Process takes CO₂ from the air, converts it to carbon nanotubes

Enlarge / A multi-walled carbon nanotube. (credit: NASA)

Carbon capture and storage involves the separation of carbon dioxide from other gases, after which it’s pumped underground for storage. It’s likely to be needed to reach our climate goals without simply shutting down many existing fossil fuel plants, and it will be essential if we overshoot our emissions goals by mid-century. But it also adds significant costs to building and operating fossil fuel plants, which explains why the process has never gotten past the point of sporadic demonstration projects.

An alternative to storage involves turning the carbon that’s captured into a useful project—something the XPrize has made one of its challenges. Doing so requires two things: overcoming the chemical stability of CO2 and making a product that sells at a profit. We recently stumbled across a bit of creative chemistry that turns carbon dioxide from the air into a product that should be profitable: high-quality carbon nanotubes.

Something in the air

Our current methods for making carbon nanotubes typically rely on hydrocarbons. The chemistry of this source helps drive the tube-forming reactions, since it can be energetically favorable to remove the hydrogens from these molecules. Unfortunately, this doesn’t get rid of CO2, and it’s only good for emissions in the sense that some of the carbon ends up in nanotubes instead of the air.

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Source: Ars Technica – Process takes CO₂ from the air, converts it to carbon nanotubes

H1Z1 on PS4 offers Pro owners a gameplay advantage • Eurogamer.net

Fortnite’s domination of the console space shows no sign of flagging, but we will be receiving a glut of new Battle Royale games in the console space over the next few months – and the deluge begins on PlayStation 4 with the release of H1Z1, a port of one of the very first examples of the genre. It’s fascinating to stack it up against the competition: the similarities with PUBG are legion (owing to Playerunknown working on both titles) but the execution is very, very different. For…

H1Z1 on PS4 offers Pro owners a gameplay advantage • Eurogamer.net

Source: PS4 News – H1Z1 on PS4 offers Pro owners a gameplay advantage • Eurogamer.net

SHOCKER – Free VPNs Sell Your Data

In this edition of You Get What You Pay For, The Next Web points out that the EU’s new GDPR laws are uncovering a lot of services and what they are doing with you data. Most notable, free VPN services which are mostly used to protect user privacy, seem to be an ugly offender when it comes to selling your data. I know, you are shocked that a free VPN would have business model based on you and your data.



It was recently revealed that contrary to claims on their websites, 26 of the 117 most popular VPN services log user data despite touting contrary claims in their marketing. That revelation will seem tame compared to findings on how free VPNs operate: many openly and brazenly share/sell user data.

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Source: [H]ardOCP – SHOCKER – Free VPNs Sell Your Data

AMD Ryzen 2700 CPU on Sale at Ebay-Newegg

I just got done building all the graphs for our AMD Ryzen 2700 review, which will be up shortly. Newegg has the Ryzen 7 2700 for sale over on Ebay for $255, which is selling elsewhere for $290. The 2700X sells for $320. Not to give away our results from our Ryzen 2700 testing, but if you are going to be using high end cooling and overclocking your Ryzen, the 2700 looks to be a very good deal at $255. If you are going to be using mid to low-end or stock cooling, the 2700X is still the way to go and just rely on Precision Boost 2.



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Source: [H]ardOCP – AMD Ryzen 2700 CPU on Sale at Ebay-Newegg

Trump hits campaign trail to endorse key foe of net neutrality rules

Enlarge / NASHVILLE, TENN.: President Donald Trump introduces Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who is running for US Senate, during a rally at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium on May 29, 2018. (credit: Getty Images | Drew Angerer )

Net neutrality foe Marsha Blackburn’s quest for a US Senate seat got a plug yesterday from President Donald Trump, who endorsed Blackburn at a campaign rally where he also criticized his various enemies, including “Crooked Hillary.”

“[Blackburn] is a great woman,” Trump told a crowd at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. “We need Marsha in the Senate to continue the amazing progress and work that we’ve done over the last year and a half. There has never been an administration, and even some of our enemies are begrudgingly admitting this, that has done what we’ve done in the first year and a half.”

Rep. Blackburn (R-Tenn.) is one of the most outspoken opponents of strict net neutrality rules in the House of Representatives and chairs a key subcommittee that oversees telecommunications. She is seeking the Republican nomination for one of Tennessee’s Senate seats.

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Source: Ars Technica – Trump hits campaign trail to endorse key foe of net neutrality rules

Life returned to crater of Cretaceous asteroid in the blink of an eye

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Source: Ars Technica – Life returned to crater of Cretaceous asteroid in the blink of an eye

Snapchat CEO Says Facebook Copied Its Features, But Not Its Values

Snapchat’s CEO, Evan Spiegel, told an industry crowd that he doesn’t obsess over Facebook’s habit of adapting his social network’s ideas. From a report: “I think it bothers my wife more than it bothers me,” Spiegel said at the Code Conference Tuesday evening. “Fundamentally, it is important to understand that Snapchat is not just a bunch of features.” […] Referencing Snapchat’s most famous feature — posts vanish after 24 hours — Spiegel quipped, “Maybe Facebook should copy Snapchat’s data retention policies.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – Snapchat CEO Says Facebook Copied Its Features, But Not Its Values

Google’s Project Fi gets new phones from LG and Motorola

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Source: Ars Technica – Google’s Project Fi gets new phones from LG and Motorola