Energy & Environmental Science最新文献

Underutilized wastewaters containing dilute levels of reactive nitrogen (Nr) can help rebalance the nitrogen cycle. This study describes electrodialysis and nitrate reduction (EDNR), a reactive electrochemical separation architecture that combines catalysis and separations to remediate nitrate and ammonium-polluted wastewaters while recovering ammonia. By engineering operating parameters (e.g., background electrolyte, applied potential, electrolyte flow rate), we achieved high recovery and conversion of Nr in both simulated and real wastewaters. The EDNR process demonstrated long-term robustness and up-concentration that recovered >100 mM ammonium fertilizer solution from agricultural runoff that contained 8.2 mM Nr. EDNR is the first reported process to our knowledge that remediates dilute real wastewater and recovers ammonia from multiple Nr pollutants, with an energy consumption (245 MJ per kg NH₃–N in simulated wastewater, 920 MJ per kg NH₃–N in agricultural runoff) on par with the state-of-the-art. Demonstrated first at proof-of-concept and engineered to technology readiness level (TRL) 4–5, EDNR shows great promise for distributed wastewater treatment and sustainable ammonia manufacturing.

While a rapid defossilisation of the energy-industry system is at the highest priority for climate change mitigation, additional post-fossil carbon dioxide removal (CDR) for net-negative emissions will likely be necessary to ensure a safe future. An in-depth techno-economic analysis of differentiated sequestration options for carbon dioxide (CO₂) in solid carbonates is not yet available, as direct air capture-based mineralisation is usually aggregated in direct air capture and carbon sequestration. This research gap is closed by studying mineralisation as a key CDR option to sequester atmospheric CO₂ permanently, based on available literature. The most frequently discussed routes for mineralisation, i.e., in situ, ex situ mineralisation, and enhanced rock weathering, are examined. The deployment potentials of these options are determined globally for nine major regions. Results indicate that costs for all mineralisation options can be kept below 100 € per tCO₂ from 2050. From 2030 onwards, in situ mineralisation, with low energy-intensity, can be realised at cost of ≤131 € per tCO₂, ex situ mineralisation at ≤189 € per tCO₂, and enhanced weathering at ≤88 € per tCO₂. Final energy demand for CO₂ sequestration via in situ mineralisation is ≤1.8 MWh per tCO₂, via ex situ mineralisation ≤3.7 MWh per tCO₂, and via enhanced weathering ≤1.1 MWh per tCO₂ from 2030. Large-scale deployment of mineralisation options supporting 60% of projected CDR demand is assessed to require up to 0.06% and 0.21% in global gross domestic product and up to 2.5% and 8.6% additional primary energy demand in 2070 for a 1.5 °C and 1.0 °C climate target, respectively. Implications, permanence of sequestration, and limitations are discussed, and a research outlook is provided.

The development of stretchable electrodes for intrinsically stretchable organic solar cells (IS-OSCs) with both high power conversion efficiency (PCE) and mechanical stability is crucial for wearable electronics. However, research on top electrodes that maintain high conductivity and excellent stretchability has been underexplored. Herein, we introduce a novel liquid metal electrode architecture (i.e., indium/metallic interlayer/gallium, InMiG) for IS-OSCs. Thermally deposited indium significantly improves mechanical properties by dispersing stress, mitigating crack initiation and propagation within the underlying layers. The metallic interlayer enhances the electrical conductivity and wettability of gallium, enabling the formation of a smooth and uniform film. The InMiG electrode surpasses eutectic gallium-indium (EGaIn) in both electrical conductivity and adhesion energy. Notably, the IS-OSCs with InMiG electrode achieve a high PCE of 14.6% and retain 70% of their initial PCE at 63% strain, highlighting their potential for commercial use in wearable electronics.