Nanotechnology is the ability to engineer and create useful materials at the nanoscale (100,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair) to take advantage of enhanced properties not present in their bulk counterparts. It is a disruptive technology, a new technology that unexpectedly displaces an established technology, and an enabling technology, one that can be applied to existing technologies to make them better.

Nanotechnology is described in a recent GAO report, “as a future megatrend that will potentially match or surpass the digital revolution’s effect on society and the economy bringing new opportunities, ‘disruptive innovation,’ jobs creation, and diverse societal benefits.”

Energy is key area where nanotechnology offers solutions. The late Dr. Richard Smalley from Rice University, who received his Nobel Laureate for synthesis of fullerenes, a type of carbon nanomaterial, is quoted as saying, “Energy plays a key role in the quality of our environment, the prevention of disease, and so on; down the entire list of global concerns…. Energy is probably the single most important factor that impacts the prosperity of any society.”[i]

Imagine a future world without abundant, low-cost, clean energy. Manufacturing would be constrained, as would the jobs tied to manufacturing. A lack of energy would limit the ability to pump water from wells and surface waters, treat it and provide clean water to a growing populace. Pumping water for irrigation of crops would be restricted. Transport of food and manufactured goods to cities would be diminished. A lack of energy would seriously curtail treatment of sewage. The list goes on. Without sufficient energy, water and food resources, maintaining a safe, clean and healthy environment will be compromised, and the superior lifestyle we expect our future cities to provide will be threatened. Since 2008, for the first time in history, the majority of the world’s population has lived in cities. It is estimated that around three out of every five people will live in an urban area by 2030.[ii]

Demand for energy is not going to decrease. Worldwide energy usage is on track to increase by roughly 40% in the next 20 years and to nearly double by 2050.[iii]  To ensure that our future cities remain viable, sustainable entities, innovative solutions to generate, store, transmit, and conserve energy must be developed. Many of these solutions will have their foundations in new nanomaterials being developed now.

Nanotechnology research and commercial production ramping up

The amount of nanotechnology-related research that is currently underway is staggering. According to Statnano, there were over 118,000 ISI indexed nanotechnology articles published worldwide in 2014 – 140% more than in 2010.  The 2015 US Federal Budget provides more than $1.5 billion for the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), which supports nanoscale science and engineering R&D at 11 federal agencies.[iv] Corporate spending on nanotechnology R&D is also increasing dramatically across all geographies. A December 2013 study by Lux Research, funded by the US National Science Foundation and the US Nanotechnology Coordinating Office, showed that global corporate nanotechnology R&D funding reached $10 billion in 2012.[v] Much of this research is focused on energy and is providing unprecedented breakthroughs in energy production, conversion, storage, and transport.

The Lux report also showed that global funding for emerging nanotechnology has increased by 40 to 45% each year for 2010-2012. It pointed out that revenue from nano-enabled products grew worldwide from $339 billion in 2010 to $731 billion in 2012 and to more than $1 trillion in 2013, and predicts that in 2018 the global value of nano-enabled products, nano-intermediates, and nanomaterials will reach $4.4 trillion.

Nanotechnology will be part of the solution in meeting the world’s energy demands

There are many approaches to meeting the world’s energy demands, including developing new energy sources and conserving the energy supplies we already have. Nanotechnology is not the whole answer, but it is a key part of the solution to help the world meet humanity’s rapidly growing energy needs.

Just a few of the sustainable, nanotechnology-enabled breakthroughs that are on the horizon and that ArchTam will be evaluating and employing over the next few years to respond to critical energy challenges are listed below.

Transparent solar cells (University of California Los Angeles)

Nanotechnology and energy generation

Solar cells made of new nanomaterials continue to break efficiency records. As new manufacturing methods are coming online, costs will drop and their use will increase. Nano-enabled paints will not only be self-cleaning, but will also generate electricity to power our houses and decrease stress on the grid. Nano-enabled fabrics are under development and will be used in our clothing to generate electricity to power our mobile devices. New nano-metamaterials are being developed for use in roads, automobiles and power plants and will be able to convert excess heat and even pressure directly into electricity – energy harvesting.

Nanomaterials are currently being used to enhance crude oil recovery. New nanocatalysts will enable more efficient conversion of this crude oil into fossil fuels.

Fuel cell technology is being advanced by nanotechnology-related breakthroughs. New nano-catalysts will allow for enhanced production of “clean” fuels like hydrogen and ethanol from biomass and other sources. There are even nano-catalysts that have shown promise in converting waste gases like carbon monoxide from vehicles, power plants and manufacturing facilities into ethanol.

Applied Nano Solutions Supercapacitor (Lockheed-Martin Subsidiary)

Nanotechnology and energy storage

Breakthroughs in new energy storage devices are difficult to track since they seemingly occur every day! Scientists are designing new batteries using nanomaterials that make them lighter with significantly more energy density and higher efficiency. A new paper-like nanomaterial for lithium-ion batteries that could boost electric vehicle range was recently announced. The problems with battery deterioration due to heat generation during charging and use may have been solved with incorporation of a new unique nanofiber.

Super and ultracapacitors are being made with nanomaterials that will allow storage of tremendous quantities of power and be able to release that power to the grid in a controlled manner. New supercapicator arrays will allow portable power storage and distribution at point of use – ushering in a new form of emergency power supplies.

And new breakthroughs are being made using carbon-nanotube-enabled through-flow batteries that are well suited to store electricity produced by wind and solar installations.

16 gauge wire made from carbon nanotubes (www.nano.gov)

Nanotechnology and energy transmission

New nanomaterials are being used in development of near-superconducting materials which will outperform copper wire and increase the efficiency of the new transmission lines required to meet ever-growing energy demands. Nanosensors will be used to manage the grid.

Research is also beginning on wireless energy transmission, using microwaves, lasers and other electromagnetic energy sources. Nano-enabled components will play a key role in the development of this technology.

Nanotechnology and energy conservation – another source of energy

ArchTam has unique experience utilizing nano-enabled materials in our designs and specifications to reduce energy footprints. There are significant opportunities for use of more efficient nano construction materials such as nano-aerogel insulation, the most thermally efficient material known; nano-enabled LED and OLED lighting, which is significantly more efficient than fluorescent; nano-enabled thermochromic windows insulation; and nanoconcrete, which is stronger, more weather resistant and more thermally efficient.

The Halley VI Research Station in Antarctica, engineered by ArchTam, features panels of translucent Nanogel Aerogel.

Carbon nanotube wire may replace copper in the windings of electric motors – making them more efficient. Nano coatings are now used on engine components to reduce friction. New nano additives are being used in fuel to enhance combustion, contributing to a gain in fuel efficiency.

Notes

[i] Future Global Energy Prosperity: The Terawatt Challenge, Richard Smalley, Materials Research Society Bulletin, Vol 30, June 2005

[ii] Silver–Haired Surfers, John Beard World Health Organization, One, ArchTam’s e-magazine, Issue 7 — December 2013

[iii] Nanotechnology Research Directions for Societal Needs in 2020 -Retrospective and Outlook, Mihail C. Roco ed., World Technology Evaluation Center, Inc., October 2010

[iv] http://www.nano.gov/about-nni/what/funding

[v] Nanotechnology Update: Corporations Up Their Spending as Revenues for Nano-enabled Products Increase, Hilary Flynn, Lead Analyst, Lux Research, U.S. National Nanotechnology Coordination Office and U.S. National Science Foundation, December 2013

Nanotechnology on the Connected Cities blog

Water crisis, nano solutions

For future cities, think small, as in nano

Additional Information Resources

1. Nanotechnology and the As Built Environment: Investing in Green Infrastructure, Crystal Research Associates’ and Livingston Securities’, second edition, December 2012.
2. Application of Nanotechnologies in the Energy Sector, Hessian Ministry of Economy, Transport Urban and Regional Development, Volume 9, August 2008.
3. Global Energy Architecture Performance Index Report 2015, World Economic Forum, December 2014.
4. Annual Energy Outlook 2014 – With Projections to 2040, U.S. Energy Information Administration, Department of Energy, April 2014.
5. Nanotechnology and Energy, National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, January 2012.

Bill Looney (bill.looney@archtam.com) is a senior program manager, Environment, and director of the Nanotechnology Initiative, ArchTam.

The post The nanotechnology energy revolution appeared first on Blog.

The risks to our global water supplies are many and complex. They include aquifer depletion from excessive withdrawal; increases in salinity from saltwater incursion, irrigation practices, fertilizer use, and road salting; pollution from industrial, agricultural, and human and animal waste; and drought exacerbated by climate change. As our usable water supplies are diminishing, population growth, energy use, and economic expansion are combining to increase stress on this resource.

The decline in quality and quantity of fresh water, combined with increased competition among resource-intensive systems, such as food and energy production, is resulting in a water supply crisis. The 2013 World Economic Forum Global Risks Report[i] identified this water supply crisis as one of the top five risks in both likelihood of occurrence and severity of impact on society over the next 10 years. The risks “underscore the need for technological innovation to transform the way we treat, distribute, use, and reuse water toward a distributed, differential water treatment and reuse paradigm (i.e., treat water and wastewater locally only to the required level dictated by the intended use).”[ii]

Estimates by the United Nations suggest that by 2050 the global population will increase to 9 billion, 50% greater than the population in 2010 (Figure 1), and that by 2025 nearly half of the world’s population will be living in megacities, which will not necessarily be located in areas of renewable or sustainable water supply.[iii]  To meet the challenges in an ever more resource-challenged world, innovation and technology must play an increasing role. Nanotechnology, the engineering of matter at the atomic scale to create materials with unique properties and capabilities, will play a significant part in ensuring that risks to critical water resources for future cities are addressed. Nanotechnology “has the potential to be a key element in providing effective, environmentally sustainable solutions for supplying potable water for human use and clean water for agricultural and industrial uses.”[iv]

Scientists are now able to engineer and create nanomaterials to take advantage of specific properties not present in their bulk counterparts. For example, the large surface areas of some nanomaterials, like nano metal oxides and nano fibers, have enhanced capacities to absorb contaminants; nanosilver is being used in commercially-available point-of-use water treatment devices as an antimicrobial and antifouling agent.

Emerging Organic Contaminants (EOCs) have proved particularly difficult to remove from drinking water and industrial, agricultural, and municipal waste streams. EOCs include synthetic organic chemicals such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, plasticizers and flame retardants. Many of these chemicals are endocrine disruptors that are biologically active and can potentially cause adverse ecological and human health effects.

One of ArchTam’s research partners, Dr. Arturo Keller, Professor of Biogeochemistry at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California-Santa Barbara, recently published a paper called Magnetic Nanoparticle Adsorbents for Emerging Organic Contaminants.[v] The study concludes that the low energy and relatively low cost to synthesize  magnetic nanoparticles, the ease of recovery from points of application with a magnetic field, and their regenerability make magnetic nanoparticles a more sustainable option than traditional approaches for removing emerging organic contaminants from contaminated waters such as granular activated carbon or oxidation.

Nanotechnology-based approaches may help provide quality water while reducing the requirement to replace the aging large-scale water treatment infrastructure in existing cities or construction of new large-scale infrastructure in new cities.

One approach ArchTam is evaluating for use in wastewater and groundwater treatment was developed by AquaNano, a start-up with ties to Caltech. AquaNano’s treatment technology uses dendrimers, a type of nano-scaled polymer that can be engineered to sequester specific chemicals. The resulting effluent is free of contaminants and can be released or reused. The sequestered chemicals can be recovered and the dendrimers can be reused.

ArchTam has also established a collaboration agreement with Stellenbosch University in South Africa to evaluate a unique water treatment device they have developed in which the nano-enabled treatment media are placed in common tea bags. As water passes through the bag, contaminants are absorbed by carbon while the nanofiber biocides destroy microorganisms. This simple, practical product makes contaminated water safe to drink – quickly and inexpensively. This application is associated with the University’s Hope Project. ArchTam originally viewed this application as a way to provide clean water to those most in need in developing countries, but it has the potential for scale-up to use by larger populations in the developed and developing world.

Stellenbosch University’s (South Africa) Hope Project’s nano-enabled water purification device provides a sustainable solution to solve water related challenges. From http://thehopeproject.co.za/hope/projects/academic/water/Pages/About.aspx

I believe that using new sustainable, nano-enabled water treatment technologies currently under development, in concert with other initiatives, will ensure the future availability of water resources for our world.

The post Water crisis: nano solutions appeared first on Blog.

The risks to our global water supplies are many and complex. They include aquifer depletion from excessive withdrawal; increases in salinity from saltwater incursion, irrigation practices, fertilizer use, and road salting; pollution from industrial, agricultural, and human and animal waste; and drought exacerbated by climate change. As our usable water supplies are diminishing, population growth, energy use, and economic expansion are combining to increase stress on this resource.

The decline in quality and quantity of fresh water, combined with increased competition among resource-intensive systems, such as food and energy production, is resulting in a water supply crisis. The 2013 World Economic Forum Global Risks Report[i] identified this water supply crisis as one of the top five risks in both likelihood of occurrence and severity of impact on society over the next 10 years. The risks “underscore the need for technological innovation to transform the way we treat, distribute, use, and reuse water toward a distributed, differential water treatment and reuse paradigm (i.e., treat water and wastewater locally only to the required level dictated by the intended use).”[ii]

Estimates by the United Nations suggest that by 2050 the global population will increase to 9 billion, 50% greater than the population in 2010 (Figure 1), and that by 2025 nearly half of the world’s population will be living in megacities, which will not necessarily be located in areas of renewable or sustainable water supply.[iii]  To meet the challenges in an ever more resource-challenged world, innovation and technology must play an increasing role. Nanotechnology, the engineering of matter at the atomic scale to create materials with unique properties and capabilities, will play a significant part in ensuring that risks to critical water resources for future cities are addressed. Nanotechnology “has the potential to be a key element in providing effective, environmentally sustainable solutions for supplying potable water for human use and clean water for agricultural and industrial uses.”[iv]

Scientists are now able to engineer and create nanomaterials to take advantage of specific properties not present in their bulk counterparts. For example, the large surface areas of some nanomaterials, like nano metal oxides and nano fibers, have enhanced capacities to absorb contaminants; nanosilver is being used in commercially-available point-of-use water treatment devices as an antimicrobial and antifouling agent.

Emerging Organic Contaminants (EOCs) have proved particularly difficult to remove from drinking water and industrial, agricultural, and municipal waste streams. EOCs include synthetic organic chemicals such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, plasticizers and flame retardants. Many of these chemicals are endocrine disruptors that are biologically active and can potentially cause adverse ecological and human health effects.

One of ArchTam’s research partners, Dr. Arturo Keller, Professor of Biogeochemistry at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California-Santa Barbara, recently published a paper called Magnetic Nanoparticle Adsorbents for Emerging Organic Contaminants.[v] The study concludes that the low energy and relatively low cost to synthesize  magnetic nanoparticles, the ease of recovery from points of application with a magnetic field, and their regenerability make magnetic nanoparticles a more sustainable option than traditional approaches for removing emerging organic contaminants from contaminated waters such as granular activated carbon or oxidation.

Nanotechnology-based approaches may help provide quality water while reducing the requirement to replace the aging large-scale water treatment infrastructure in existing cities or construction of new large-scale infrastructure in new cities.

One approach ArchTam is evaluating for use in wastewater and groundwater treatment was developed by AquaNano, a start-up with ties to Caltech. AquaNano’s treatment technology uses dendrimers, a type of nano-scaled polymer that can be engineered to sequester specific chemicals. The resulting effluent is free of contaminants and can be released or reused. The sequestered chemicals can be recovered and the dendrimers can be reused.

ArchTam has also established a collaboration agreement with Stellenbosch University in South Africa to evaluate a unique water treatment device they have developed in which the nano-enabled treatment media are placed in common tea bags. As water passes through the bag, contaminants are absorbed by carbon while the nanofiber biocides destroy microorganisms. This simple, practical product makes contaminated water safe to drink – quickly and inexpensively. This application is associated with the University’s Hope Project. ArchTam originally viewed this application as a way to provide clean water to those most in need in developing countries, but it has the potential for scale-up to use by larger populations in the developed and developing world.

Stellenbosch University’s (South Africa) Hope Project’s nano-enabled water purification device provides a sustainable solution to solve water related challenges. From http://thehopeproject.co.za/hope/projects/academic/water/Pages/About.aspx

I believe that using new sustainable, nano-enabled water treatment technologies currently under development, in concert with other initiatives, will ensure the future availability of water resources for our world.

The post Water crisis: nano solutions appeared first on Blog.

“Based on recent Department of Energy Annual Energy Outlook reports, residential and commercial buildings account for 36% of the total primary energy use in the United States and 30% of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.”[i]  Consequently, there is an ever-increasing demand for more energy-efficient, sustainable, “green” buildings. The use of nanotechnology-enhanced building materials offers many advantages over traditional building materials in this area, including: more energy-efficient insulation and lighting; heat-rejecting coatings; lighter and stronger structural composites, concrete and steel; and glass that changes opacity in response to temperature change.  There are even nano-additives that can be used in cement and paint that react with smog, neutralizing its hazardous constituents.[ii]  These applications can significantly reduce carbon footprints and help meet the global sustainability challenges.

Nanotechnology, engineering of matter at the atomic scale to create materials with unique properties and capabilities, can be classed as a disruptive technology, a new technology that unexpectedly displaces an established technology, and an enabling technology, one that can be applied to existing technologies to make them better.

Nanomaterials were used in the Halley VI Modules, commissioned by the British Antarctic Survey, engineered by ArchTam and designed by Hough Broughton architects. Translucent nanoaerogel panels, the most thermally efficient material known, were incorporated and substantially reduce energy loss in the extreme, harsh climate.

Halley VI. Image courtesy of British Antarctic Survey.

It is currently predicted that nano-enabled construction materials will increase from approximately 7% of the total in 2011 to 54% in 2025, as falling prices allow greater penetration of higher volume markets.[iii]

Nanotechnology is poised to make a significant contribution to enhancing sustainability. This powerful technology presents many new opportunities as well as challenges.

The post For future cities, think small, as in nano appeared first on Blog.

“Based on recent Department of Energy Annual Energy Outlook reports, residential and commercial buildings account for 36% of the total primary energy use in the United States and 30% of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.”[i]  Consequently, there is an ever-increasing demand for more energy-efficient, sustainable, “green” buildings. The use of nanotechnology-enhanced building materials offers many advantages over traditional building materials in this area, including: more energy-efficient insulation and lighting; heat-rejecting coatings; lighter and stronger structural composites, concrete and steel; and glass that changes opacity in response to temperature change.  There are even nano-additives that can be used in cement and paint that react with smog, neutralizing its hazardous constituents.[ii]  These applications can significantly reduce carbon footprints and help meet the global sustainability challenges.

Nanotechnology, engineering of matter at the atomic scale to create materials with unique properties and capabilities, can be classed as a disruptive technology, a new technology that unexpectedly displaces an established technology, and an enabling technology, one that can be applied to existing technologies to make them better.

Nanomaterials were used in the Halley VI Modules, commissioned by the British Antarctic Survey, engineered by ArchTam and designed by Hough Broughton architects. Translucent nanoaerogel panels, the most thermally efficient material known, were incorporated and substantially reduce energy loss in the extreme, harsh climate.

Halley VI. Image courtesy of British Antarctic Survey.

It is currently predicted that nano-enabled construction materials will increase from approximately 7% of the total in 2011 to 54% in 2025, as falling prices allow greater penetration of higher volume markets.[iii]

Nanotechnology is poised to make a significant contribution to enhancing sustainability. This powerful technology presents many new opportunities as well as challenges.

The post For future cities, think small, as in nano appeared first on Blog.