Tuesday, May 17, 2005

[Water] Coffee Grounds+Cow Manure=Clean Water Via sustainablog: According to this post from Treehugger, An Australian inventor claims that a handful of clay, yesterday's coffee grounds and some cow manure are the ingredients that could bring clean, safe drinking water to much of the third world. The simple new technology, developed by ANU materials scientist Mr Tony Flynn, allows water filters to be made from commonly available materials and fired on the ground using cow manure as the source of heat, without the need for kiln. The filters have been tested and shown to remove common pathogens including E-coli. Unlike other water filtering devices, the filters are simple and inexpensive to make. I don't need to go into the virtues of clean water... What a wonderfully simple innovation! Technorati tags: clean water, filter, innovation By noemail@noemail.org (Jeff McIntire-Strasburg). [sustainablog] 4:18:58 PM Google It!    [Patents] Fuel cell vehicle Abstract: A fuel cell vehicle is provided in which a fuel cylinder and a fuel cell stack are arranged so that the barycentric position is kept low and load is appropriately shared between the front and rear wheels. [FreshPatents.com: Notable Patent Applications - 05/12/2005] 4:15:49 PM Google It!    [Patents] Solar cell with organic meterial in the photovoltaic layer and method for the production thereof Abstract: The invention is distinguished by the electron-receiving layer (n) being connected via its electrode area (En) to a flat substrate (S) having a front side and a rear side, by the flat substrate (S) being provided with opening structures (O) projecting laterally through from said front side to said rear side, by the hole-receiving layer (p), the photovoltaic layer (A), the electron-receiving layer (n) and the electrode area (En) connected to said layer (n) being applied on said front side of the flat substrate (S) in such a manner that at least single opening structures project laterally through the flat substrate (S) and through the layer system comprising the layers En, n, A, and p, by an electrically conducting p++ layer being applied onto the hole-receiving layer (p) or the hole-receiving layer (p) being designed as a p++ layer which at least partially fills the opening structures (O) projecting laterally through the flat substrate (S) to the rear side of said flat substrate (S), and by the electrode area (Ep) for receiving the hole-receiving layer (p) being provided on the rear side of the flat substrate (S), the electrode area (Ep) being electrically contacted to the p++ layer reaching through the opening structures (O). Disclosed is a solar cell having at least one photovoltaic layer (A) made of an organic material, in particular a polymer material, which absorbs light and in which electron-hole pairs can be produced, said solar cell having two opposite layer surfaces of which one is connected with at least one hole-receiving layer (p) produced inside said photovoltaic layer (A) and the other is connected with at least one electron-receiving layer (n) produced inside said photovoltaic layer (A), as well as having electrode areas En and Ep, of which one said electrode area (Ep) is electrically contacted to said hole-receiving layer (p) and the other said electrode area (En) is electrically connected to said electron receiving layer (n).  [FreshPatents.com: Notable Patent Applications - 05/12/2005] 4:15:03 PM Google It!    [Green building] I (heart) Fluff Via WorldChanging.com Today I received a packet of Fluff, a new composting and potential building material made entirely from recycled household waste. Fluff is produced by the Bouldin Corporation, which is made up of three companies Bouldin and Lawson, WastAway Services, and Composite Products of America. Together this trio of companies takes regular unsorted household garbage which is then processed for thirty minutes before being transormed in a stable product they call "Fluff". Fluff is a pathogen-free material that can be used for soil amendment for land reclamation, a growing medium for plants but its most exciting application is that of an extruded material for use in the building trade. Composite Products of America extrudes the Fluff into 8" x 8" tongue and groove posts or landscaping timbers for the building of retaining wall or small one room structures. There is even a bench made of extruded fluff currently located in the Tennessee State Capital Building - talk about adding waste to the government. All this product needs now is a couple of designers to take it to the next level. Perhaps something like what Ferrara Design did for recycled cardboard with their Global Village Shelters. Ladies, Gentlemen the gauntlet has been thrown. [WorldChanging: Another World Is Here] 3:36:25 PM Google It!

© Copyright 2005 Laura L. Barnes. Last update: 10/25/2005; 12:10:13 PM.