Eco Effect: Design

Showing posts with label Design. Show all posts

Friday, 6 July 2012

Catalytic Clothing: Clothing that breaks down air borne pollutants by means of a photocatalyst.

This is amazing clothing, that when light shines on this clothing, the electrons in the material are rearranged and become more reactive which are then able to react with the water in the air and break it apart into 2 radicals (extremely reactive molecules). These radicals then react with the pollutants in the air causing them to break down into non-harmful chemicals.

This new clothing technology is designed to breakdown pollutants immediately. However, it is likely that some pollutant may not be broken down and get attached to the clothing, but they will then be washed off during laundering.

How is the technology delivered to the surface of the clothing?

During your laundry procedure the photocatalyst is delivered to the surface of the clothing as an addictive within a standard product such as a fabric softer.

Mass participated is need

As each garment is only able to remove a small amount of air pollutant, the more people wearing the Catalytic Clothing the more noticeable the pollution reduction level will be.

It has been estimated that to see a significant reduction in the level of air borne pollutants in a city such as London, for every metre of pavement, 30 people wearing Catalytic Clothes walked past each minute.

Why should we reduce or ideally get rid of air borne Pollutants?

Air borne pollutants are mostly caused from motor vehicles and industry, and present a risk to human health as well as having detrimental effects on ecosystems and vegetation.

How we will be able to see that the clothing is working

There is already some form of air quality monitoring stations in most major cities and towns. Those monitors record the levels of a range of major pollutants, such as NOx and VOC’s.

The team working on the Catalytic Clothing expect that once the Catalytic Clothing technology is in widespread use considerable reductions in the levels of the pollutants will be observed using those monitors.

When will it be available?

Catalytic Clothing will hopefully be publicly available in 2013.

Glossary:

A catalyst - a person/thing that starts or speeds up a reaction while undergoing no permanent change itself.

A photocatalyst – a catalyst which gets the energy it needs to be active from light.

A radical - an extremely reactive molecule.

Thursday, 7 June 2012

Inventions which Convert Unused Energy into Electricity

Take a look at these superb inventions that capture unused energy and convert it into electricity for us to reuse. The best bit is that these creations do not require us, lazy humans, to change our behaviour in order to become more environmentally friendly.

Although several of these designs are still at concept level, we love them and take our hats off to the designers, researchers and scientists behind each and every one of these beauties.

Dancepants: your movement generates electricity to power your MP3 player

Sneakers which charge your mobile phone

Solar powered tie and other photovoltaic clothing

Moss Table: furniture demonstrating the use of Bio-Photo-Voltaic (BPV) technology

ALMA Tree Lamps

Solar Floating Resort

Solar Power Satellite

CNF-PZT Cantilever: a process whereby a carbon nanotube film absorbs thermal energy from electrical devices, forcing a cantilever to bend creating an electrical current

Friday, 1 June 2012

Colours Everywhere!

Colours are EVERYWHERE this year! From the chairs we sit on to the things we eat. When choosing your colours this season go for the most environmentally friendly option possible. For example, you can choose locally grown organic food, products made form recycled goods, or paints that are VOC free.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic chemicals with low boiling points, causing a large number of molecules to evaporate at room temperature. Even though VOCs are both naturally occurring and man-made chemical compounds, many are harmful to the environment and our health.

Fortunately, our clever little hamsters at Eco Effect make sure that all our prints are done with VOC free inks, as well as insuring that none of our products contain any of those bad boys!

May the colours of the rainbow be with you!