BREAKING NEWS Sustainable Solutions for Ghost Net Waste A recent report has found solutions in the fight against discarded ‘ghost’ nets and other fishing marine debris in northern Australia.
Cheaper, Cleaner, Faster — New Technology for Better Lithium Batteries
The research was conducted by the environmental not-forprofit organisation TierraMar and the UNSW SMaRT Centre, who uncovered sustainable methods to detect, collect, transport and responsibly dispose of ghost nets. “Ghost nets are fishing nets that have been lost at sea, abandoned or discarded when they have become damaged,” said Professor Veena Sahajwalla from the UNSW SMaRT Centre. “Discarded fishing equipment can cause pollution such as microplastics and entangle marine wildlife and damage reefs, silently killing,” she added. Marine debris accumulates in the Gulf of Carpentaria off northern Australia, which is recognised as a global marine debris ‘hot spot.’ “Four of the six marine turtle species found in Australian waters are listed as threatened under Australian environmental legislation and they are regularly found entangled in derelict fishing nets,” Professor Sahajwalla said. Self-sustaining solutions are critical for ghost nets and marine debris in northern Australia. Meanwhile, reducing the reliance on government support to clean-up and dispose of the debris depends on the ability to create high quality products made from waste. “There is an opportunity to develop a range of high-quality homeware and building products made directly from ghost nets and marine debris coming out of northern Australia,” Professor Sahajwalla said. “The products, such as ceramic tiles, could creatively reflect the unique cultures, artistic values and connections to country by local communities,” she concluded.
Researchers from Monash University recently took another step towards the holy grail of renewable energy: the ability to store it cheaply. Image courtesy of Monash University.
Researchers from Monash University recently took another step towards the holy grail of renewable energy: the ability to store it cheaply. The research team created a lithium-sulfur battery interlayer that promotes exceptionally fast lithium transfer and improves the performance and lifetime of the batteries. It is also cheaper, greener and faster, which enables the charge and discharge of batteries, and discharge of energy at a much faster rate than previously offered. “A lithium battery interlayer sits in the middle of the battery and keeps the electrodes apart, it helps lithium get from one side of the battery to the other faster,” said Professor Matthew Hill, who led the research project. “The new interlayer overcomes the slower charge and discharge rates of previous generation lithium-sulfur batteries,” he added. This latest breakthrough continues the world-leading work into lithium battery development by a team from Monash University’s Faculty of Engineering. Lithium-sulfur batteries offer higher energy density and reduced costs compared to the previous generation of lithium-ion batteries. They can store two-to-five times as much energy by weight than the current generation of lithium-ion batteries, which means a car may only need to be charged once a week. In previous cases, the electrodes in lithium-sulfur batteries deteriorated rapidly and the batteries broke down.
Ghost nets can entangle marine wildlife, such as marine turtles.
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“These batteries are not dependent on minerals that are going to lack supply as the electrification revolution proceeds, so this is another step towards cheaper, cleaner and higher performing batteries that could be made within Australia,” Professor Hill said. WWW.MATERIALSAUSTRALIA.COM.AU
