Computers and Gadgets

Dissolving Circuit Boards for Easier Electronics Recycling

Philip Proefrock

Recycling and reusing electronic components could be made much easier with a new polymer that produces a circuit board that will dissolve when immersed in hot water. The circuit board was developed by the UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) as part of the ReUSE (Reuseable, Unzippable, Sustainable Electronics) project.

The circuit board material is hardy enough to withstand ordinary heat and moisture, but full immersion in hot water acts to release the components from the board. This allows for over 90% of the electronics materials to be recovered, whereas typically less than 2% of the materials on a circuit board are re-used.

Although this is not necessarily beneficial for the repairability of electronics, it could be a definite improvement in helping get a handle on the growing mountains of electronics waste and make recycling of electronics components and recovery of minerals an easier process.

Video link: YouTube

image: CC BY-SA 1.0 by Mark Pellegrini/Wikimedia

via: Treehugger

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Vacuum Tube Technology Could Make Faster Circuits

Philip Proefrock

New obstacles with the limits of electron flow through semiconductors are one of the many problems engineers face as they continue to push for increased speed and power for electronic devices. But a team of researchers is looking back at the technology of the vacuum tube to develop a means to increase circuit and computational speed.

Once it was invented in the late 1940s, the transistor began to replace the vacuum tube, and led to an amazing range of uses for solid-state devices and the variety of electronic gadgets we have today. Transistors offered savings in both size and energy. But one of the things that vacuum tubes provided was an obstacle free path for unhindered electron flow through the vacuum. "Electrons traveling inside a semiconductor device frequently experience collisions or scattering in the solid-state medium." The problem with vacuum tubes, besides their large size, is that they require high voltages to operate.

Researchers at University of Pittsburgh have developed a method for electrons to travel through a nanoscale vacuum which could lead to advances in electronics with improvements in speed and transistor density. According to the project leader, Hong Koo Kim, "The emission of this electron system into vacuum channels could enable a new class of low-power, high-speed transistors, and it’s also compatible with current silicon electronics, complementing those electronics by adding new functions that are faster and more energy efficient due to the low voltage."

image: CC-BY-SA-2.0-DE by Stefan Riepl (Quark48)

via: GigaOM

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Apple Ditches Green Certification, Then Rejoins

Philip Proefrock

A couple weeks ago, Apple announced that it would no longer have its laptops certified under EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Asessment Tool), a voluntary industry standard that has been used to advance recyclability and reduce the use of toxic materials in electronic devices. But now, after enormous outcry against Apple's decision, the company has realized its mistake. On Friday, the company announced "all eligible Apple products are back on EPEAT."

EPEAT was developed in the early 2000s with a consortium of representatives from manufacturers, trade associations, government agencies, and other groups seeking to promote a more environmentally conscious lifecycle for electronic products. Apple was part of the EPEAT Development and Implementation Team, and 40 of its desktops, notebooks and displays have received EPEAT Gold certification.

Speculation has been that withdrawing from EPEAT was because the company's new latops were using glue instead of screws (which would prevent easy disassembly for repair or recycling) to attach batteries inside the case. The reversal may also be due to the requirement that 95% of federal electronics purchases be EPEAT certified.

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Carbon Footprint of E-Readers Higher Than Print

Philip Proefrock

Digital delivery of content for e-readers is a rapidly expanding market. Many assume that, because trees aren't being cut down and used to maufacture paper for books, e-readers (including the Kindle, Nook, iPad, and the like) are a greener way to read books and magazines. But a broader look at the use of these devices that includes the life-cycle of the e-readers themselves paints a much bleaker picture about how green they really are.

The article first looks at the carbon emissions for an average adult reader who reads 6.5 books per year. Paperback books have a footprint of 26 kilograms (over 57 pounds) of CO2, as compared to just under 70 grams (about 0.15 pounds) for the e-reader. But the tables are turned drastically when the carbon footprint of the reader is added in. The carbon footprint for this average reader is almost identical (130 kilograms or 285 pounds) when expanded over 5 years.

But how many people still use 5-year old electronic devices? Assuming a 2-year replacement cycle, the chart shows that the iPad carbon footprint outstrips that for the print reader, and even the more efficient iPad2 has more than double the emissions over a 5 year period. High-volume readers and those who hold on to their electronic devices for longer periods may make the e-reader a more suitable choice, but technological alternatives aren't always all their proponents would like consumers to believe.

link: The Millions

via: Treehugger

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Free Modlet Offer for NYC Residents to Save Air Conditioner Power This Summer

Philip Proefrock

CoolNYC is a cooperative program being offered by Con Edison and ThinkEco which will provide up to 10,000 free thermostats and Modlet plug-in electrical outlet controllers to New York City residents to be used to monitor and control window air conditioning units. The hope is that controlling window AC units can help reduce peak electrical demand this summer.

You may recall the Modlet, which we noted late in 2010 when it was a Top 10 Green Building Product. The Modlet is a smart outlet that plugs in to a conventional outlet and allows you to control and monitor energy usage wirelessly. With the Modlet, appliance use can be scheduled for particular times. There are also apps to allow iPhone and Android devices to control Modlet outlets remotely.

The Modlet networks to a computer via a wireless USB dongle, but it has built in memory so it can run for up to two weeks without connecting to the computer. If there are several Modlets in the home or office, they will conect to each other with a mesh network, so not every one has to be in range of the computer in order to work.

For those outside New York or who don't qualify for this program, the Modlet retails for about $50.

via: Apartment Therapy

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