Engineers Create Biocomposites That Can Curb Global Warming

by T Goodman

Grad Students Hold Samples Of Stanford's Faux WoodWhat we can do when we put our minds to it! Well, not "we," but a group of environmental engineers at Stanford University's Woods Institute for the Environment. They created an artificial wood, which is just as strong as the real thing, using biocomposites that are completely biodegradable. This faux wood has the potential of saving our forests, reducing green house gases, and actually shrinking landfills. Stay tuned... these researchers are on to their next big breakthrough.

But first, I'll just summarize the faux wood story. On a research grant from the Woods Institute, Sarah Billington, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, and her colleagues discovered that a material made from hemp fibers and a biodegradable plastic resin called polyhydroxy-butyrate (PHB) behaved just like wood. It could even be molded.

PHB can be produced faster than wood, and hemp can grow faster than trees, so the solution seems ideal from a production standpoint and an environmental one. The faux wood can be totally recycled into its original form for reuse and, if it is buried in a landfill (It must be buried because the faux wood degrades in an anaerobic environment.), it will decompose in just a few weeks, whereas wood scraps can take several years to recompose.

The Stanford team also noted that as the hemp-PHB biocomposites decompose, they release methane gas, which is a serious pollutant. But if the methane gas is captured instead of released into the atmosphere, it can be burned as energy or used to make additional biocomposites. Nothing is wasted in this process. You have to love it!

The next step for Billington and her fellow researchers is in bioplastics. The hemp-PHB combination can also be employed to replace the petrochemicals that are currently being used to make plastic bottles for water and other drinks. Additionally, the team is working on creating biocomposite insulation panels and manufacturing "green glues."

This is probably a silly notion, but I'm starting to imagine a world without landfills. Nah.

Stamford News Service

T Goodman
Bio-Inspired Innovations
InventorSpot.com

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Comments

Individuals CAN prevent Global Warming

Submitted on March 19th, 2009 by Anonymous

I am not completely convinced CO2 has anything to do with Global Warming. That notwithstanding, I am certain that reducing our reliance on fossil fuels is both a good idea and necessary, for a large number of obvious reasons.

The good news is that we can all make a difference. It goes way beyond buying a few (polluting) low energy light bulbs, and will have a real impact if even half of those concerned about Global Warming follow the proposals. The beauty is that even if only half do this, it makes no difference what the rest do! Renewable energy will become cheaper than fossil fuels with enough investment in the technology, and everyone will move over naturally!

Firstly, buy renewable energy.

As far as I am aware, you have the choice to buy renewable electricity in all developed countries. If you cannot now, you should campaign for that inalienable right immediately. Currently our own household buys 25% of our electricity as renewable, costing us about US$33 extra per year. 100% would cost US$183)*.

Some argue that if millions of householders (and industries, I would hope) buy renewable energy, there will not be enough. If you do not buy it, there will NEVER be enough. If you do, the money will be used to INVEST in infrastructure for future renewable energy, so making the expense just as effective.

Merely by choosing to buy this, you are immediately and directly investing in the renewable energy industry, and sending a powerful and undeniable message to those who matter, the people who actually generate electricity, not environmentalists or politicians who may have different agenda.

Secondly, stop investing in 'Big Oil' and 'Big Coal'.

It comes as a shock to many ordinary citizens to be told that the huge greedy corporations actually make money for THEM, not for some faceless consortium. Sure, corporate flunkies may make millions of dollars, but WE, as investors, make billions, and even trillions. Their huge payouts and massive junkets are insignificant compared to the profits the companies make for their investors.

You may well think that you do not invest in these companies, but if you have a pension or investment fund, you almost certainly do. These funds will, quite obviously, be invested in the very companies that make the most profits and returns for their investors. All these corporations are doing is actually acting effectively YOUR instruction, ie to get the best possible return. If WE stop investing in them, they fail, and will be forced to change their practices to survive in a capitalist environment.

The answer is to choose ethical investments (there may be different names). Talk to your financial adviser and make the switch now. ONLY YOU control your investments. Make the choice and stop letting others do it for you.

You control the future, not governments or environmentalists.

The message is that YOU control the future of energy production with your wallets. The bad news is that it will cost, but nothing the environmentalists or governments will ever do about this issue will cost you less than this, and most of what they want to do will take control away from you and waste most of your expenditure in bureaucratic bungling and misguided foolishness, in my opinion. This simple two-step approach has all the potential to work and with no complex side effects that I can see immediately. It has a direct and immediate effect.

It is so rare that we are able to do something so straightforward in this complex world. If Global Warming concerns you, I urge you to put your money where your mouth is, and make an immediate difference TODAY, before the power is taken away from you.

* Based on a usage of 5,000 kWh of electricity.
Source: http://www.originenergy.com.au/1142/Green-energy-FAQs#extracost

http://www.carbonclimate.info/2009/03/individuals-can-prevent-global-war...

methane = electricity and fuel

Submitted on March 20th, 2009 by Anonymous

let's build methane digesters and use them to make electricity and compressed methane for running cars and trucks and busses. We don't have to talk about global warming if it's so controversial. We can talk about being less dependant on foreign oil. We can talk about using wastes from manure and sewage to create energy. We can talk about how this will strengthen the power grid by diversifying our sources of energy. We can talk about how methane digesters will mean that farms are elss stinky and how the byproducts of methane digestion are recyclable as mulcha nd fetilizer. We can mention how methane is more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. We can talk about the advantages of recylcing methane for green (or brown) energy. Or we can do something about it!

Shop Police

Submitted on March 21st, 2009 by Anonymous

This article is photoshopped! The pixels and shadows are all wrong.