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Why Tech Startups Aim to Send Your Waste Deep Underground

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Tanks for disposal at a Kansas site where waste is funneled into underground salt caves

Vaulted Deep

A startup named Vaulted Deep has partnered with Microsoft to pump millions of tons of treated human waste, fertilizer, and various organic waste deep underground as a method to reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. This strategy also mitigates soil contamination from PFAs and other chemical pollutants that can leach from waste.

“We aim to tackle both challenges simultaneously,” Omar Abu Sei stated. “We address the waste issues that compromise local water, air, and land while also contributing to climate solutions.”

In recent years, the Texas-based startup has injected almost 70,000 tons of carbon-rich waste underground, successfully removing over 18,000 tons of carbon dioxide. The technology used is derived from the oil and gas industry, enabling the injection of a slurry comprising liquid, solid, and gas simultaneously. This type of waste typically ends up in landfills or is spread over agricultural fields.

According to Abou-Sayed, if waste is injected at depth, it will eventually release back into the atmosphere, which could potentially liberate millions of tons of carbon. The company capitalizes on this by selling each ton of CO2 removed to businesses or governmental entities.

The contract with Microsoft targets the removal of 4.9 million tons of CO2 over the next 12 years, addressing challenges in the carbon removal sector that attract customers. Microsoft aims to be carbon negative by 2030 and has purchased more carbon removal credits than any other organization.

Abou-Sayed mentions that this agreement will enable Vaulted Deep to identify new injection sites beyond its existing two locations. One site injects “biosolids” remaining from treated wastewater approximately 1,600 meters below the surface in Los Angeles, while the second site in Hutchinson, Kansas, pumps human waste, fertilizer, and organic materials like paper sludge into salt caverns located hundreds of meters underground.

According to one report, the global production of organic waste is substantial enough to facilitate this process and potentially eliminate up to 5 billion tons of CO2 annually.

Vaulted Deep’s mission is to ensure that the maximum amount of waste can be accessed, particularly targeting wet solid slurries that have limited disposal options. “We have developed expertise in identifying where these smooth waste materials can be found,” explains Abou-Sayed. Often, they offer to manage waste disposal at no cost or even provide payment to waste generators.

This system facilitates underground waste injection.

Vaulted Deep

With high concentrations of nitrogen and PFAs found in waste, storing waste underground instead of spreading it on fields or sending it to landfills can significantly lower surface contamination levels. Many municipalities have faced challenges in finding conventional disposal methods due to stricter PFAs pollution regulations.

“This is a highly innovative approach,” commented Diana Oviedo Valgas from the Stroudwater Research Center in Pennsylvania. “We need diverse strategies to address contaminants, not just PFAs.” However, she emphasizes that injecting waste underground does not eliminate contaminants. “It’s somewhat concealed,” she adds.

To ensure safety during the injection process, Abou-Sayed noted that all sites will undergo a thorough permitting procedure managed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This is necessary to demonstrate that leaks from the storage area into groundwater or backflow from the well won’t occur, and to reduce the risk of induced seismic activity during the injection.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

SpaceX Plans to Send Two Lunar Landers to the Moon

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The commencement of the new year for lunar exploration is set to take place early Wednesday, as two robotic landers and a small rover are poised to embark on their journey to the moon.

A SpaceX rocket is scheduled for liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:11 a.m. ET, launching two separate unmanned missions to the lunar surface.

The first mission, developed by Texas-based company Firefly Aerospace, aims to land the Blue Ghost lander in an area of the moon known as Mare Crisium—a 340-mile-wide basin believed to be the result of an ancient asteroid impact.

The second mission, conducted by Japanese company ispace, consists of a lander named Resilience and a “micro probe” called Tenacious, targeting a landing site in an area called Mare Frigoris in the moon’s northern region.

This will be ispace’s second attempt to land a spacecraft on the moon, following a failed 2023 mission when the lander Hakuto crashed due to unexpected acceleration during descent.

A model of ispace Inc.’s lunar rover Tenacious at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Space Center in Tsukuba.
Toru Hanai/Bloomberg, from Getty Images files

The ispace lander and rover are expected to take a longer and less energy-intensive path to the moon compared to Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander, with a 45-day journey time and an estimated arrival in four to five months.

Blue Ghost will transport 10 NASA scientific instruments to the moon and spend approximately two weeks collecting data on the lunar surface.

The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services Initiative, which involves NASA partnering with private companies to deliver scientific experiments, technology, and other cargo to the lunar surface.

These endeavors are within NASA’s broader Artemis program, which aims at the eventual return of humans to the moon.

Nicola Fox, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, mentioned that the Blue Ghost lander mission will provide crucial insights for forthcoming Artemis expeditions involving astronaut crews.

For instance, details about the moon’s landscape and topography, including the conditions at the moon’s south pole—the designated landing spot for the manned Artemis mission—might be unveiled.

“This is a strategically significant and productive site, and we anticipate future astronaut explorers using their expertise to gather scientifically intriguing samples and bring them back to Earth,” Fox stated at a press conference on Tuesday.

The scientific equipment carried by Blue Ghost includes tools for precise measurement of the Earth-Moon distance, lunar dust study, and collection and analysis of lunar soil samples using a jet of compressed gas.

“Each accomplishment along the way will yield valuable data for upcoming missions, benefiting the United States and keeping our international collaborators at the forefront of space exploration,” Fox added.

SpaceX did not disclose the amount paid by the companies for the joint trip to orbit.

The plan involves the release of the Blue Ghost lander approximately 1 hour and 5 minutes post liftoff, followed by the ispace lander and rover about 30 minutes later, as per NASA’s NASA science mission director Juliana Shaiman.

a NASA broadcasts Falcon 9 rocket launch It commences at 12:30 a.m. ET.

Forecasts indicate a 90% likelihood of favorable weather for launch, with backup opportunities available until Jan. 20, according to SpaceX officials.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

NASA to Send Wooden Satellites Into Space for Innovative Research Purposes

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In 1957, the first man-made object was successfully launched into space and into orbit around the Earth. This was Sputnik 1, a beautifully simple Soviet spherical satellite with only four antennae.

But this historic event also marked the beginning of another, more disturbing one. It means that humans left the first space debris in orbit around the Earth.

Part of the 267-ton, 30-meter-tall rocket that launched Sputnik also became stuck in orbit. Suddenly, the world was faced with a problem we didn’t know we needed to solve: outer space littering.

Thankfully, Sputnik and the rocket debris it left behind deorbited shortly after launch and burned up in the atmosphere. However, this was not always the case. Just 66 years of space exploration has left vast amounts of detritus in orbit around Earth.

Now, NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are considering ideas to help solve this problem. The idea is to build a satellite out of wood, a widely available biodegradable material.

Space junk is currently a problem

The problems that government agencies are trying to address are big and complex, and they need to know how big the first phase of the project was. At least 130 million pieces of man-made debris are known to be orbiting the Earth, most of them flying at speeds of more than 7 kilometers per second. This is eight times faster than a normal bullet. But while this is a staggering number, some scientists believe it is a conservative estimate.

Most objects sent into space remain in space until either they deorbit and burn up on re-entry, or they are pulled away from Earth into graveyard orbits, where they orbit for hundreds of years. The majority of such objects are actually very small, less than 1 cm in diameter, from paint chips to small pieces of electronic equipment to pieces of insulation foam and aluminum.

Such tiny pieces cannot be seen from Earth, even with powerful telescopes. Therefore, we need to look for evidence left behind when it collides with other objects in space. This is no easy task.

Work to assess the scope of the problem began in earnest after five extraordinary objects, the NASA Space Shuttles, repeatedly orbited and returned. Since 1981, NASA has launched a total of 135 shuttle missions.

After each shuttle returned to Earth, it was evaluated using a fine-tooth comb to identify damage caused by orbital debris. This gives NASA a clearer picture of the problem of small pieces of dead satellites flying through space.

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NASA scientists have discovered exactly what they expected: small pieces of debris just a few millimeters in diameter can cause small but powerful impacts. NASA also produced the first estimates of how degraded the debris environment is.

Prior to 1978, NASA scientists Don Kessler and Barton Coolpare had proposed a scenario they named Kessler syndrome. The phenomenon they discussed is a catastrophic event in which when a satellite is shattered by space debris, the resulting debris destroys more satellites, creating even more debris, repeating an endless chain of events. It is a chain of

Obviously, this is a big problem. So how can we slow down the rate of debris formation or eliminate it altogether? Proposed solutions include using radiation hardening to reach space within five years of launch. It involves taking the ship out of orbit.

materials (designed to be less susceptible to damage from exposure to the high levels of radiation and extreme temperatures experienced in space) and launches on reusable rockets.

Incorporate the idea of ​​a wooden satellite. LignoSat, the name of the NASA and JAXA project, is a coffee machine built using traditional Japanese joinery techniques that houses electronics and other materials needed for space missions, much like today's CubeSats. It is a cup-sized (approximately 10x10x10cm) wooden box.

Wood samples were tested for suitability over 290 days in 2022 on the International Space Station's Kibo Japanese Experiment Module.

Magnolia coped well and performed best when exposed to intense cosmic rays and extreme temperature changes in its harsh environment. It does not burn, rot, crack, or deform, and has the important property that upon re-entry into the atmosphere, it burns up to a fine ash, leaving behind small fragments.

Lignosat prototype.Photo provided by: Kyoto University

Another advantage of wooden satellites is their reflectivity, or rather their lack of reflectivity. Currently, reflections from aluminum satellites are so bright that they can be easily spotted from Earth with the naked eye. Importantly, this reflected light can reach sensitive areas and interfere with astronomical observations.

LignoSat test launch is currently scheduled for 2024. Success could pave the way for further missions.

So will all satellites be made of wood in the near future? Unfortunately, that is unlikely. On the plus side, projects like this encourage researchers to think outside the box and can have a greater impact in the future. If LignoSat is successful, more research groups may try to introduce biodegradable materials to reduce further debris generation.

But for now, I strongly support efforts to actively track as many objects in Earth orbit as possible to reduce future collisions with matter in space.

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com