Air Quality – PossibleThreat Articles

Catalysis that neutralizes air-polluting NOx from power plant emissions

October 24, 2019 0 Comments Air Pollution, Air Quality, Alternative Fuels, Environmental Issues, Environmental Science, Graphene, Inorganic Chemistry, Spintronics

New research describes the mechanism behind catalysis that neutralizes air-polluting NOx from power plant emissions. Researchers used a High Field (HF) Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer in conjunction with reaction studies to test three theories around titania-supported vanadium oxide. They found that tungsten oxide changes the structure of vanadium oxide from a less active form to a highly active form.

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Infrared detectors created for viper-like night vision

October 23, 2019 0 Comments Air Quality, Atmosphere, aviation, Detectors, Geochemistry, Optics, Physics, Pollution

Much like some snakes use infrared to 'see' at night, researchers are working to create similar viper vision to improve the sensitivity of night-vision cameras.

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Turning plastic trash into treasure

October 23, 2019 0 Comments Air Quality, Engineering and Construction, Environmental Science, Hazardous Waste, Inorganic Chemistry, Materials Science, Organic Chemistry, Recycling and Waste

Researchers have developed a new catalyst that can cleave plastic's strong carbon-carbon, converting it into higher value products.

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Catastrophic events carry forests of trees thousands of miles to a burial at sea

October 21, 2019 0 Comments Air Quality, Climate, Early Climate, Evolution, Forest, Fossils, Global Warming, Origin of Life

While studying sediments in the Bay of Bengal, an international team finds evidence dating back millions of years that catastrophic events likely toppled fresh trees from their mountain homes on a long journey to the deep sea. The discovery may add to models of the Earth's carbon cycle.

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Volcanic ash sparks a new discovery

October 21, 2019 0 Comments Air Quality, Atmosphere, Earth Science, Exotic Species, Geology, Natural Disasters, Tsunamis, Volcanoes

Imagine you're getting ready to fly to your favorite vacation destination when suddenly a volcano erupts, sending massive amounts of volcanic ash into the atmosphere, and forcing the cancellation of your flight. That's exactly what happened in April 2010 when Eyjafjallajokull, a volcano in Iceland, erupted and disrupted air travel in Europe for 6 days. Scientists are now using plasma physics to predict the characteristics of these hazardous ash plumes.

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Clay minerals call the shots with carbon

October 21, 2019 0 Comments Air Quality, Chemistry, Forest, Geochemistry, Global Warming, Graphene, Organic Chemistry, Quantum Physics

Clay minerals suspended in seawater binds sedimentary organic carbon to their mineral surfaces. But the quantity of carbon that is bound and the source of that carbon very much depends on the clay mineral in question. A research team has shown this by studying sediments in the South China Sea.

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'Artificial leaf' successfully produces clean gas

October 21, 2019 0 Comments Air Quality, Alternative Fuels, Energy and Resources, Energy and the Environment, Graphene, Organic Chemistry, Renewable Energy, Sustainability

A widely-used gas that is currently produced from fossil fuels can instead be made by an 'artificial leaf' that uses only sunlight, carbon dioxide and water, and which could eventually be used to develop a sustainable liquid fuel alternative to gasoline.

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Atmospheric pressure impacts greenhouse gas emissions from leaky oil and gas wells

October 19, 2019 0 Comments Air Quality, Atmosphere, Energy and the Environment, Environmental Issues, Global Warming, Oil Spills, Pollution, Rainforests

Fluctuations in atmospheric pressure can heavily influence how much natural gas leaks from wells below the ground surface at oil and gas sites, according to new research. However, current monitoring strategies do not take this phenomenon into account, and therefore may be under- or over-estimating the true magnitude of gas emissions.

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Airborne chemicals instantly identified using new technology

October 16, 2019 0 Comments Air Pollution, Air Quality, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Inorganic Chemistry, Optics, Organic Chemistry, Pollution

Scientists have developed a device that can identify a wide range of airborne gases and chemicals instantly.

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Did early mammals turn to night life to protect their sperm?

October 16, 2019 0 Comments Air Quality, Early Mammals, Environmental Science, Fossils, Human Biology, Insomnia Research, Origin of Life, Pollution, Pregnancy and Childbirth

Humans are diurnal — we are active in the day and sleep at night. But diurnalism is by far the exception rather the rule in mammals. About 250-230 million years ago, the mammalian ancestors, called the therapsids, became exclusively nocturnal, and stayed so until the demise of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

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