Shipping pollutes the air. Free Technical Library News

NEWS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, NOVELTY IN ELECTRONICS
Free technical library / timeline

Shipping pollutes the air

08.07.2009

Almost 5% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions - carbon dioxide comes from the passenger and merchant fleet of the world, this is 1,2 billion tons of gas, which is twice as much as emissions from aviation.

Together with carbon dioxide, marine engines emit 37 million tons of nitrogen oxides and 20 million tons of sulfur oxides into the air. Vessels are fueled by heavy oil fractions rich in sulphur.

Dutch ecologists have calculated that when one container is delivered by sea from Shanghai to Hamburg, the same amount of sulfur dioxide enters the atmosphere as from 3950 cars in the same time. And 24 large container ships, each carrying 8000 standard containers, pollute the air as much as all the cars in the world combined (there are about 750 million of them).

Marine fuel now contains 4,5% sulfur. The International Maritime Organization intends to reduce this share to 2012% by 3,5, and even to 2020% by 0,5. As of July 2010, only fuel with a sulfur content of up to 1% will be allowed to be used in busy shipping areas off the coast of Europe. True, gasoline at European gas stations now contains only 0,001% sulfur, so ships are still far from cars.

<< Back: Transformer for China 09.07.2009

>> Forward: Physiognomy and credit 07.07.2009

Latest news of science and technology, new electronics:

The existence of an entropy rule for quantum entanglement has been proven 09.05.2024

Quantum mechanics continues to amaze us with its mysterious phenomena and unexpected discoveries. Recently, Bartosz Regula from the RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing and Ludovico Lamy from the University of Amsterdam presented a new discovery that concerns quantum entanglement and its relation to entropy. Quantum entanglement plays an important role in modern quantum information science and technology. However, the complexity of its structure makes understanding and managing it challenging. Regulus and Lamy's discovery shows that quantum entanglement follows an entropy rule similar to that for classical systems. This discovery opens new perspectives in the field of quantum information science and technology, deepening our understanding of quantum entanglement and its connection to thermodynamics. The results of the study indicate the possibility of reversibility of entanglement transformations, which could greatly simplify their use in various quantum technologies. Opening a new rule ... >>

Mini air conditioner Sony Reon Pocket 5 09.05.2024

Summer is a time for relaxation and travel, but often the heat can turn this time into an unbearable torment. Meet a new product from Sony - the Reon Pocket 5 mini-air conditioner, which promises to make summer more comfortable for its users. Sony has introduced a unique device - the Reon Pocket 5 mini-conditioner, which provides body cooling on hot days. With it, users can enjoy coolness anytime, anywhere by simply wearing it around their neck. This mini air conditioner is equipped with automatic adjustment of operating modes, as well as temperature and humidity sensors. Thanks to innovative technologies, Reon Pocket 5 adjusts its operation depending on the user's activity and environmental conditions. Users can easily adjust the temperature using a dedicated mobile app connected via Bluetooth. Additionally, specially designed T-shirts and shorts are available for convenience, to which a mini air conditioner can be attached. The device can oh ... >>

Energy from space for Starship 08.05.2024

Producing solar energy in space is becoming more feasible with the advent of new technologies and the development of space programs. The head of the startup Virtus Solis shared his vision of using SpaceX's Starship to create orbital power plants capable of powering the Earth. Startup Virtus Solis has unveiled an ambitious project to create orbital power plants using SpaceX's Starship. This idea could significantly change the field of solar energy production, making it more accessible and cheaper. The core of the startup's plan is to reduce the cost of launching satellites into space using Starship. This technological breakthrough is expected to make solar energy production in space more competitive with traditional energy sources. Virtual Solis plans to build large photovoltaic panels in orbit, using Starship to deliver the necessary equipment. However, one of the key challenges ... >>

New method for creating powerful batteries 08.05.2024

With the development of technology and the expanding use of electronics, the issue of creating efficient and safe energy sources is becoming increasingly urgent. Researchers at the University of Queensland have unveiled a new approach to creating high-power zinc-based batteries that could change the landscape of the energy industry. One of the main problems with traditional water-based rechargeable batteries was their low voltage, which limited their use in modern devices. But thanks to a new method developed by scientists, this drawback has been successfully overcome. As part of their research, scientists turned to a special organic compound - catechol. It turned out to be an important component that can improve battery stability and increase its efficiency. This approach has led to a significant increase in the voltage of zinc-ion batteries, making them more competitive. According to scientists, such batteries have several advantages. They have b ... >>

Alcohol content of warm beer 07.05.2024

Beer, as one of the most common alcoholic drinks, has its own unique taste, which can change depending on the temperature of consumption. A new study by an international team of scientists has found that beer temperature has a significant impact on the perception of alcoholic taste. The study, led by materials scientist Lei Jiang, found that at different temperatures, ethanol and water molecules form different types of clusters, which affects the perception of alcoholic taste. At low temperatures, more pyramid-like clusters form, which reduces the pungency of the "ethanol" taste and makes the drink taste less alcoholic. On the contrary, as the temperature increases, the clusters become more chain-like, resulting in a more pronounced alcoholic taste. This explains why the taste of some alcoholic drinks, such as baijiu, can change depending on temperature. The data obtained opens up new prospects for beverage manufacturers, ... >>

Random news from the Archive

Recyclable plastic 29.04.2018

American chemists have synthesized a polymeric material that, in terms of its mechanical properties and thermal stability, is not inferior to modern plastics. Its advantage is that this material can be recycled in a controlled manner, dismantled back into individual monomers. The monomers thus obtained are suitable for a new polymerization, whereby such a material can be used repeatedly.

One of the main advantages of modern plastics is their durability and resistance to external mechanical loads and small temperature changes. However, the fact that the chemical and mechanical properties of plastics do not change much over time has obvious negative consequences.

It is precisely because of the sustainability of plastic that it is almost impossible to recycle, as a result of which it gradually pollutes the planet, accumulates in the ocean and interferes with the life of marine ecosystems. Therefore, an important task of modern chemistry is the search for such polymeric materials that, on the one hand, have the necessary physical properties, and, on the other hand, can be easily recycled, after which they can be reused.

American chemists from the University of Colorado under the leadership of Eugene Y.-X. Chen have synthesized a new type of polymer material that has physical properties - density, elasticity and thermal stability - at the level of modern plastics and can be reused due to cycle of polymerization and reverse depolymerization reactions. The monomer of this compound was a molecule based on gamma-butyrolactone, in which two of the carbon atoms are additionally linked into a cyclic structure in the trans conformation. Such a monomer can be obtained quite easily and in large quantities using a two-stage synthesis from commercially available reagents.

The subsequent polymerization of the monomer is also quite easy: at room temperature using a very small amount of catalyst (no more than one mole percent) and in just a few minutes. In this case, two different types of catalyst can be used. Depending on the choice of one of them, one of two types of polymers will be formed: with a linear or cyclic structure. The average molecular weight of linear polymers ranged from 0,5 to 1 megadaltons, and that of cyclic polymers was about 80 kilodaltons.

In all their characteristics - molecular weight, thermal stability and mechanical properties, both types of polymer turned out to be very close to the types of plastic used now (in addition, each of the polymers can exist in two chiral conformations, but the racemic mixture of two enantiomers had the best properties). Thus, the melting temperature of the racemates of both the cyclic and linear polymers was about 190 degrees Celsius, the glass transition temperature was about 50 degrees Celsius, and the modulus of elasticity was about 2,7 gigapascals, which is comparable to the performance of modern plastic materials, for example, biodegradable polylactide.

Scientists call the main advantage of the synthesized polymer the possibility of its multiple processing using depolymerization, which can be carried out either by thermolysis at temperatures above 300 degrees Celsius, or at more moderate temperatures (about 120 degrees Celsius) in the presence of zinc chloride ZnCl2. The yield of decomposition reactions was about 97 percent. The monomers formed during depolymerization do not differ in their properties from the initial state, and they can be reused to obtain the desired polymeric material.

See full Archive of science and technology news, new electronics

All languages of this page

Home page | Library | Articles | Website map | Site Reviews