Labworx

Micropollution is an issue that is dominating an increasing number of column inches and policy meeting minutes around the globe. But while it’s a concern for everyone, it could pose an even greater problem for countries where water scarcity is rampant – such as the UAE.

That’s because hot and arid climates like that of the Emirates produce very little rainfall, so groundwater reserves are be...

The problem of unclean drinking water is one which plagues the global population. According to recent estimates, some 1.8 billion people are exposed to water containing damaging pollutants such as faeces on a daily basis. UNICEF believes that 1,800 children die each day from drinking water-related diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea.

Fortunately, there have been some encouraging breakthro...

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), which is the state-owned oil company of the UAE, currently boasts a capacity of 800,000 tonnes of carbon from its carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) infrastructure. However, the firm has announced big plans to ramp up its efforts in the coming years.

In fact, ADNOC has outlined its intention to increase its CCUS capacity by more than six...

The Saudi government-owned oil company Saudi Aramco has announced a target of gathering 11 million tonnes from its carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) programme by 2035. That puts it on a par with a similar goal outlined by QatarEnergy, who have also earmarked the same figure by the same date, while the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) in neighbouring UAE is hoping to achieve a ...

The UAE’s Petrolyn Chemie has announced it has signed a deal with three South Korean companies to build a green ammonia and hydrogen plant worth $1 billion. Built in two phases, the plant will eventually achieve a capacity of 200,000 tonnes of green hydrogen and ammonia per annum, significantly boosting the country’s environmental credentials.

As a source of power that is generated without p...

The UAE has penned a deal with Levidian Nanotechnologies to deploy its LOOP10 technology at a site in Abu Dhabi. The decarbonisation system captures waste gas at the point of emission and converts it into usable commodities, thus significantly enhancing the eco-friendly credentials of the site in question and the country as a whole.

The project is set to encompass 500 such LOOP10 systems and...

With their hot climates, rapid industrialisation and heavy reliance on fossil fuels for their energy and economic stability, Gulf nations are often associated with less-than-ideal air quality. But is that really a fair assessment of the situation? Where do Arab nations fare on the Air Quality Index (AQI), for example?

Although no Arab cities feature among the most polluted cities on the plan...

As we enter the summer months, the frequency and intensity of sandstorms in the UAE and the wider Gulf region is only expected to become more severe. A common phenomenon in the Arab world, sandstorms can negatively impact the Air Quality Index (AQI) and reduce visibility to just a few metres on roads and walkways.

But what exactly causes such sandstorms to happen? How commonly do they occur?...

The publication of the Energy Strategy 2050 in 2017 outlined the Emirati government’s goal of making sure that 44% of the energy consumed in the country came from renewable sources by 2050. While solar power farms can provide a significant percentage of that total, hydrogen is also viewed as the future of clean energy in the UAE.

Despite the enthusiasm for hydrogen in the country, however, t...

State-owned and private businesses from the UAE and Egypt have announced their intention to work together to develop green hydrogen projects on a sizable scale. Masdar, which is the renewable energy arm of the UAE’s sovereign wealth fund, has signed agreements with several firms backed by the Egyptian government and Hassan Allam Utilities to develop this new energy source.

The accords will f...