Zero emission cars from hydrogen?
Honda Motor Co has begun commercial production of its new zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell car called the FCX Clarity. The midsize four-seat sedan, which runs on hydrogen and electricity, emits only water vapour and none of the gases believed to be responsible for global warming.
Honda says the vehicle offers two times better fuel efficiency than a gas-electric hybrid and three times that of a traditional petrol-powered vehicle. The car will initially be available for lease starting July to a limited number of customers in southern California and then in Japan later this year.
Honda says it expects to lease a few dozen units in the US and Japan within a year, and about 200 units within three years.
One of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of wider adoption of fuel cell vehicles is cost and the lack of hydrogen fuelling stations.
From http://www.industrysearch.com.au/news/viewrecord.aspx?id=32833
With thanks to Glen Moore of the Wollongong Science Centre and Planetarium, a hands on experience of Science for kids of all ages.
For more on the Science Centre click on http://sciencecentre.uow.edu.au Turn that animal waste into plastic!
A process developed at the University of Waikato in New Zealand will allow animal waste to be turned into useful and biodegradable plastic. The new process, developed over two years by University of Waikato chemical engineer Dr Johan Verbeek and Masters student Lisa van den Berg, can turn animal protein waste like blood meal and feathers into a biodegradable plastic using industry standard plastic extrusion and injection moulding machinery.
For Dr Verbeek it is highly gratifying to use low-value sustainable waste to create a high-value product that breaks down without polluting the environment. “The material we can produce has the strength of polyethylene - the plastic used in milk bottles and plastic supermarket bags - but it's fully biodegradable,” he said.
"Proteins are polymers so we know they can be turned into plastics. Plant proteins have successfully been used to make bioplastics, but animal protein has always ended up gumming up the extruder. The process we've developed gets round that problem. People said it couldn't be done, but we did it!"
He said a group of design students was drawing up a blueprint for a commercial scale plant to assess the commercial viability of producing bioplastics from animal protein waste. Dr Verbeek expected the bioplastic would be suitable for agricultural plastic sheeting, seedling trays, plant pots and even biodegradable golf tees, for which, he said there was a surprisingly high demand.
University of Waikato Vice-Chancellor Professor Roy Crawford said farmers faced pressure to work in an environmentally sustainable way, and this type of innovation from the university could help them. Sustainability was one of the university's main drivers, he said.
A company, Novatein, has been set up to commercialise these findings, and has already attracted a venture capital from Endeavour Capital.
Source: WMAA e-news (www.wmaa.asn.au)
Eucalyptus oil goes for PETS
Australia’s leading Eucalyptus Oil brand Bosisto has completed an innovative industry change by packaging their entire Eucalyptus Oil range in PET plastic bottles. Bottled in familiar glass since the 1850’s, marketing eucalyptus oil in PET plastic is a brave move in this traditional category.
According to Bosisto, PET provides many key advantages over glass, both from a consumer and manufacturing point of view: the bottles are non-breakable so safer – a huge a bonus when using the oil in the kitchen, bathroom or laundry. Plus they are lighter to transport and easier to recycle.
The company investigated the potential of PET for many years, accumulating over 10 years of stability testing and data. This proved the suitability of PET for storing Eucalyptus Oil over long periods of time, with no deterioration in potency, aroma, colour change or quality.
In 2004, the 250mL Bosisto Eucalyptus Oil PET bottles first hit selected supermarket shelves proving an instant success with retailers and consumers. Now, four years on Bosisto have begun stocking their entire range in both clear and amber coloured plastic PET bottles.
A growing consumer preference for PET and the desire to move Bosisto’s Eucalyptus Oil from a purely ‘medicinal’ product to promoting its household/cleaning uses sparked the decision to proceed. Consumers see the amber PET packaging as both modern and striking, they love the ‘unbreakable bottle’, with the traditional aesthetic of amber colouring.
A vehicle for removing gum!
The Gum Removal Vehicle (GRV) is a striking vehicle that certainly stands out from a crowd. Using high visibility LED message boards front and back allows direct communication and educational engagement with the public to inform them of the problem of chewing gum litter.
Using vapour steam equipment the battery/solar powered vehicle can clean up to 1,000 pieces of gum per hour, leaving no residue while using less than three litres of water per hour. GRV is a start-up, spawned from Steam Australia. In 2007 GRV developed a prototype vehicle with Brisbane City Council. It is currently sorting out IP rights, considering business models and negotiating commercial agreements to roll out more vehicles.
So far it has only built two and sold one GRV, although it intends to operate throughout Australia and has had interest internationally – chewing gum pollution is a worldwide problem. Councils and council contractors will be the main target market. The company is a two-man operation, with Richard Purkiss and Neil Hodkinson both having major shareholdings. They are currently dreaming of profits.
Having created quite a buzz in a very short time, it is currently waiting to release the results of trials and risk analysis done by Brisbane City Council. It will then seek to commercialise the technology.
Contact: Richard Purkiss; www.gumremovalvehicle.com.au
Sourced from www.EnvironmentalManagementNews.net
UWS tackles sex, electricity and e-business with ARC
University of Western Sydney researchers have received research funding of $2.1 million to tackle real-world challenges and provide solutions that will make a difference to our lives. The Australian Research Council (ARC) has awarded prestigious research grants to three UWS studies as part of the ARC Linkage funding scheme which promotes joint research with industry.
ARC funding has been set at $745,796 for the projects, with industry partners contributing $1.4 million, taking the total to just over $2.1 million.
Successful UWS research projects in this latest round include:
• A unique study looking at how couples deal with getting their sex lives and intimate relationships back on track after cancer, and what support services are needed to deal with this forgotten issue.
• A study that will pre-empt the effects of an ageing workforce on the electricity supply industry, by developing effective training methods to ensure that the next generation of electrical practitioners is prepared to maintain Australia's complex electrical network.
• A project that will develop advanced e-business technology. The computing and IT research will enhance Australia's role in developing cutting edge e-business automation - a move to significantly benefit Australian businesses and institutions as they move towards an increasingly electronically-oriented future.
For more information contact: Media Services Manager, Amanda Whibley: a.whibley@uws.edu.au; (02) 9678 7084; 0418 438 399.
Your Ideas, Innovations or Events?
If you want publicity for an idea, innovation or technically related event, contact the I&I editor, Colin Seaborn on 4254 0200 or 0419 841829 or click here->
We welcome stories and photos.
If you want to promote your product or service via video please contact YOC office on (02) 4254 0200 or click here-> | 
