The Environmental Engineering Hub

Before we look into the physical principles of photovoltaics, let's define some basic connections between the three very important physical quantities: energy, force and power. These connections are taken from classical mechanics, but are generally valid. The learning objectives for this post are to understand how force, energy and power are related. We will learn to define and relate different types of energy. Finally, we will look at the first and second law of thermodynamics and discuss what their implications are for solar cells. We will start with the force. The force can be defined as any influence on an object that changes its motion. A force is exerted as a result of an interaction between two or more objects. The objects can be in physical contact, or at a distance, like gravitational forces or magnetic forces. Imagine a very strong man exerting a force on a granite block. The force causes the block to accelerate. According to Newton’s second law, the acceleration ‘

According to a post from Grupo Recicla, recycling in Brazil has grown in recent years and steel is among the most recycled materials. About 49% of all steel discarded in Brazil is recycled (http://www.gruporecicla.com.br/2018/04/09/materiais-more-reciclados/). The numbers become significant when compared to the total recycled materials produced by Brazil in recent years. The panorama of 2017 made by the Brazilian Association of Public Cleaning and Special Waste (ABRELPE) shows that Brazil generated about 43,945 tons of recycled waste that year. To read the full survey on that go to (http://abrelpe.org.br/panorama/). A collective consciousness about the preservation of the environment, sustainability and steel is being created in the country. The case of stainless steel is special because it is being used as the substitute for materials that have a negative impact on nature. The amount of news that show sick animals that ingested waste from improperly discarded objects is inc

There are multiple kind of dams in Brazil. Some are used to hold water, some to generate energy and some to hold industrial and mining waste. The variety of dams reflect their conditions: many dams are in poor shape while some maintain low risk to the environment and the people living near it. The mining waste dams are notorious for their relevant environmental impact. Even though technology has progressed, it is known that companies in the states of Minas Gerais in Brazil prefer not to employ the new findings. The reason is the same of always: to keep their profits as high as possible. Brazil itself lacks a system that has deep information on these dams. When a catastrophe happens, like the ones in Brumadinho and Mariana, the government officials feel unprepared and have to collect information on the spot to help the people affected by the spilling. The state of Minas Gerais does have a system for the registration of dams and their conditions. When the requirements a

The worst environmental disaster in US history, the oil spill in Mexico in 2010 has already cost British oil company BP, the main company involved, more than $ 65 billion ($ 238.5 billion) - and the bill continues to increase. After the accident, the company had its valuation downgraded by risky agencies, had its stock plummeted and had to sell billions of dollars in assets. At the height of the crisis, its economy came to be in crisis. Almost nine years later, a BP is still recovering. Reached by BBC News Brazil, a company disclosed to the press they would remain silent. In addition to the financial impact, the disaster has led to changes not only in BP's operations, but also in the oil and gas industry as a whole. "The industry is safer today because the government implements updates for the security process," Marine Science Professor Donald Boesch of the University of Maryland in the United States told the BBC. Boesch was one of seven members