NEW TECHNOLOGIES

International. OzonAction, a branch of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), recently launched a smartphone app called WhatGas? 

International. A PhD student at the Federal Polytechnic School of Zurich, in the Laboratory of Functional Materials, has developed an alternative to electric air conditioning: a cooling curtain made of a triple-layer porous membrane.

Colombia. On September 3, Celsia Solar Yumbo, the first large-scale solar generation plant that has an installed capacity of 9.8 MW and will generate about 16.5 GWh of energy per year, equivalent to the consumption of 8,000 homes, entered into operations.

International. A team of researchers has broken the efficiency record for silicon-based solar cells by producing a cell that was tested to be 26.3 percent efficient, a 0.7 percent increase over the previous record.

International. Freezing food products preserves taste and nutrients with characteristics similar to those of fresh produce. However, it often produces a smooth texture and lack of retention of finished products after baking – especially in the case of fruits and vegetables – due to the breakage of cell walls caused by ice crystals during freezing and thawing operations. This results in poor sensory appreciation and a poor ability to use these products in many food preparations (cakes, cooked dishes, etc.).