Blue-green Spirulina algae may prevent serious Covid-19

 

Study finds an extract of enhanced Spirulina reduces by 70% the release of an immune-system protein that causes dangerous cytokine storm in the lungs.An extract of Spirulina blue-green algae may help Covid-19 patients avoid getting seriously ill, according to a study by Israeli and Icelandic scientists published in the journal Marine Biotechnology.

“The potential health benefits of Spirulina are well documented,” the authors noted. “This blue-green algae contains C-phycocyanin (C-PC), a pigment-binding protein, which enhances antioxidation, anti-inflammation, and anti-tumor activities.

The scientists found that an extract of photosynthetically enhanced Spirulina reduces by 70 percent the release of an immune-system protein that can cause a cytokine storm in the lungs leading to acute respiratory distress and organ damage.

It is believed that cytokine storms are responsible for critical cases of Covid-19.

The research was conducted at MIGAL Galilee Research Institute in northern Israel using algae grown at a lab in Iceland by Israeli company Vaxa, which received European Union funding to explore natural treatments for Covid-19.

“This indicates that the algae extract may be used to prevent cytokine storms if given to patients soon after diagnosis,” said co-lead author Asaf Tzachor, a biotechnology researcher at IDC Herzliya who is currently leading the Food Security and Global Catastrophic Risks Project at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at Cambridge University.

 

The other co-lead author is Or Rozen from MIGAL. Contributing authors include Soliman Khatib and Dorit Avi from MIGAL and Sophie Jensen from MATIS – Food and Biotech Research and Development, Reykjavík.

Clinical trials are planned next, with the goal of formulating oral spirulina drops.

Source: MIGAL Galilee Research Institute

Hydrogen fuel bus service to start on Delhi-Jaipur route by NTPC:

 The new service is going to be a pilot project to test the viability of fuel cell buses for the intercity commute.

It is going to be the first FCEV bus service in India to be used for intercity commute.

Green mobility is taking the fast lane in the country; apart from establishing a complete EV supporting infra, the Indian government is now also planning more options towards alternative fuels in order to reduce dependence on traditional fuels. While electric cars and taxis are been promoted heavily by the government, it is now also conducting a feasibility study on hydrogen fuel buses.

India's largest energy conglomerate, NTPC Limited (National Thermal Power Corporation Limited) is planning to start a premium hydrogen fuel bus service on Delhi to Jaipur route. For the record, it is going to be the first FCEV bus service in India to be used for intercity commute. However, no specific timeline has been provided for when the service would be started. Previously, similar bus services were seen testing in metro cities like Mumbai.

Source:Hindustan Times

PAINT FROM COW DUNG

 Paint from cow dung - first-of-its-kind!! Khadi India launched Prakritik emulsion paint which has cow dung as its main ingredient. Cow dung makes for 20-30% of the paint’s ingredients and so it is anti-fungal, non-toxic, anti-bacterial, cost-effective and odorless.

The paint can be applied on interior as well as exterior walls. It dries in less than 4 hours, and has a smooth and uniform finish. This paint will instantly reduce the temperature of a room if the outer environment is hot and will maintain the temperature if it is cold outside. It has even successfully tested for radiation prevention. It has been certified by Bureau of Indian Standards. They have priced the distemper paint at Rs 120 per litre and emulsion paint at Rs 225 per litre. Khadi Prakritik Emulsion paint meets BIS 15489:2013 standards whereas Khadi Prakritik Distemper paint meets BIS 428:2013 standards.

This technology will increase the consumption of cow dung as a raw material for eco-friendly products and will generate additional revenue to farmers and gaushalas.

Solar powered tent

 Solar powered tent - world’s 1st solar heated military tent!! Sonam Wangchuck has come up with an innovation that could help people stay warm in the freezing cold of Ladakh. It can keep them warm at 15 degrees even when it is -14 degrees outside.

It uses only sunlight, water and insulated layers to maintain temperature. The solar heated tents can be used by 10 people at a time and is completely portable. The weight of the tent is less than 30 Kg. Wangchuck is the founder of Student Educational and Cultural Movement in Ladakh.

The whole institute is designed with solar energy and uses no fossil fuel for cooking lighting or heating.This replaces tons of kerosene fuel, pollution and emission.

Scientists Find Self-sterilizing Polymers Effective Against Coronaviruses

 Researchers from North Carolina State University, Boston University and Kraton Corporation have demonstrated a family of self-sterilizing polymers that are effective at inactivating coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19.

The work opens the door to a suite of applications that could help to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 and other diseases.

Inactivating Viruses on High-contact Surfaces

The work provides conclusive evidence that these anionic polymers, can inactivate human coronaviruses quickly and efficiently.

“If we want to coat high-contact surfaces such as textiles, countertops or walls – it’s possible,” says Frank Scholle, NC State. “Virus inactivation will occur as long as there is sufficient humidity,” adds Scholle.

When these anionic polymers absorb water, protons can travel through nanoscale channels to the surface, creating a highly acidic environment capable of inactivating viruses and killing bacteria and mold. The research team had previously demonstrated that several of the anionic polymers were effective against a range of pathogens, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and a strain of influenza.

“Based on what we’ve learned, we’ve been able to identify a fundamentally new inactivation mechanism and a family of polymers that expands the health care sector’s arsenal for fighting the spread of coronavirus,” Richard Spontak, North Carolina State University, says.

In laboratory experiments, the researchers demonstrated that specific anionic polymers could fully inactivate SARS-CoV-2 in just 5 minutes, and fully inactivate a human coronavirus surrogate called HCoV-229E in 20 minutes.

Evaluating Applications of the Polymers

Kraton Corporation is in the process of evaluating applications for how some of these polymers might be used in a variety of settings.

“We are thankful for the opportunity to collaborate with NC State University and Boston University to address an important and urgent need for long-lasting antimicrobial performance,” says Vijay Mhetar, Kraton’s chief technology officer. “Building upon this scientific discovery, Kraton Corporation is actively seeking regulatory approvals and evaluating application uses in transportation, health care, and building and infrastructure.”

Source: North Carolina State University

Hyundai Motor Group and POSCO form hydrogen partnership

 Hyundai Motor Group and POSCO have formed a new hydrogen partnership, through which they will jointly develop hydrogen energy utilisation technologies.

Announcing details of partnership earlier this week (16th Feb), the companies said they will convert POSCO Steelworks’ work vehicles to hydrogen alternatives.


It is thought approximately 1,500 vehicles operated at POSCO Pohang and Gwangyang Works will be converted to Hyundai Motor’s pollution-free hydrogen electric vehicles in stages.
Hyundai Motor Company plans to develop commercial hydrogen trucks in consideration of the characteristics of heavy-duty steel logistics, and POSCO plans to use by-product hydrogen produced in steel mills as the energy source for hydrogen trucks.
The two companies also agreed to cooperate with the construction of a hydrogen charging station for hydrogen trucks in the steel mill.

Source: Hyundai Motor Group

Blue hydrogen as a bridge to green

 Steam methane reformers consume natural gas to make grey hydrogen and they emit carbon dioxide as a consequence. In the long term, that can be mitigated with a transition to ‘green’ hydrogen production using electrolysers which can be fed with renewable electrical power or steam methane reformers fed with renewable biogas.

In the short-term retrofitting carbon capture to steam methane reformers (SMR), autothermal reformers (ATR) and gasification reactors to make so-called ‘blue hydrogen’ will make a big difference. Whether the carbon dioxide is captured and utilized (CCUS), or captured and stored (CCS) in permanent underground storage will in some way depend on the use-cases that are developed and commercialised.

On the 27th of January the European Parliament voted that blue hydrogen produced on SMRs from natural gas with CCS will be an acceptable bridge on the journey to full decarbonisation with green hydrogen. This must be one of the most important hydrogen policy decisions that has been taken recently. Surely this is the green light that is needed to get on with rapid and deep decarbonisation in many carbon-intensive sectors. It means that blue hydrogen will have political and market acceptance. The risk of stranded assets and bad investment decisions has been reduced.

Carbon capture is likely to add some cost. And it simultaneously represents a business opportunity. Much of the carbon dioxide that enters food and beverage value chains for freezing and carbonation applications is captured from ammonia production. Although carbon dioxide production generally far outstrips requirements in those industries.

Increasingly, carbon dioxide is also recovered from refinery SMRs. The advantage of having a carbon dioxide source from a refinery is that production is highly stable through the year because the demand for many fuels is not particularly seasonal. A guaranteed all year-round source of carbon dioxide can put the industrial gases supplier a highly reliable position with significant competitive advantage.

Bulk liquid carbon dioxide from a CCUS scheme can also be converted to dry ice for temperature-controlled supply chains. Dry ice gets daily attention at present for its role in the fight against the Coronavirus. Some vaccines must be shipped and stored at around minus 80 degrees Celsius and dry ice is ideal to maintain this low temperature.

The future of carbon dioxide utilisation will transform in the coming decades as decarbonisation deepens. Synthetic liquid fuels, known as e-fuels is one potential area. They are called e-fuels because electrical power is where the energy to create them comes from. Some electrolyser technologies such as the AEC and PEM can produce high quality hydrogen.

The solid oxide electrolyser can do that too, but it can go one step further. When they are fed with a mixture of steam and carbon dioxide, they can make syngas. And from syngas products such as petrol, diesel and jet fuel can be made using Fischer-Tropsch conversion.

Fischer-Tropsch conversion was used at scale by SASOL in South Africa several decades ago. Today, major GTL or gas to liquid projects such as Bintalu, Onyx, Escavos, Lu’an and Pearl all use the technology to convert syngas (which is produced on gasifiers or auto thermal reformers with the help of super-scale ASUs) to liquid fuels.

To decarbonise that process, the coal or natural gas feedstocks must be switched to steam and carbon dioxide, and the gasification unit or ATR must be replaced with a solid oxide electrolyser. It sounds easy, but the reality is that the change will take time and scale up is never as simple as it sounds. There is still lots of room for innovation from technology experts.

Another pathway to syngas from carbon dioxide is dry reforming of methane. Dry methane reforming uses carbon dioxide to react with the methane instead of steam. As with solid oxide electrolysis, the result is syngas which can be converted to liquid fuels.

Dry methane reforming is related to steam methane reforming, but it is different and more challenging. The process has been known about for decades. The barrier to commercialisation has been the difficulty in finding a catalyst that is able to convince the extremely stubborn carbon dioxide molecule to break apart and join the reaction to produce syngas without that same catalyst getting deactivated by carbon deposits. Innovation in this area will run and run. And it will be worth it.

Using carbon dioxide to make fuel that then burns to release carbon dioxide is an example of the circular economy. And the circular economy is simply nature in action – a man made carbon cycle.