of wind mechanism developed in Japan was designed to harness wind power and be particularly useful during typhoons. A typhoon turbine created by a Japanese engineer consists of three vertical blades. A central rod has an omnidirectional axis to respond to wind from every direction. The turbine uses the principle of the Magnus effect: when passing by a rotating object, the air tends to curve. Then, the air flow’s downward deflection produces a lifting force that counteracts gravity’s force, enabling the object to remain airborne. The central rod controls the blades and can be tightened to slow down or stop the blades entirely, regardless of the external forces. It may not have yet developed up to the conventional turbine level in terms of output energy because, under normal circumstances, the typhoon turbine can achieve about 30 percent efficiency.
In comparison, a conventional wind turbine can reach 40 percent. Typhoons can damage conventional wind turbines, but the typhoon turbine would still function normally in a massive storm. The typhoon turbine designer believes a single typhoon could generate enough energy to power Japan for 50 years. According to estimates and calculations, about seven or eight typhoons pass over Okinawa Prefecture each year, with about three hitting its main islands. If the typhoon turbine is proven functional under extreme weather, Japan could harvest significant energy to power itself for a long time.
The Netherlands Invests 150 Million Euros in Biogas Production
The Netherlands has found a use for their cows other than pumping milk, turning their manure into energy. About 10% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, predominantly methane. That is how manure processing becomes essential to the Netherlands. According to the International Dairy Federation, the nation’s livestock produces about 7.5 million tons of manure a year from animal manure, which is too much to apply to farmland as fertilizer directly. The excessive amount of nutrients could leak into underground water, resulting in algae growth and pollution of nearby water sources. To solve this problem, officials implemented an experiment on one farm’s cow manure. They put the manure through an anaerobic digester, where exposure to bacteria transformed solid manure into a liquid. The resulting substance then releases biogas made primarily of methane and carbon dioxide. The biogas can be used as fuel, while any leftover manure can be used as fertilizer. This experiment reportedly generated 9.342 kilowatt-hours of electricity in twenty days, enough to power three homes for a year. The Dutch government has committed to investing €150 million in the biogas program, aiming to get a thousand large farms nationwide to produce cow manure energy within four years.
Unique Wind Systems May Be Vital in Bringing Electricity to Developing Areas
A technology from Minnesota, from a wind turbine company, will be used in the Netherlands. The technology is a patented system of harvesting wind power that can produce six times more green energy than traditional systems. Called Velox for increased velocity, the system’s final shape captures wind from all directions, even at speeds as low as two miles per hour. The duct funnels and accelerates the wind, delivering it to the ground-level generators, where it harnesses its kinetic energy to produce electricity. Any leftover wind is then released back into the environment. Unlike conventional turbines, Velox positions its generators on the ground instead of on top, enabling it to produce 600 percent more power. With its capabilities, this powerful device can be commercially used in developing nations and in areas where electricity is not readily accessible.
A Business Model Based on Distant Plant Growing and Services Imported From a Switzerland-Based Company Named Cannergrow
A Swiss-based company named CannerGrow entered the market with a new innovative business model that strongly supported environmentally friendly approaches and was established as the only plant-growing service that focuses on cannabis.
Their statement is, “Every digitally sold plant will represent a physical cannabis plant in our Growrooms. We offer this service to our customers who decide to buy a plant over our plant sale. The plants get harvested every 2-3 months, and you don’t need to worry about anything as our experts do their job and care for everything. You will get full control over the harvest. We can either ship you your harvested cannabis, or you can sell it and have significant revenue. The running costs will be subtracted from the harvest and split by 50% to the company and 50% to the customer.”
France Is Planning to Pave Roads With Solar Panels
The French government started with sustainable energy designs, planning to pave 1,000 kilometers of its country’s roads with solar panels. Cola made the panels, and it took five years to develop. Photovoltaic cells in the solar panels collect solar energy through a thin polycrystalline silicon layer. The solar panels can adhere to existing road surfaces and withstand passages of heavy goods vehicles.
The manufacturers say road surfaces are occupied by vehicles only around 10% of the time. So, the panels would get plenty of exposure to the Sun. The panels can provide electricity for street lights, street infrastructure, road signs, and buildings. The manufacturers say that 4 meters of solarized road can power one household and that one kilometer can produce enough electricity for a town of 5,000 people. The plan could provide electricity for five million people or about 8% of France’s population if it reaches its maximum potential. The French government has suggested it could pay for it by raising taxes on petrol, though the total completion cost remains unknown.
Quantum Dot Coding Can Turn Windows Into Solar Panels
Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers in New Mexico developed a film of quantum dots that can turn windows into photovoltaic systems. When sunlight hits conventional silicon solar panels, electrons break free of the top layer of semiconducting material. The electrons then follow conductors between the panel’s positive and negative sides to generate an electrical current. Quantum dots with an inner core, outer shell, and silica coat can be semiconductors. Quantum dots can be spread into thin sheets placed onto glass window panes. When photons hit the quantum dot from sunlight, the electron in the valence band gets excited and is sent into the conduction band, leaving a hole behind. Then, the electron recombines with the hole in the valence band, generating a new photon with lower energy. This new photon then propagates within the glass via internal reflections. Energy is generated when the propagating photons reach the window frame where solar cells are stored. Coatings of quantum dots can be used on any window to turn them into harvesters of sunlight at a lower cost than is currently available. Los Alamos-based startup has received a $225,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to commercialize this technology as a window coating.
Toyota’s Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicle Called the Mirai
Toyota’s product specialist explained not so long ago: “We extract hydrogen from things, which is a limitless fuel source. We don’t burn it, so it’s completely clean. Toyota sees this as the fuel of the future, but how does it work? The tank is filled with pure compressed hydrogen gas. Whenever you step on the accelerator, it feeds hydrogen into the fuel cell, which then mixes with oxygen, which comes from the ambient air through the two scoops on the front end of the car and a compressor that pushes oxygen into the hydrogen. The oxygen wants to bind but is forced through a micron-thin layer of platinum, so the electron can’t make that binding process. So it goes around, and this is captured as electricity, and then the hydrogen and oxygen bind on the other side, which generates H2O – water vapor, as the byproduct. Then the electricity, of course, runs the car. Although driving a car that emits water vapor could be a bonus, there are still a few hurdles ahead, getting the infrastructure into place. Mirai accelerates from zero to 60 miles per hour in nine seconds, and it takes around five minutes to refuel.”
Cameroon Turns Human Waste Into Clean Power
Cameroon installs town biogas systems to turn human waste into sustainable energy that can provide fuel and electricity for local communities. Bacteria archaea break down organic materials such as animal waste in an airtight tank, releasing biogas, a mixture of predominantly methane and some carbon dioxide. The biogas can be stored and burned as fuel for cooking and to power electricity generators, while the rest of the waste can be used as fertilizer. Cameroon’s biogas system connects a septic tank to biodigesters linked to individual households. The biodigesters convert human waste in the septic tank into biogas, releasing energy into people’s homes. Reportedly, more than 3,000 households, local schools, and two towns have installed the biogas system, with an estimated reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the vicinity by up to 60%. Bioenergy Cameroon, a non-governmental youth organization, initiated the project and currently trains local students, especially female students, on how innovative technology like solar power and biogas work.
Advancements in Fusion
Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory National Ignition Facility in California have announced a breakthrough in nuclear fusion development, promising an inexhaustible energy supply. The fusion process uses a fuel capsule placed inside a tiny gold case called the Haram, bombarded by 192 laser beams. The temperature inside the Haram is lowered more than 400 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. To facilitate the fusion reaction, the fuel capsule contains two hydrogen isotopes, deuterium and tritium. After laser beams are released, the gold wall of the Haram converts them into X-rays. The deuterium and tritium nuclei fuse at high temperatures, and alpha particles generate energy. The scientists’ milestone is known as ignition, where the energy produced is higher than the amount of the input energy.
UK Scientists Have Developed a High-Altitude Power-Generating Drone Aircraft That Can Harvest Energy From Multiple Sources
Each twenty-by-twenty-meter power-generating drone has four propellers, multiple wind turbines, and a flat base covered in solar panels. The drones will fly at altitudes of up to 15.240 meters to avoid air traffic and clouds that obscure the Sun. One drone can produce up to 50 kilowatts of power by harnessing solar and wind energy. The drone beams the energy to antenna stations on the ground using microwaves. This invention also functions as a mobile aerial power plant that could serve as a source of energy in crisis times. The drone creators claim it can be fitted with more efficient generators as they become available.
Conclusion
If you think of energy, it is something that drives our world. The way we obtain it is even more important; as we begin to understand this, new brains and mindsets of developers and inventors will reach the full potential of technological and scientific balance with nature, as they are intertwined even in reality. Learning this will lead us to harmonize them for our best success.
FAQ
Environmental technology, also known as green or clean technology, refers to innovations that utilize environmental sciences to mitigate, monitor, and minimize human impact on the environment. It focuses on sustainability, reducing pollution, conserving natural resources, and enhancing energy efficiency.
Scientists have developed solar panels that can harness energy from rain as well as sunlight. By adding a graphene layer, these panels can capture positive ions from rainwater, generating electricity. While still in the experimental phase, this technology could significantly boost solar power efficiency in diverse weather conditions.
The bionic leaf mimics photosynthesis by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using solar energy. Bacteria then convert the hydrogen into liquid fuel like isopropanol. This innovation provides a clean, sustainable way to produce combustible fuel without emitting carbon.
Underwater buoys harness the kinetic energy of waves to generate electricity. They pump high-pressure water to turbines on land, creating zero-carbon energy. The system can also power desalination plants, offering a sustainable solution for producing both electricity and clean water.
Toyota’s Mirai uses hydrogen as fuel by mixing compressed hydrogen with oxygen from the air. The fuel cell creates electricity from this reaction, powering the vehicle. Since hydrogen is abundant and the vehicle emits only water vapor, it is considered a clean alternative to traditional fossil fuels.