Wide Format news 1-2017

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Cathode-ray tube monitors huge problem Although cathode-ray tube (CRT) monitors are not a usual component of printers, the salvaging of the monitors is becoming a problem for those recycling e-waste material. Dave Beal, Vice President of EPC, Inc., says CRT monitors are one of the reasons e-waste legislation should be a priority, “because we’ve had all these companies that have abandoned CRTs, for the most part. It costs so much to get rid of those. We’re looking in Missouri for a secondary lead smelter we can send them to, but they’re shut down now and they shut down every once in a while, so you just have to hold them until they allow you to get everything in again. If you have a fairly big operation, you might have to hold two or three truckloads before they open up again.” Beal stated that a company stood up at conferences, saying they were going to build a furnace and take care of all the CRT glass. “They just needed enough to stockpile so that once they got their furnace running, they could take care of everything. Now, they’ve got millions of pounds of CRTs sitting in Arizona and Ohio.” A CRT monitor’s components are an electron gun and focusing equipment, a plastic casing and leaded glass. Because of x-rays emitted by the electron gun, lead is present to shield people. An analysis of the glass resulted in the following results by weight: The lead, a dangerous component, can be recovered through a pyrovacuum process, vaporising lead with high heat and low pressure: then it is recovered with carbon powder. The composition of materials has also changed. LEDs have replaced LCD screens that replaced CRTs in screens. There are fluorescent tubes in the background of LCD screens. CRTs contained lead, but now there is a need to be concerned with mercury in LCD screens. As for the glass in machines, Beal says he can take the glass to someone who will process it, but it is not profitable at all. “You can find people that will take the glass,” Beal said, “but for the most part, it’s not a sellable option.” LEDs don’t have hazardous materials and materials are easily recovered. Beal says there is not much value there. Some people take the front panels, which have rare earth metals in them and that they’ll recover. “That’s a long process, too,” Beal said. “You don’t get a lot out of it.” LINK: http://www.appropedia.org/Metal_reclamation_and_ recycling_of_electronic_waste#cite_note-Chen-11 • 49.61 percent silicon dioxide • 24.11 percent lead oxide • 7.79 percent potassium oxide • 5.32 percent sodium oxide • 3.63 percent aluminium oxide • 2.99 percent strontium oxide • 2.30 percent calcium oxide • 1.96 percent barium oxide • 1.49 percent magnesium oxide • 0.58 percent zirconium oxide • 0.07 percent iron oxide • 0.07 percent phosphorous oxide Alternative energy spreading in business Solar, wind and other alternative energy platforms have been possible for decades. Now the prospect of going off the grid is coming true, with countries like Sweden enjoying the prospect of freeing that country from fossil fuels completely. Cutting energy costs and using “green” energy is one of the major profit centres for a small business. In addition to buying energy-efficient appliances, printers and computers, it’s only one step farther for long-term investment in alternative energy. The year 2015 brought a surge of investment in renewable power and fuels in developing and industrial countries, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). BNEF reported that wind power was the leading source of new power-generating power capacity in Europe and the USA in 2015. But non-European and non-USA countries such as China helped bring the capacity up by 63 gigawatts (GW) to 433GW worldwide. Solar was up 25 percent in 2015 over 2014, totalling 227GW, and 10 times that of a decade earlier. Photovoltaics and solar have marked a dramatic increase in innovation. In PV (photovoltaics), commercial development of solar paint materials to power a building by its parking lots have reached viability. Wind power that fits into the landscape is becoming more viable. In addition, some unusual alternative-energy forms have shown dramatic growth. The US Department of Energy reports that fuel cell growth from 2013 to 2014 grew from $1.3 billion to $2.2 billion (€1.18 to €2.01 billion) in the year, shipping 50,000 fuel cells. Solar - from panels to paint Solar power - a type of energy technology rather than a fuel - has prices falling over a hundred times less than the 1970s level, according to BNEF. Prices at $50 (€45.57) per megawatt in the ’70s have fallen to near a dollar (€0.91) per megawatt installed today. Batteries to store solar power are also falling in price while ©<strong>2017</strong> The Recycler www.therecycler.com Page 8
Dr. K.R. Sridhar, CEO of Bloom Energy, shows one of the company’s fuel cells. Sridhar has assembled a management team of leaders in energy, technology, manufacturing, and global business (courtesy of Bloom Energy) accelerating in technology. Solar drew the most renewable energy money in 2015. The US Energy Information Administration predicts solar will eclipse any other energy-production sector. The prospect of putting solar panels on top of big-box stores could use the 4.5 billion square feet available, according to Free Speech Radio News’ article ‘Superstores, small businesses across the U.S. could double the country’s solar production capacity’. For residential or small commercial, specialised shingles affixed to houses or businesses can generate electricity and blend into the existing roof. Several types are now available. But what about the possibility of solar paint? That’s right: use of special photovoltaic paint to paint the side of a business, a parking lot or other surface - think vehicles like buses - that can also generate electricity. This technology, helped by a host of various universities researching it, is generating experimentation in universities. Solar paint is three to 11 percent as efficient as traditional photovoltaic panels, but barriers are few for manufacturers of the paint as it’s cheap to manufacture, doesn’t need specialised equipment and there are no hazardous chemicals involved. The University of Toronto, in its work on solar paint, is experimenting with crystals used in solar cells, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and computers called colloidal quantum dots. The paint can be sprayed on and transported just like a roll of wallpaper. Others working on solar paint technology, according to UnderstandSolar, in an article, ‘Solar Paint: A Spray-On Alternative to PV’, include Johns Hopkins University, the University of Buffalo, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Sheffield, which is working with a mineral named perovskite. A crowdsourcing campaign for a company called SolarLayer has been started by a consortium of companies interested in commercial development of solar paint. Wind-power breezy alternatives If it’s a small office-supply store inside a mall doing its own printing that wants to power itself, the solar method of power offers some attractive advantages. But wind power has come of age for the small business willing to do research and make the investment. One option is the vertical wind turbines mounted on a tree-like structure, an option from NewWind, based in Paris, France. The “Wind Trees” provide 3.1 kilowatts of power each, using an array of about 50 functional decorator-design turbines. An array of such trees might be enough to charge a battery-bank of a small business for necessary activities. There is also the other option of a tower, if zoning and business neighbours permit. Usually the option would be a small wind system, which is growing dramatically. The American Wind Energy Association predicts a thirty-fold increase of such systems within five years in the USA. This option takes some research. Small businesses in the USA use an average of 15,000 to 25,000 kilowatt-hours per year. Winds need to be at least 9.8 to 11.5 miles per hour (16 to 18.5 kilometres per hour). Don’t know the speed of the wind? Find wind resource maps from government agencies, or there is an option of borrowing an anemometer, which determines wind speed. A fairly tall tower is required. Investment in the system is roughly $4,000 to $8,000 per rated kilowatt (€3,846 €7,292). If there isn’t a good wind speed consistently, spending tens of thousands on such doesn’t make sense. Fuel cells rising as electrical source Fuel cells were most notably used on the USA space program, but newer earthbound alternatives are more cheaply made. Fuel-cell growth in the USA was at $2.2 billion (€2.01 billion) in 2014. Solid-oxide fuel cells use a ceramic electrolyte for an electrochemical reaction using fuel such as natural gas. The solidoxide fuel cells of Bloom Energy, based in Emeryville, California, are next-generation high-temperature fuel cells that require no precious metals, acids or molten materials to convert natural gas and air into electricity. It is a battery that is always “on”, providing clean, affordable energy through fuel, air, and heat. The potential power grid can be used for transportation, smartphones and laptop computers. Forecasts by WinterGreen Research, based in Lexington, Massachusetts, show the stationary fuel cell market at $1.2 billion (€1.09 billion) in 2013 projected to increase to $14.3 billion (€13.03 billion) in 2020. Its press release noted: “Stationary fuel cells are on the cusp of becoming commercially viable, creating companies that are profitable and produce electricity at or below parity with the grid giving every user alternatives to the grid.” Fuel-cell systems from Bloom Energy were installed beginning in 2015 for home-furnishings stores of IKEA. The 300-kilowatt system for stores operates on biogas and produce approximately 2,497,651 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually for the IKEA stores, the equivalent of reducing 1,304 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2). That’s equal to the emissions of 249 cars or to providing electricity for 163 homes yearly. And when it comes to fuel cells, what entrepreneur hasn’t wished there were another way to power or recharge cell phones differently? There is, using alcohol, with a 10-year waiting period forecast for the perfection of the technology. Researchers are working on such devices worldwide, with a prototype developed by a researcher in Finland. Giammario Scotti, the Finn researcher designing the Aalto University fuel cell, developed a device that he thinks can work inside a smartphone, will be superior to even a lithium-ion battery and runs on ethanol or methanol (denatured alcohol), with ethanol preferred. It’s a tiny ©<strong>2017</strong> The Recycler www.therecycler.com Page 9
Page 1 and 2: years CELEBRATING TWENTY FIVE YEARS
Page 3 and 4: it more practical in space. “Name
Page 5 and 6: Aqueous perks Aqueous printing’s
Page 7: The process Beal says with large co
Page 11 and 12: 10-colour inkset that consistently

Wide Format news 1-2017

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?