Young inventors

The oil HFO used by most industrial units not only releases harmful emissions but also gives out toxic effluents. A research team at National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan have found a way to reduce the emissions by using wastewater!

They mixed 80% HFO with 19.9% wastewater and 0.1% surfactant, then burned it in a boiler, and carbon monoxide emissions are reduced by 84% compared to the emissions generated by burning standard heavy petroleum oil in the same boiler. All other emissions such as particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and volatile organics are also reduced.

In the New York Times’ Education Life special section, read about a teenager who came back from a trip to China appalled by pollution and traffic and put together a prototype ultra-compact electric motorcycle.

Another young tinkerer has figured out how to harvest the energy in exhaust-pipe heat on a hybrid car. Yet another team of Indian business students has figured out a way to electrify around 300 homes by heating rice husk in a certain way that releases a gas, plus a by-product used in cement industry.

The young perhaps realize the immensity of the world we leave for them where food, energy and water are scarce, and require stretching imagination in all dimensions to deliver.

We should be hearing more of such experiments. But we don’t. Besides a few random half-hearted projects set up as part of the curriculum, students are not motivated. Why?

Is it because we haven’t raised energy consciousness to the levels we should have? How many of our children are aware of the fact that the water running from the taps could soon run dry? Are we talking enough on these topics in schools and at home?

If you have heard of any such innovative experiments at the school or college nearby, do let us know and we will feature the inventors here. They need all the applauses and visibility.