A cool, salty solution

By -
By Science Advisor. 

Excerpt: By the 1990s, the world had achieved a striking victory: largely banning chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), compounds used as refrigerants but destructive to the ozone layer. Unfortunately, their replacements, while safer for ozone, are still potent greenhouse gases; they contribute a few percent to emissions globally. Alternatives to compressible liquid coolants have so far suffered from inefficient heat transfer and the inability to scale. In a typical refrigerator or air conditioner, cooling is achieved by transporting heat away from the system using a fluid that absorbs heat, evaporates into a gas, and gets condensed back into a liquid. Researchers probed a different way to cool down: adding ions to water to improve its ability to absorb heat , similar to how we spread salt on the roads to melt snow in the winter. The team ...determined that the cooling process was three times more efficient than conventional systems and could reduce electricity demand by up to 65%. ...Importantly, the process is scalable and cheap, with the salts already commercially available.... 

Popular posts from this blog

2024 was the hottest year on record, breaching a critical climate goal and capping 10 years of unprecedented heat

By -
By Laura Paddison , CNN.  Excerpt: It’s official: 2024 was the hottest year on record, breaking the  previous record  set in 2023 and pushing the world over a critical climate threshold, according to new data from Europe’s climate monitoring agency Copernicus [ https://climate.copernicus.eu/copernicus-2024-first-year-exceed-15degc-above-pre-industrial-level ]. Last year was 1.6 degrees hotter than the period before humans began burning large amounts of fossil fuels, Copernicus found. It makes 2024 the first calendar year to breach  the 1.5-degree limit  countries agreed to avoid under the Paris climate agreement in 2015. Scientists are much more concerned about breaches over decades, rather than single years — as above that threshold humans and ecosystems may struggle to adapt — but 2024’s   record   “does mean we’re getting dangerously close,” said Joeri Rogelj, a climate professor at Imperial College London....  Full article at https://www.cnn.c...
Read more

Warmer, more crowded cities bring out the rats

By -
By Elizabeth Pennisi , Science.  Excerpt: Climate change  emerged as a driving factor behind urban rat swarms , the researchers report today in  Science Advances . As temperatures rise, they conclude, and people flock to urban areas and convert formerly “green” spaces into neighborhoods and shopping centers, they created a perfect storm for rat populations to explode. And the city that’s fared the worst over the past decade? Washington, D.C.....  Full article at https://www.science.org/content/article/warmer-more-crowded-cities-bring-out-rats . 
Read more

Can green hydrogen replace fossil fuels?

By -
By Robert F. Service, Science.  Excerpt: Hydrogen is often touted as the future of green energy, and the allure is clear. When burned or run through a fuel cell, the fuel produces water as exhaust, not carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). It is energy-rich enough to drive semitrailer trucks, cargo ships, and other heavy-duty vehicles that are tough to power with batteries. And for many industrial processes requiring high-temperature reactions, such as fertilizer production and steel manufacturing, hydrogen is basically the only alternative to fossil fuels, says Kathy Ayers, a water electrolysis expert at Nel Hydrogen, a Norwegian electrolyzer producer. “Low-carbon hydrogen is absolutely essential if we are going to address the climate crisis.” ...According to the International Energy Agency, the world needs to churn out more than 300 million tons of green hydrogen annually if it is to have a shot at limiting global warming to 1.5°C by 2050. Yet today, operating green hydrogen plants, mostly in ...
Read more