Engineers and scientists at Iceland’s Hellisheidi power plant are taking captured carbon outputs and transforming them into solid stone. Their unique process mixes carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide from the plant with water and basalt underground. After a few months, the result is rock-hard carbonate that keeps harmful pollutants out of the atmosphere.

The CarbFix Project team combined the efforts of researchers from Columbia University, the University of Copenhagen, the University of Iceland, and Reykjavik Energy.

Initially, it was thought that the solidification reaction could take decades, centuries or even millennia, but results of experiments showed that it could take just months to years for partial and complete reactions.

The key is proximity to volcanic basalt, which is readily available in Iceland but not everywhere. In order to implement a similar process globally, other substitutes will need to be tested. Water is also critical, but again, for island nations like this one, that is not a problem. From here, the challenge is exporting the technology and finding ways to make it more efficient. So far, however, in places like Iceland where these materials are plentiful, the process is shockingly cheap, turning a ton of CO2 into rock for around $30.

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Japanese inventor Akinori Ito has developed a way to turn plastic, styrofoam and other similar types of trash into usable fuel with a small tabletop machine – the Delorean from Back to the Future comes to mind.

Plastic bags are horrible for the environment, clogging landfills for hundreds of years; polluting lakes, rivers and streams; becoming tangled in trees, bushes and even entangling wildlife.

The result is an efficient conversion process that does not pollute and can process polyethylene, polystyrene and polypropylene, converting two pounds into a quart of oil using just a kilowatt of power. It is being billed as a carbon-negative solution to energy needs.

Essentially, the device changes plastic bags back to their original state: crude oil. Heat and electricity do the work and the results can power generators, stoves or be used as gasoline. The process is much less toxic and avoids CO2 as compared to burning it for fuel outright. Of course, the result is still likely going to get burned, but at the very least it means less oil needing extraction from the ground and a cheaper source of power for places in need.

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Ushering in future for cyclists where flats are a thing of the past, the Energy Return Wheel uses a system of rubber-in-tension to replace the need for variable firmness normally accomplished through air inflation.

A series of elastic cushions supported by a scaffold structure reacts to compression as you travel along uneven surfaces, turning trapped potential into kinetic energy that helps propel the rider forward while providing a smooth ride.

Designed originally for use in motorized vehicle, the application for bikes turned out to be a logical place to start since these two-wheeled contraptions are notorious for getting flats at the worst possible times.

Currently in development by BriTek, some design elements remain to be smoothed out, however, including how to keep the open-sided tires from becoming clogged with dirt and debris. Still, it has a lot of advantages too: “Airless, More Efficient, High Speed, In-Wheel Suspension, Light Weight, Durable, Puncture Proof, Improved Rolling Resistance, Precise Immediate Handling, Superior Acceleration, Lateral Displacement, Hill Clinbing Advantage, Anti-Bounce, Maintain Momentum , Fly Wheel Effect, De-weighting Effect, Return Against Gravity, Return Against Wind Resistance, No More Flats, Save Gas Save Money”

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