Grasp It

Ocean pollution From oil and debris to sewage and toxic chemicals – our seas have it all O ceans cover 71 % of our planet’s surface and contain an estimated 1.5 million species, but that hasn’t stopped humanity using the sea as a giant, watery rubbish bin. We’re familiar with terrible images of seabirds whose feathers are clogged with viscous black oil. But catastrophic spills from tankers account for just a portion of oil pollution in the sea; street runoff, vehicle exhausts, and industrial waste are all chronic contributors to the problem. Indeed, almost all marine pollution stems from activities on land. Runoff from farms introduces pesticides and insecticides into the aquatic food chain, as well as an overabundance of nutrients in the form of fertilizer. This causes populations of algae to spike, draining the surrounding waters of oxygen and choking other marine life. Finally, human-made rubbish is everywhere throughout the world’s oceans, where it is corralled by currents i...

What’s Inside a Single Stream Recycling plant ? The machine that separates your recyclables so you don’t have to 1   Tipping floor A steady stream of recycling collection vehicles arrives at the facility, dumping their cargo of various recyclables out onto the tipping floor. Drivers look out for any oversized things like car engines that would cause destruction to the plant machines. 2  Loading Powerful loaders shunt heaps of mixed recyclables into a large hopper, where they are tumbled over a rotating drum to loosen compacted materials. They then flow onto a giant conveyer belt, which speeds the jumble into the main facility. 3  Manual pre-sort Teams of human sorters pick out non-recyclable items from the fast-moving stream, including crisp packets, plastic bags, shoes, and nappies, as well as big items like scrap metal that might block the machines. 4  Star screen sorting A series ...

How CristalACTiV Works This clever coating can be painted on structures to help cleanse the surrounding air 1) Pollutants Photoreactive atmospheric pollutants like VOCs, NOx, and Sox come into contact with the depollution coating. Working of CristalACTiV coating 2) Depollution coating Under the sun’s UV light, the titanium dioxide (TiO2) coating forms highly reactive free radical particles, capable of breaking down pollutants. 3) Chemical reactions Photocatalytic reactions involving the free radicals convert pollutants to carbon dioxide, water, and harmless compounds that stick to the depollution surface. 4) Self-cleaning surface The soiled surface is washed clean whenever rain falls, or it is hosed down. Photocatalysis In some cases, airborne pollutants convert to harmless materials when they react chemically with other atmospheric gases. These reactions happen naturally in the presence of light but on a slow timescale...