According to Science News for Students, air pollution is taking a toll on solar energy.
Air contaminants are sticking to the surfaces of solar panels, preventing light from reaching the solar cells below, and reducing the production of electricity. Not only are these consequences costly environmentally, they’re also quite costly economically.
Access to clean drinking water remains an issues around the globe, with 663 million people lacking access to safe water sources. Current scientific methods that work to remove small and diluted pollutants from water tend to be either energy or chemical intensive. New research from a team at MIT provides insight into a new process of removing even extremely low levels of unwanted compounds.
The system uses a novel method, relying on an electrochemical process to selectively remove organic contaminants such as pesticides, chemical waste products, and pharmaceuticals, even when these are present in small yet dangerous concentrations. The approach also addresses key limitations of conventional electrochemical separation methods, such as acidity fluctuations and losses in performance that can happen as a result of competing surface reactions.
