Water

Researchers at Northwestern University are developing a new method for removing radioactive materials from liquid nuclear waste.

The group of scientists led by Mercouri G. Kanatzidis, a Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University, announced their breakthrough on Tuesday. The group's paper described the process metaphorically to how a Venus flytrap closes after absorbing a fly in its grip, while letting other objects pass by.

At the molecular level the radioactive ion cesium found in liquid nuclear waste passes through "holes" in a porous metal-sulfide material via an ion-exchange process. Meanwhile, harmless … Read more

The Minnesota Twins' new stadium will include a rain-water recycling system, the baseball team said Tuesday.

The system was custom designed for Target Field by Minnesota-based Pentair, a tech company that specializes in part on water treatment and storage. Pentair's system will capture, filter, and purify rainwater for reuse at the stadium.

Specifically, the system will collect and purify rainwater from throughout the ballpark's seven acres, including the stands, and store it in a cistern buried deep in the ground under the outfield. That so-called gray water will then be used to wash down the stands and irrigate … Read more

Jackson Family Wines, known for its Kendall-Jackson label, has developed a process to reduce winery water usage by 70 percent.

The majority of water consumed in wineries typically goes toward rinsing wine barrels, tanks, and equipment.

A new system developed by Jackson Family Wines recycles and filters the hot water used for rinsing, losing only about 10 percent of that water in the process, the company said Tuesday. The system also retains 75 percent of the water's heat. As a result, the process also saves energy.

The company developed and tested the process in conjunction with the University of … Read more

Making a city "smarter" starts with networked hardware, says IBM. That is, fire trucks, waste water lines, and buildings.

The city of Chesapeake, Va., has contracted with IBM to modernize the city's public works and utilities infrastructure, touching everything from its water system to its fire department. The deal is part of IBM's "smarter city" campaign of wooing municipalities that are investing in their infrastructure.

Rather than simply rewire power lines or rebuild broken bridges, cities should invest in technologies to improve efficiency and safety, said Bill Sawyer, IBM's vice president of IBM … Read more

Google Earth and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Wednesday that Google is developing a tool to map out disturbing scenarios of how California can be affected by climate change.

The project comes out of a collaboration with the California Natural Resources Agency, Schwarzenegger, and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), an organization funded by the California Energy Commission and Google.org.

"There is a serious bottleneck in delivering relevant information, much of which is map-based, to decisionmakers in a manner that allows them to turn climate change research results into effective climate change adaptation decisions and policies," according to … Read more

Wave energy got a boost with the connection of the Oyster hydro-electric device to the electricity grid in Scotland last Friday.

Aquamarine Power activated the connection of the Oyster in the waters off Orkney, marking one of the few ocean power devices to be producing electricity.

The device is a hydraulic pump operated by a "hinged flap," where a large metal piece moves back and forth from the motion of the waves. The movement moves a hydraulic piston that pumps water underground to a hydro-electric turbine that drives a generator to make electricity.

The peak power output of … Read more

Norway opened on Tuesday the world's first osmotic power plant, which produces emissions-free electricity by mixing fresh water and sea water through a special membrane.

State-owned utility Statkraft's prototype plant, which for now will produce a tiny 2 kilowatts to 4 kilowatts of power or enough to run a coffee machine, will enable Statkraft to test and develop the technology needed to drive down production costs.

The plant is driven by osmosis that naturally draws fresh water across a membrane and toward the seawater side. This creates higher pressure on the sea water side, driving a turbine and … Read more

Green Earth Technologies (GET) announced Wednesday that its environmentally friendly motor oil for cars will soon be available on shelves across the U.S.

The manufacturer of the biodegradable, carbon neutral motor oil made in part from the animal fat of beef slaughter byproducts has been waiting on certification from the American Petroleum Institute before selling its G-Oil to the public.

G-Oil has received API starburst certification, a symbol put on a product's packaging to signify it meets specific standards and is recommended for use by leading vehicle manufacturers. GET's car oil was additionally granted the API service … Read more

Renew Blue's Seadog pump, which uses wave and tidal power to produce electricity and can be harnessed for desalination, is about to be put to the commercial test off the coast of Texas.

Earlier this month, Renew Blue, a subsidiary of the Minneapolis-based Independent Natural Resources, was granted the first-ever state off-shore wave energy lease from the Texas General Land Office. On Thursday, Renew Blue announced that it has licensed its technology to Texas Natural Resources and that they will partner to develop an off-shore facility for 18 Seadog pumps that will both produce power and desalinate seawater for … Read more