Three Green Ideas Helping Bring The World Closer to Sustainability

A big part of achieving environmental sustainability is finding ways to make more efficient use of global resources.

The three ideas below, with a little help from GPUs, address the challenges of creating renewable resources and managing existing ones — bringing our planet closer to a greener future.

Using Plants for Renewable Fuels

Ethanol and biodiesel are the most commonly known renewable fuel sources, but one that’s rapidly gaining attention to produce biofuels is plant cellulose.

Among cellulose’s benefits: it can be derived from waste plant matter such as fallen branches, wood chips and sawdust to create ethanol. And ethanol is cleaner and has lower greenhouse-gas emissions than petroleum sources.

A team of scientists from UC San Diego, led by Professor Ross Walker, conducted GPU-accelerated simulations to watch the process of how cellulose breaks down. The molecular simulations allow researchers to develop strategies that can speed up the reaction and produce cellulose at a faster rate.

Creating Plastic from CO2

Millions of tons of plastic are produced every year, but only a small portion gets recycled. To address this issue, scientists are discovering ways to create a new type of renewable plastic from carbon dioxide.

Looking to replace non-biodegradable plastic, Stanford University scientists have developed a new plastic from inedible biomass and CO2. Assistant Professor Matthew Kanan and chemistry graduate student Aanindeeta Banerjee discovered the low-cost process that makes polyethylene furandicarboxylate (PEF), a renewable material that can outperform plastic used for bottles today.

GPUs allow the team to simulate the molten salt reactions used in their CO2 chemistry. This helps gain better insight into how the chemistry works so they can create a process suitable for factory-scale production. Replacing petroleum-based products with PEF could significantly lower the carbon footprint of the plastics industry.

Minimizing Fossil Fuel Combustion

Finding ways to minimize fossil fuel combustion isn’t easy — it means analyzing hundreds of the chemical reactions that occur during combustion. Thanks to a computer model called the nanoreactor, scientists can now identify each chemical reaction at the click of a button.

A research group at Stanford, led by Professor Todd Martinez, built the nanoreactor with GPU technology. It’s designed to work like a virtual chemistry set. Using physics and machine learning, the computer simulates how chemicals are formed, helping scientists discover each of the reactions that occurs during combustion.

With the help of the nanoreactor, the Stanford team can identify the reactions that will lead them closer to sustaining combustion and minimizing pollution.

Corporate Sustainability

GPU technology allows green ideas to move us toward creating a healthy environment, but NVIDIA’s story doesn’t end there. We’re dedicated to doing our part in helping the planet become greener, too. Learn more about our efforts in our Corporate Sustainability Report for 2016.

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by Tonie Hansen via The Official NVIDIA Blog