![Ombrière SUDI - Sustainable Urban Design & Innovation](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Ombri%C3%A8re_SUDI_-_Sustainable_Urban_Design_%26_Innovation.jpg)
Environmental technology (envirotech) or green technology (greentech), also known as ''
clean technology'' (''cleantech''), is the application of one or more of
environmental science,
green chemistry
Green chemistry, also called sustainable chemistry, is an area of chemistry and chemical engineering focused on the design of products and processes that minimize or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. While environmental che ...
,
environmental monitoring
Environmental monitoring describes the processes and activities that need to take place to characterize and monitor the quality of the environment. Environmental monitoring is used in the preparation of environmental impact assessments, as well a ...
and
electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic co ...
devices to monitor, model and conserve the
natural environment
The natural environment or natural world encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally, meaning in this case not artificial. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some parts of Earth. This environment encompasses ...
and resources, and to curb the negative impacts of human involvement. The term is also used to describe sustainable energy generation technologies such as
photovoltaics
Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially ...
,
wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each yea ...
s, etc.
Sustainable development is the core of ''environmental technologies''. The term ''environmental technologies'' is also used to describe a class of electronic devices that can promote sustainable management of resources.
Purification and waste management
Examples
*
Biofiltration
Biofiltration is a pollution control technique using a bioreactor containing living material to capture and biologically degrade pollutants. Common uses include processing waste water, capturing harmful chemicals or silt from surface runoff, an ...
*
Bioreactor
A bioreactor refers to any manufactured device or system that supports a biologically active environment. In one case, a bioreactor is a vessel in which a chemical process is carried out which involves organisms or biochemically active substances ...
*
Bioremediation
Bioremediation broadly refers to any process wherein a biological system (typically bacteria, microalgae, fungi, and plants), living or dead, is employed for removing environmental pollutants from air, water, soil, flue gasses, industrial effluent ...
*
Desalination
*
Thermal depolymerization Thermal depolymerization (TDP) is the process of converting a polymer into a monomer or a mixture of monomers, by predominantly thermal means. It may be catalysed or un-catalysed and is distinct from other forms of depolymerisation which may rely o ...
*
Composting toilet
A composting toilet is a type of dry toilet that treats human waste by a biological process called composting. This process leads to the decomposition of organic matter and turns human waste into compost-like material. Composting is carried out b ...
*
Pyrolysis
The pyrolysis (or devolatilization) process is the thermal decomposition of materials at elevated temperatures, often in an inert atmosphere. It involves a change of chemical composition. The word is coined from the Greek-derived elements ''py ...
Water purification
Water purification
Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, biological contaminants, suspended solids, and gases from water. The goal is to produce water that is fit for specific purposes. Most water is purified and disinfected for hu ...
: The whole idea/concept of having dirt/germ/pollution free water flowing throughout the environment. Many other phenomena lead from this concept of purification of water. Water pollution is the main enemy of this concept, and various campaigns and activists have been organized around the world to help purify water.
Air purification
Air purification: Basic and common green plants can be grown indoors to keep the air fresh because all plants remove CO
2 and convert it into
oxygen
Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as ...
. The best examples are: ''
Dypsis lutescens
''Dypsis lutescens'', also known as golden cane palm, areca palm, yellow palm, butterfly palm, or bamboo palm, is a species of flowering plant in the family (biology), family Arecaceae, native plant, native to Madagascar and naturalized in the ...
'', ''
Sansevieria trifasciata
''Dracaena trifasciata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to tropical West Africa from Nigeria east to the Congo. It is most commonly known as the snake plant, Saint George's sword, mother-in-law's tongue, and v ...
'', and ''
Epipremnum aureum
''Epipremnum aureum'' is a species in the arum family Araceae, native to Mo'orea in the Society Islands of French Polynesia. The species is a popular houseplant in temperate regions but has also become naturalised in tropical and sub-tropical fore ...
''. Besides using the plants themselves, some species of bacteria can also be added to the leaves of these plants to help remove toxic gases, such as
toluene
Toluene (), also known as toluol (), is a substituted aromatic hydrocarbon. It is a colorless, water-insoluble liquid with the smell associated with paint thinners. It is a mono-substituted benzene derivative, consisting of a methyl group (CH3) a ...
.
Sewage treatment
Sewage treatment
Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding e ...
is conceptually similar to water purification. Sewage treatments are very important as they purify water per levels of pollution. The most polluted water is not used for anything, and the least polluted water is supplied to places where water is used affluently. It may lead to various other concepts of environmental protection, sustainability, etc.
Environmental remediation
Environmental remediation is the removal of pollutants or contaminants for the general protection of the environment. This is accomplished by various chemical, biological, and bulk methods.
Solid waste management
Solid waste management
Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal.
This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitorin ...
is the purification, consumption, reuse, disposal and treatment of
solid waste that is undertaken by the government or the ruling bodies of a city/town.
Sustainable energy
![Net Zero Court](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Net_Zero_Court.jpg)
Concerns over pollution and greenhouse gases have spurred the search for sustainable alternatives to our current fuel use. The global reduction of greenhouse gases requires the adoption of energy conservation as well as sustainable generation. That environmental harm reduction involves global changes such as:
* reducing air pollution and methane from biomass
* virtually eliminating fossil fuels for vehicles, heat, and electricity, left in the ground.
* widespread use of public transport, battery and fuel cell vehicles
* more wind/solar/water generated electricity
* reducing peak demands with carbon taxes and time of use pricing.
Since fuel used by industry and transportation account for the majority of world demand, by investing in conservation and efficiency (using less fuel), pollution and greenhouse gases from these two sectors can be reduced around the globe. Advanced energy efficient
electric motor
An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate for ...
(and
electric generator) technology that are cost effective to encourage their application, such as
variable speed generators and
efficient energy use, can reduce the amount of
carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is trans ...
(CO
2) and
sulfur dioxide (SO
2) that would otherwise be introduced to the atmosphere, if electricity were generated using fossil fuels.
Greasestock is an event held yearly in
Yorktown Heights
Yorktown Heights is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Yorktown in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 1,781 at the 2010 census.
History
Yorktown Heights is in the town of Yorktown, New York, in northern ...
,
New York which is one of the largest showcases of environmental technology in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. Some scholars have expressed concern that the implementation of new environmental technologies in highly-developed national economies may cause economic and social disruption in less-developed economies.
Examples
![Roadster 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Roadster_2.5_charging.jpg)
*
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...
*
Wind power
Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels. Historically ...
*
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each yea ...
*
Ocean thermal energy conversion
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) uses the ocean thermal gradient between cooler deep and warmer shallow or surface seawaters to run a heat engine and produce useful work, usually in the form of electricity. OTEC can operate with a very hi ...
*
Solar power
Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovolta ...
*
Photovoltaic
*
Wave energy
Wave power is the capture of energy of wind waves to do useful work – for example, electricity generation, water desalination, or pumping water. A machine that exploits wave power is a wave energy converter (WEC).
Waves are generated by wind ...
*
Electric vehicle
*
Heat pump
A heat pump is a device that can heat a building (or part of a building) by transferring thermal energy from the outside using a refrigeration cycle. Many heat pumps can also operate in the opposite direction, cooling the building by removing ...
*
Hydrogen fuel cell
A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...
*
Green computing
Green computing, green IT, or ICT sustainability, is the study and practice of environmentally sustainable computing or IT.
The goals of green computing are similar to green chemistry: reduce the use of hazardous materials, maximize energy effic ...
*
Energy conservation
*
Doubly fed electric machine Doubly-fed electric machines also slip-ring generators are electric motors or electric generators, where both the field magnet windings and armature windings are separately connected to equipment outside the machine.
By feeding adjustable freque ...
*
Energy saving modules
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is the
energy
In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of hea ...
that can be replenished easily. For years we have been using sources such as
wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...
,
sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
,
water
Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...
, etc. for means for producing energy. Energy that can be produced by natural objects like the sun, wind, etc. is considered to be renewable. Technologies that have been in usage include wind power, hydropower, solar energy, geothermal energy, and biomass/bioenergy.
Energy conservation
Energy conservation is the utilization of devices that require smaller amounts of energy in order to reduce the consumption of electricity. Reducing the use of electricity causes less fossil fuels to be burned to provide that electricity.
eGain forecasting
Egain forecasting is a method using forecasting technology to predict the future
weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloud cover, cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmos ...
's impact on a building. By adjusting the heat based on the weather forecast, the system eliminates redundant use of heat, thus reducing the energy consumption and the emission of
greenhouse gases.
United States Patent 6098893
Comfort control system incorporating weather forecast data and a method for operating such a system (Inventor Stefan Berglund)
Education
Courses aimed at developing graduates with some specific skills in environmental systems or environmental technology are becoming more common and fall into three broads classes:
*'' Environmental Engineering or Environmental Systems'' courses oriented towards a civil engineering approach in which structures and the landscape are constructed to blend with or protect the environment;
*''Environmental chemistry
Environmental chemistry is the scientific study of the chemical and biochemical phenomena that occur in natural places. It should not be confused with green chemistry, which seeks to reduce potential pollution at its source. It can be defined as ...
'', ''sustainable chemistry'' or ''environmental chemical engineering'' courses oriented towards understanding the effects (good and bad) of chemicals in the environment. Such awards can focus on mining processes, pollutants and commonly also cover biochemical processes;
*''Environmental technology'' courses oriented towards producing electronic, electrical or electrotechnology graduates capable of developing devices and artefacts able to monitor, measure, model and control environmental impact, including monitoring and managing energy generation from renewable sources, and developing novel energy generation technologies.
See also
*Appropriate technology
Appropriate technology is a movement (and its manifestations) encompassing technological choice and application that is small-scale, affordable by locals, decentralized, labor-intensive, energy-efficient, environmentally sustainable, and loca ...
*Bright green environmentalism
Bright green environmentalism is an ideology based on the belief that the convergence of technological change and social innovation provides the most successful path to sustainable development.
Origin and evolution of bright green thinking
The te ...
* Eco-innovation
* Ecological modernization
*Ecotechnology
Ecotechnology is an applied science that seeks to fulfill human needs while causing minimal ecological disruption, by harnessing and manipulating natural forces to leverage their beneficial effects. Ecotechnology integrates two fields of study: ...
* Environmentally friendly
* Green development
*Groasis Waterboxx
The Groasis Waterboxx is a device designed to help in growing trees in dry areas. It was invented and developed by Dutch former flower exporter Pieter Hoff,Witkin, JimDeveloping a ‘Water Battery’ for trees''New York Times'', 9 April 2010. Acces ...
* Information and communication technologies for environmental sustainability
*Pulser Pump
A pulser pump is a gas lift device that uses gravity to pump water to a higher elevation. It has no moving parts.
Operation
A pulser pump makes use of water that flows through pipes and an air chamber from an upper reservoir to a lower reservoir. ...
* Sustainable design
* Sustainable energy
*Sustainable engineering
Sustainable engineering is the process of designing or operating systems such that they use energy and resources sustainably, in other words, at a rate that does not compromise the natural environment, or the ability of future generations to meet ...
* Sustainable living
* Sustainable technologies
* Technology for sustainable development
* The All-Earth Ecobot Challenge
*WIPO GREEN
WIPO GREEN is a World Intellectual Property Organization program that supports global efforts to address climate change and food security through sharing of sustainable technology innovations . Established in 2013, WIPO GREEN is a free online ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
{{Authority control
Bright green environmentalism
*