New Drug Combo for Tuberculosis?

            Tuberculosis kills millions of people each year. After about forty years of using the same medications to treat it, there are now strains of it now that have become resistant to the antibiotics used to treat it. These strains include XDR and MDR. However, there is a new way of treating TB by combining the meropenem antibiotic with clavulanate. These two substances together actually kill the TB bacterium. Mtb releases an eczyme that destroys other types of antibiotics. Recent studies show that clavulanate the bacterium from producing the enzyme from producing the enzyme so that meropenum is able to get rid of the infection. One of the only disadvantages is that meropenem is much more expensive than other TB treatments. Although this is a recent discovery, it has cured a 14 year-old girl  with a severe case of TB after only about eight months.

http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=29185

Waste-to-Energy Technology Markets

            Waste-to-energy technologies have been being research for the past few years. WTE processes capture the energy release from municipal solid waste and use it to generate heat and electricity. These processes also decrease the volume of waste by 90% and reduce methane emissions. This can greatly reduce the number of landfills in the world and also create another source of energy. In 2011 alone, two billion tons of solid waste was produces in the world, and this number is increasing due to population growth and urbanization. Currently, only about 11% of the waste is treated with WTE technologies. The use of Advanced Thermal Treatment and biological processes are starting to increase worldwide.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/waste-to-energy-technology-markets-2012-03-21

Charcoal Studied for Landfill Methane Containment

            Abandoned landfills are a major contributor to methane escaping into the atmosphere. Researchers at the University of Illinois believe the use of charcoal can greatly reduce the amount of methane escaping into the atmosphere. These researchers believe that a layer of biochar would trap the methane long enough for methanotropic bacteria to get rid of the methane and instead release carbon dioxide which is less harmful. Biochar is charcoal made from wood, crop waste, or other types of biomass. Usually, the methane escapes too fast for the bacteria to consume most of it. A layer of charcoal gives the bacteria more time to break it down. Biochar is also very cheap and sustainable and even helps oxygenate the soil which promotes the growth of the bacteria. Another advantage to biochar is that the process of making it produces a bio-gas which can be used for fuel.

http://www.physorg.com/wire-news/93165041/charcoal-studied-for-landfill-methane-containment.html

Preventing contamination in recycling

            Over time, impurities can build up in recycled aluminum making it less useful. These accumulated impurities include paint, labels on the aluminum as well as other metals. As of right now, this problem is manageable but can become a much more serious problem in the future. Lower grades of aluminum that are created can be used to make things like engine blocks that aren’t affected be its purity. The purest aluminum is used for more specialized applications such as circuits and airplanes. Steps can be taken to reduce these substances from the aluminum during the molten processing. However, these systems can be difficult to install in older factories. Instead, they should be added to factories that are being built. Much more research is needed to help fully develop the technologies needed to solve this problem.

http://www.rdmag.com/News/2012/03/Energy-Preventing-Contamination-In-Recycling/