Category: Transportation

Less Smog, More Design

odd sculptureElegant Embellishments has created some groovy tiles that clean the air and add some aesthetic flair in cities. The tiles are still being developed, but this idea is really cool. The tiles are modular and can be mounted as a stand alone sculpture or attached to a building.

The technology behind the tiles is still being tweaked. Essentially, the tiles absorb pollutants that are generated from cars that lead to smog, while letting other gasses float on by. The tiles need to be located near the pollution source in order to be the most effective of course.

“The tiles provide councils, developers, and designers with an easy way simultaneously to improve the air quality and visual appeal of urban spaces. A London- and Berlin-based, interdisciplinary collaboration between innovators and materials manufacturers, architects and city councils, Elegant Embellishments produces lo-tech, interactive tiles in all shapes and sizes together with Millenium Chemicals TiO2. The tiles are modular and can thus be assembled to cover any surface or create any shape desired.”

Catch the Hybrid Train

tracks ala googleEurope will soon begin trial runs of the first European high-speed hybrid train. Compared to other trains there is an expected emissions cut of 50%!

“The system, which has been developed by Hitachi in Japan, consists of a battery-assisted diesel-electric traction engine. The traction unit uses the battery when the train is at rest and in the early stages of acceleration up to around 30 kilometres an hour (19mph), at which point the conventional diesel engine kicks in.”

Pig Poo + Distillation = Pigoline

Since it is Friday and we try to cover more ridiculous news, here is a gasoline made from pig poo.

A NASCAR feul specialists has found a way to take run of the mill pig waste and turn it into a high-octane adventure! Dean Gokel says he can produce 110 octane “pigoline” that is indistinguishable on a molecular level from petroleum-based additives.

“Here’s how it is supposed to work: First, he prepares the waste, turning it “into the consistency of a milkshake,” and then pumps it into the reactor. The hogs, kindly, do much of the hard work, breaking food into the big carbon-based molecules found in manure. Gokel’s process fractures long carbon chains and ring structures into chemicals closer to gasoline, such as C10 or better yet, C8 (basically, octane). Those smaller molecules are distilled off as a vapor, which is collected and eventually used as a fuel additive. The amines–nitrogen products–left behind can then be packed off and sold as commercial chemicals. Gokel is only running five-gallon batches, but there is no significant waste from it. The process takes about three hours.”

Off-Grid Trailer House

home? The Mini Home is a portable house that allows the inhabitants to live off the grid. Off-grid basically means not using water and power from public (or in some places private) sources, almost a self-sustianable lifestyle.

The mini home itself looks like a futuristic trailer park home because of the layout and materials used. Power comes from solar panels, I don’t know where the water comes from (or goes to) though.

It’s good to see companies making living spaces that can function without sucking power from non-renewable resources.

Seven Hybrid Concerns?

People seem to not like change and changing from a car that produces smog to a car that produces less smog is shocking for some. They don’t know what is true and what isn’t true when it comes to information about hybrid vehicles. CNN has tried to clarify what people should consider when buying a hybrid car and other points that aren’t that important.

Of their list below only three are “legitimate” concerns.

  1. Hybrids have complicated technology that is difficult or expensive to fix
  2. Hybrids have limited battery pack life
  3. Hybrids have technical problems like stalling and sputtering
  4. Hybrids do not pay for themselves to justify their premium cost
  5. Hybrids do not offer the driving performance needed
  6. Hybrids will not hold resale value
  7. Hybrids do not get the level of mileage promised