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Chemists fight global warming

24.12.2014

Global warming, climate change, the greenhouse effect - probably everyone has heard these words at least once. One of the main culprits of global warming is carbon dioxide, CO2. This is the gas that we exhale that comes out of your car's exhaust pipe, which is released into the atmosphere in huge quantities by chemical and oil refineries. The increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leads not only to climate change. Recall that if the room becomes stuffy, and this is due precisely to the increased concentration of carbon dioxide, we open the window to let in fresh air. But how can we "ventilate" our planet, where is the very window that needs to be opened?

Since 1958, the Manua Loa Observatory in Hawaii has been continuously monitoring carbon dioxide levels. And the results of observations are not the most encouraging - over the past fifty years, the content of CO2 has increased by almost a third. One of the main sources of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has become human industrial activity, primarily the combustion and processing of natural resources: oil, gas and coal. Although some efforts are being made at the international level (Kyoto Protocol) to limit carbon dioxide emissions, it is almost impossible to solve this problem without the use of new technologies.

In order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in an industrial plant, two problems must be solved: how to separate CO2 from the rest of the emitted gases, and what to do with it afterwards. There are several solutions to the second problem: carbon dioxide is used to produce mineral fertilizers, it is pumped into the earth's crust instead of oil, or it is dissolved in the world's oceans. However, first it must be obtained in its pure form.

To date, industry uses a process for this, in which the source gas is passed through a solution containing ammonia derivatives. But this technology uses dangerous, aggressive substances and requires significant investments. Researchers at Cornell University have come up with an interesting solution to this problem.

The result of more than five years of work is a substance that can effectively capture carbon dioxide, is easy to use and does not pose a threat to the environment. This substance is a powder consisting of small particles on which special molecules are fixed. The particles are a porous structure of silicon oxide. On the surface and inside the pores, long polymer chains of polyamine molecules are fixed, which are able to capture and retain carbon dioxide. In fact, it turned out to create a molecular sponge that can actively absorb carbon dioxide.

The value of the invention is that such sponges not only effectively absorb CO2, but also do not lose their performance for a long time. It is the combination of ease of use, durability and efficiency that gives them the right to replace existing technology. The researchers plan to test their own design at the university's thermal power plant, which will help generate interest in the invention.

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Single Chip MT7628 Wi-Fi System 2T2R 802.11n 19.09.2014

MediaTek has unveiled the MT7628 single-chip system, which is the first SoC for 2T2R 802.11n Wi-Fi access points and routers, according to the manufacturer. The advantages of the new SoC include a high degree of integration and low power consumption.

By combining a 2T2R 802.11n Wi-Fi RF module with a MIPS 24KEc processor running at 580 MHz, power consumption is 18% lower than other similar solutions on the market.

The MediaTek MT7628 is equipped with a five-port Fast Ethernet switch and a large number of interfaces, including USB, PCIe, SD-XC, I2S/PCM and numerous low-speed interfaces, allowing you to easily connect to a wide range of Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

MT7628 can operate in one of two modes: Router or IoT. In the second mode, SD-XC, eMMC, PWM, SPI slave interfaces, a third UART transceiver and more GPIO lines are available; in router mode, the PCIe interface is enabled, which is used to connect 802.11ac chipsets. The presence of USB 2.0 makes it possible to connect a 3G / LTE modem or an IP camera that transmits video in H.264 format. The ability to organize a PCIe-to-SATA bridge is useful when using the MT7628 in a NAS.

The MT7628 family includes two models: MT7628K and MT7628A. A feature of the first is the presence of built-in DRAM memory, and the second is designed for external memory.

The appearance on the market of devices based on MT7628 is expected in the next quarter.

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