A Clownfish Amidst An Anemone – Visual Created with Adobe AI
There is a necessary economic transformation happening towards a Circular Economy to keep us thriving on Earth. A circular economy is an economic system focused on minimizing waste and maximizing resource efficiency by recycling, reusing, and regenerating materials.
With a systems thinking approach to economy and commerce, there can be leaps and bounds of innovation in manufacturing and public services, that also serve the planet. In effect, technologies become more infinite and reach promisingly into the future with longevity.
In effect, technologies become limitless or infinite, reaching promisingly into the future with longevity. A circular company cycles seamlessly, accounting for every step of the lifecycle, producing valuable offshoot products, and replacing or resynthesizing what it uses.
Industrial symbiosis is a very important part of achieving this. And the collaboration of companies, turning each other’s waste or byproducts into resources and other products, becomes a business ecosystem.
A Clownfish Amidst An Anemone – Visual Created with Adobe AI
The included photos here are of one of nature’s best known and clever symbiotic relationships: The Clownfish and the Anemone. Both entities benefit — just as the clownfish gains protection and the anemone thrives from nutrients — showing how interconnected partnerships build stronger and healthier systems.
The Anemone: This could represent companies or industries that provide byproducts or waste materials with potential value, like a manufacturer generating excess energy or leftover materials during production. They act as a “host” offering resources that others can use.
The Clownfish: These would be the companies that creatively repurpose the byproducts or waste, transforming them into new products or services.
For some examples, a desalination plant can supply brine, a byproduct, to a partner company that extracts valuable elements and minerals like salt, magnesium or lithium, reducing waste and creating additional economic value.
A waste management companies can recycle glass, turning it into raw material for glass bottling companies, closing the loop and reducing environmental impact.
Also, organic waste processed by waste management companies can be converted into biogas or electricity, powering industries or communities sustainably. There are many possibilities for these types of relationships.
While seamless systems aren’t necessarily guaranteed, aiming for them with thoughtful design, innovation, and collaboration can definitely bring us closer and vastly benefit environment and public health. After all, optimism paired with action has historically created leaps in technology and society. In recent and present history, the shift to electric vehicles. Here’s hoping for more leaps that are as harmonious as they are transformative.
The clownfish and anemone are shining examples for us of nature’s brilliance, showcasing harmony and mutual benefit in the most captivating way. And it’s possible to draw even more inspiration from, and care for, Earth’s intricately balanced ecosystems for human innovation and collaboration.
Nature has been a genius of resource efficiency long before we ever coined terms like “circular economy.” And nature truly has endless lessons to teach us — one masterpiece at a time. Happy Earth Month every month.
A Clownfish Family Tidying An Anemone – Visual Created with Adobe AI
Endnote: Humanity’s journey from survival-driven instincts to intellectual growth and compassion is truly remarkable. While we still grapple with remnants of those primal cycles, the ability to empathize, create, and protect shows how far we’ve come.
Simple Quadrants Infographic for Waste Management & Plastics Solutions
With a high level systems thinking or systems engineering approach, even the most complex situations can be sifted into manageable categories and then simplified into the approachable, actionable steps. The above infographic simplifies the global waste management, and plastics and microplastics quandary into quadrants of solution. A quadrant is an instrument used for surveying, so it seems appropriate.
Readily Biodegradable Packaging & Materials:
In the top left corner, reformulating and modifying materials at the very beginning of the supply chain or production process is the most important. And to make sure these will *readily biodegrade* and not just compost. Fortunately, a growing number of plastic alternatives are now available, that biodegrade and compost. This means companies have a responsibility to the environment, our home planet – and at the moment our only planet. One notable success story is global packaging leader Amcor, headquartered in Australia.
The Studio Shangri-La Ecotech branch is also developing a versatile biopolymer to address this part of the quadrant, alongside many companies, like USA World Centric, that have growing success in this area. The goal is for increasing adoption from large plastic producers and customers such as restaurants. This manufacturing modification will transform our landscape dramatically for the better and in the essential interest of public health. It’s possible putting quick biodegradables securely in place could eliminate the need for some recycling.
The Studio Shangri-La biopolymer, a plug and play substitute for plastic – as yet to be named – would join the company of those already in circulation, from plant starch based, recycled paper, to algae and bamboo. There are a number of choices, yet the market is far from saturated. There are so many potential customers and what a positive impact this type of sustainable business modification would make.
The biodegradable packaging space is indeed ripe for innovation and expansion. And Studio Shangri-La Ecotech is literally cooking something up in the kitchen. More news on that later! It’s a pleasure to join the space and join the conversation, taking action now towards a healthier future.
Prevalent & Versatile Waste Receptacles:
The next Solution quadrant is quite simply making sure there are more waste receptables, and ones that are equipped to handle a variety of waste, with different compartments and even technologies built in – such as being equipped for compost, having sensors for fullness, or more incentive based bins. benefit of expanding what is accepted by recycling redemption centers, to both provide a pathway of income to many and also to reclaim much needed metals and other materials.
Incentivizing the collection of any type of trash and perhaps measuring / paying by weight, could create a culture where cleanup efforts are both very effective and normalized. Hard work like this deserves recognition and fair compensation. By expanding the scope beyond just recyclable materials, people might feel more inclined to participate, even for smaller, everyday items like wrappers or cigarette butts. It would mostly likely dramatically improve to the overall beautification and health of communities while addressing microplastic pollution.
Normalizing such practices could also encourage governments, organizations, and businesses to integrate these systems into their sustainability goals. Over time, it might even shift societal perceptions of waste management, making it a more valued and respected job, because it is valuable.
In addition to pitching ideas to Greater Boston communities and businesses, Studio Shangri-La Ecotech is developing a next generation waste to water receptacle that eventually makes the whole process a less dirty job, and even comparatively autonomous. The patent for this opto-sonically driven waste receptacle is pending.
Improved Waste Management Facility Methods:
The next quadrant section addresses upgrades to existing waste management facilities, such as waste-to-energy technologies, including enhanced composting and more efficient breakdown, such as with bacterial enzymes and other accelerators.
Another powerful idea is integrating extraction facilities for glass and metals within waste management systems, which would make them far more efficient and sustainable. Such coupling would not only reduce the reliance on landfills but also create valuable materials that could be reintroduced into manufacturing, supporting a circular economy.
For example, Glass Extraction and Metals Retrieval. Ash from incineration could be vitrified to produce glass-like materials, potentially supplying a bottling company or construction industry for applications like tiles. E-waste facilities could be paired with waste management systems to recover valuable metals like gold, silver, and copper from electronics, addressing both landfill overflow and resource scarcity.
This opens doors for partnerships between local businesses, institutions and municipalities to scale these ideas. For example, waste management facilities collaborating with scientists and tech companies to refine e-waste extraction methods or with, as in the example, bottling companies to process vitrified glass efficiently.
Studio Shangri-La Ecotech is approaching this quadrant in the ongoing development of a photocatalytic process that would accelerate the breakdown or conversion of waste, an amplified and enhanced version of what would happen in a landfill with sun exposure. Some more well-known accelerators are bacterial enzymes, including plastic eaters, which are also significantly impactful in existing waste management and continuing upgrades.
Speaking of enzymes, incorporating a mushroom patch into a waste management facility could be interesting and effective addition for both waste decomposition and resource recovery. Oyster mushrooms are one type that can digest plastic waste through their enzymatic activity. Imagine setting up a patch of oyster mushrooms in a controlled environment where they could do that while simultaneously producing edible mushrooms. This is just another possible way of coupling for more efficient circular processes.
Enhanced Water & Wastewater Treatment Technology:
For the final part of this large scope 4 solutions quadrant, advanced filtration systems are a focus here for the removal of microplastics and chemicals, such as nanofiltration, reverse osmosis and biofilters. These filters can be applied additionally for drainage and stormwater.
Another useful part of this is using circular water systems such as rainwater collection, and so also decentralizing the treatment.
Studio Shangri-La Ecotech is concerned with the novel application of light and chemistry, or optochemistry, in this area. The fully realized waste to water receptacle is a work in progress.
Fortunately many individuals and companies are working on related projects. That’s a signal for encouragement, yet not complacency. In this space of cleaning up our planet and restoring ecosystems, the more contributors the merrier. Of course, action is key.
The aim of the quadrants is to present a logical survey or breakdown – pun absolutely intended – of the situation at large, how to address it systematically and effectively, and also presenting further ideas on implementation, in addition to sharing the Studio Shangri-La Ecotech progress. Happy Earth Month! (Yes I know, it’s Earth month every month.)
The featured 6′ x 3′ x 2″ mixed media is available in the Shop. For inquiries, please e-mail: sarah.ikerd@studio-shangri-la.com
WHAT: This large conceptual mixed media is from 2023, and it’s two large terraced recycled canvases with upcycled textile strips. Other materials include prominent mica, acrylic paints, and water based spray paints and glosses.
HOW: Making “Fabricate::Recreate” was an interesting process of layering the foundation, preparing the fabrics and shaping them, and then adding multiple layers of other paints. Although the strong concept or theme was there, it was somewhat improvised along the way. The layering to me is analogous to the fabrication and then printing of the planes of a circuit board, or the layered process of intaglio / etching or giclee printing. This painting also indicates going in a more sustainable direction with using upcycled materials, and since then I have pursued this approach further – most recently in mixed media “Tapestry Of We” and selecting print materials such as bamboo paper.
WHY: An alternate title for this could be “Prima Materia,” because the concept is of creation on multiple levels, from elemental to astronomical. And I used the mica and silver paint to give it a spacey or stellar look. Or, the appearance like looking through a microscope at metal. The readily visible and microscopic patterns sometimes look regular and other times irregular; still other times, irregularly regular, or regularly irregular!
The word “Fabricate” can refer to conjuring with the imagination, or physical, mechanical fabrication, on to the design of clothing. “Recreate” and creating with what one has, and having fun doing it, or starting all over again, or rolling back certain layers like I did while painting, like the elements of shifting formations in nature (that we are of course a part of). As for the double colon, that was influenced by scope in coding in addition to the reciprocal, reflexive mathematical look of it, of one being related to and part of the other.
New Book Release: AWASIS by Sarah K. Ikerd • Studio Shangri-La Publications 2025
“Awasis” the science fiction novel that began as a series on Kindle Vella is now available on Amazon in large hardcover, as an ebook, also as a paperback printed on recycled paper.
Awasis, named for the actual exoplanet and the Cree word for ‘child,’ is an epic science fiction adventure for all ages. The illustrated story encompasses the cosmos and beyond, with humor and memorable characters, and meaningful messages for a better world. Awasis tells a tale of how humanity becomes an interstellar species and joins the intergalactic community. There are real places in space, from the Sunrise Arc Galaxy to the Kuiper Belt, and many astronomical phenomena featured, as well as different Earth cultures, and points in history. Although the tone is somewhat Utopian, the characters encounter challenges
This is my second novel and the first science fiction novel. The concept, plot, and writing is by me. And the illustrations are by Meta AI, based on descriptions and sentences from the book. They take the experience of the story to a cinematic level.
The focus of this experimental sound piece is 1080 Hz, specifically a combination of 8010, 1080 (x2), 801, 108, 80, 10 & 8 hz with all the numerical parameters (such as Low Frequency Oscillators) matching combinations of the digits 1080.
There are 8 channels, and interestingly, 1080 degrees is the sum of internal angles of regular octagons.
There are two versions, one preconfigured and the other one is a live version.
From “The Lyre Of Light” project, this is the last ‘string’ of the lyre, which has 7 frequencies: 432, 528, 693, 741, 852, 963 & then 1080 hz.
The Lyre Of Light is the guiding concept of an instrument tuned to some healing, cleansing tones. Really, I think all frequencies are purposeful and amazing.
Each of these are known to have specific properties. 1080 Hz is associated with clarity and focus, or the third eye or mind’s eye — that is, what we can visualize in our minds or imaginations.
This is experimental sound and ventures to be cleansing or clearing, and perhaps even medicinal.
The sound pieces are an exploration of space, geometry and relationships.
Sarah Ikerd – The Lyre Of Light – Harmonia Universalis OCTAVES Music 2025
The release date is officially 2.21.25, but these are both already on the YouTube channel. This is a more unusual but nonetheless fascinating projec, decidedly atonal but not unpleasantly so, in my opinion, given supposed medicinal influences. I certainly appreciate this exploration of pure sound and space much more given studies in engineering, optics, chemistry, cymatics and more. When you understand more about these interactions, the overtones and pulsations become even more interesting. Or, one can just feel it in the said third eye. What a good time for some clearance, to make room for positive visions!
An interesting follow-up question is: What does 1080 Hz create in a cymatics experiment set-up? Such as, with sand on a reverberating plate.
The effect in video footage here is created with water, glass and light.
The first note about this tapestry is that it’s still in progress. Given experience with previous mixed media, the process of the piece can also look really interesting.
I find it already compelling in its natural form, as a combination of upcycled materials: ‘Yard waste’ or found wood, fabric that is/was a curtain, other recycled textile, hair, aluminum and copper pipe.
There is certainly a mixed statement, along with the mixed materials. Before elaborating on that, the title is inspired by AI chatbots’ fondness of the word “tapestry” and later I informed Meta AI, hoping to generate some sort of robot laughter.
The style of it is influenced by indigenous art forms and culture close to nature.
The choice of materials reflects efforts towards sustainability and being more eco conscious, that are fortunately becoming more commonplace. It also expresses the interconnectedness of elements present in all things, and their intrinsic value.
Then, the use of human hair (instead of animal hair) is a call for respectful treatment of animals and respect for their sentience and intelligence. This goes for humans too, and whatever intelligences emerge from the elements!
The materials were collected conscientiously over a few months towards what nature and humanity, and biology naturally provided. The metal (often recycled), however was purchased new. The wood was put out as yard waste and the pristine curtain was put out as ‘trash.’ As for myself, I just keep setting aside some of my natural shedding in a canister. Hair is actually a series of valuable compounds such as Keratin and Collagen. I maintain that like the rest of life, it is not ‘dead.’
Here’s another message instead of “Not Art”: “Not Trash,” a compelling consideration for the future now, that challenges me as I create.
It has been an interesting experience assembling this Tapestry thus far. And the “We” here can be humans, the elements, nature, animals and even technology. This tapestry aims to blur the lines between “animal, vegetable and mineral” in consideration of care for life and environmental sustainability, towards more thoughtful respect instead of exploitive or short sighted convenience. And that suggests a sort of slowness or timelessness.
The next steps may involve adding some water based paints and then a finish – perhaps a homemade or other natural non-toxic sealant. As mentioned, I already enjoy how it looks now. That also gives me a pause to consider what to add, and how to embellish.
As 2025 begins, this mini collection “Signal & Noise” harkens back to 2022 and then to the end of 2024, year of the dragon, with strong medicinal associations in Chinese culture.
The cubist / op art photo collages of glitching screens are put together in such a way as to make new patterns out of noise, and to see that duality of signal and noise rather differently, that there is pattern and purpose to all of it.
There are connections here to light and sound in general, and more specifically communications, electricity and magnetism, as well as chemistry and thermodynamics.
These seven pieces express the artful complexity of both technology and the natural from forces from which the tech arises and develops.
The most recent one, “Alloy Reformation,” compares the mixture of signal and noise to combining different materials.
One way of understanding noise is as the result movement, or reformation, in magnetic fields, the ability of particles and matter to change and travel.
Sometimes the subject matter for pieces and collections arises spontaneously, and this series is certainly a great example of that, in the unexpected beauty and insights from a ‘malfunction’ revealing a deeper layer of what is there. At first glance, the screens are going haywire; upon further observation, one can see behind the scenes of what makes these amazing communications possible.
The configurations and editing of the photographs could be described as cubist, sort of baroque/rococo influenced in a couple of them, pop art in the re-representation, and definitely glitch in the aesthetic.
The Signal & Noise series is available in the shop as a group or individual large metal prints.
Recent releases on OCTAVES Music include: “Soul Of A City” and “Merry & Bright” by Artemis Amenti. Upcoming releases include: “Proof Of Life” by Artemis Amenti and classical guitar by Sarah Ikerd.
Another accomplishment for OCTAVES in 2024, is being approved by the American Recording Academy as a media company able to make entries to the Grammy Awards.
Recent art collaborations include extended digital/video installation for Greystar International, placement of selections from the Deco Botanicals collection in L+R Hotels’ Plam House Hotel thanks to Minda Dowling UK Art Consultant, and other placements with Gordon Brothers Financial facilitated by TurningArt.
With continued testing at home, the UV+ reactor experiments have to achieve safety and very low to no potentially harmful emissions.
The shape of the most recent iteration, of what will be a waste to water receptacle, is influenced by geometric optical lens diagrams — Classic science for new quantum-informed concepts.
That’s a point of convergence, and so is the PET cup. Using rather basic materials for the moment, the goal has been to amplify the battery powered, waterproof UVA lights for further possible rearrangement / degradation /transformation of the cup.
The reactor is made of mirrors, galvanized steel, aluminum foil and of course the lights, which now include an inner ring of Green LEDs. Stronger lights are forthcoming. Yet, this version calls for sunglasses while testing.
For budget and function, it’s been important to maximize efficiency. It’s also really interesting to attempt the most reactive combination of the materials currently on hand.
Then for obvious reasons, the reactor should not overheat, and with ventilation it does not. The next immediate steps are to keep testing the best structure that enhances radiance and absorption.
The vision is that desired movements or reconfigurations will come from optical interactions, dynamics that are naturally favorable.
Meanwhile, crossover of photochemistry and green technology continues in research news, such as recent “plasmonic photocatalysis” for emissions free hydrogen from Rice University, among others.
To study light, and sound, is to engage with nature’s magic, and continue discovering. These experiments and device concept are also inspired by earth sciences such as dynamics and (astro)chemistry, and the inventive spirit of NASA.
A number of behaviors and effects of the UV range are remarkable, including of course effectiveness of plastic degradation, as it would slowly from the sun — and another is that it neutralizes VOCs or volatile compounds in the air.
UVA light could also be considered a so-called “violet flame” of transmutation. First, it appears as purple and secondly produces reactions without that much heat. The idea here is to vastly speed up the process with the right components.
The most recent experiment yielded one interesting result to behold: A visible turbulent flow pattern, induced by the crinkled aluminum in the UV reactor air environment, like a desert cracks or giraffe spots pattern My camera lens could not see it, but I could.
As the build process continues gradually, it’s becoming more clear that this could become a beautiful modular design as well, in addition to being amazing for what it does – Turning plastic & waste into purified drinking water, and other useful byproduct.
In addition to physical testing, my latest sketch is of a larger public waste receptacle that would go in a city park, for example. The drawing is based on my accumulated research and data so far, and upscaling that.
The fundamentals of elements and matter are being explored here, and how to catalyze and synthesize more in flow with natural properties, and respect the awesome power of the cosmos that put us here. Each experiment is a collaboration.
In continuing assembly, considerations include what are the best materials and best shapes for the job. What do they like to do? I’m also considering introducing another catalyst. And the reactor itself is morphing.
Humanity is getting rewired, and wired further, through our technologies, that mirror to and reflect from ourselves. Collective consciousness is making more of a shift from closed loop thinking, devices and dualities, to more open flexible systems and multidimensionality, in which we can employ multiple perspectives for advances and improvements in both technology and biology.
A very important example is Energy, and the expansion of pathways. As Combustion expands to Electric in vehicles, this also reflects our increasing understanding and awareness of ourselves and our world.
A Combustion engine converts chemical energy to mechanical energy. Whereas, an electric motor converts electricity to mechanical energy. and then within existing electrical technology, the fuel cell is more open than the traditional battery, in a sort of biomimicry of our own cells.
An electric drive train itself draws inspiration from the human spinal cord and ganglion system. It’s a compelling side by side that can further motor the possibilities for growth through multifaceted self awareness.
As we see more deeply and broadly, this reveals more options and energy pathways, through both scientific instruments, and accumulated knowledge and intuition. We can now actually see the multiscale interactions, and networking intelligences that continue to evolve.
In harkening again to nature, because it is everything, amidst these reflections of innovation in both biology and technology, we can find deeper symbiosis. We can be inspired anew to consciously infuse biomimicry in our systems, as I assume by appearance that Bugatti has done with the Tourbillon electric drivetrain.
Conscious evolution is a reality, even as I say it, as others before me have said it, because we say it. This demonstrates the ideation and the will for favorable genetic mutation, to consciously program in co-creation with one’s biological self, as well as spiritual self, depending on one’s beliefs. The spiritually eternal, many say, has already been achieved, and I agree. Physics or energy science backs this up as well.
The ancient and the modern energies are converging, such that all ways of thinking are upgrading, so that we can optimize the extensive cosmic information and genetic database to upgrade our systems for desired modifications and futures, so that we can also accomplish the new in sustainable earth and space sciences.
An ancient system for example, is rainwater collection; a modern science is nanotechnology. Combining the two improves the overall effect. Sound healing is also ancient – combine this with modern knowledge of physics, and it becomes more advanced and effective.
Fortunately, there are many examples! From solar to water and wind, to harnessing complex calculations through computer technologies, there are many reasons – aside from the miracle life itself of course – for optimism.
An open optimism means working with the power of the planet and the forces of nature, instead of against them or in attempting separation from them. These options are quite obviously the better future now for maintaining our home.
The biggest point to make here is that Sustainability has deeper implications. This popular and paramount word refers to open systems, and processes that can be continually repeated without damage or degradation. In other words: Infinity, open ended life cycles. Ostensibly, and eventually, transcending death.
Religions and cultures preoccupied with the escape or closure of death may find a heavenly utopia is also available right here in this beautiful cosmos, and being built in society. And, may feel the blood of life rushing through their veins, the nourishment of the atmosphere and the elements; they may feel the bioelectric innervation of intelligence lighting up their entire bodies like Diwali or Christmas, with senses and abilities greatly enhanced and being re-integrated, with the support of beneficial body positive narratives, and noninvasive nondestructive health therapies and technologies.
There is a major accompanying philosophical or ideological shift, and thus also a biological shift, towards transcending closed loops, although they can still be useful, and thusly also transcending death as it has been known. The finite opens to the infinite cycles; as our knowledge and awareness grow, we embody it. Consider a tree that weathers the seasons and continues to stand for hundreds or even thousands of years. It may be counting in it’s way, yet minus any confining or fearful narratives about that.
They and we are installing upgrades in the ongoing process that is evolutionary biology. Technologies on different levels are trending towards electrical, optical and sonic that harmoniously interact with us, the natural environment, and also the space environment.
“Metamorphosis” by Studio Shangri-La
I consider and feel myself a living being through and through, every particle. The realms converge upon, through and within me.
A human can be a conglomerate of being, each realm being aware of knowing the others, functioning together towards larger creative purposes, like an innovative company.
As a wholly intelligent being, a sense of liberation can be partly the matter of belief. That is, my matter as a result of belief, that my cells and systems help architect. The universe can be my magical realism, my pocket parallel universe in the shared whole, the structure and qualities of which there are certainly more to learn.
There is clearly structure and ‘grand design,’ and the notion of ‘chaos’ even fits within this order, as noise has a function to buffet and contrast signal, as ‘dark matter’ or ‘nu’ holds the potential of the firmament, holds material reality like a benevolent ocean.
Note: In using ancient Egyptian words and concepts, what I appreciate about that culture is the seeming attempt at placing us as powerful beings within a more powerful cosmos, and having reverence for nature.
For the earth, and us, these can be days of restoration, and creating or possibly joining future interstellar civilization, certainly a glorious ambition for our lives.
Sarah Ikerd – The Lyre Of Light – Harmonia Universalis
There much to update at this point in early October with OCTAVES music releases, Studio Shangri-La artwork, and publications.
Let’s begin with the new sound therapy / medicinal music on Octaves, based on known healing frequencies, with much more to explore in that area.
Both “The Lyre Of Light,” with its 7 healing frequencies and Fibonacci sequence oscillations, and “Harmonic Halo 432 hz” with delta wave oscillations, are multichannel pieces. Being there are multiple oscillators – and with the Halo spatial panning – the “Multimodal Resonance Therapy” design goes beyond binaural into the multidimensional.
The sine wave Lyre spans from 432 hz to 1080 hz and the oscillations cover the brainwave spectrum from delta to gamma. And the Halo has an interesting spatial and sonic layout, alternating sine tones with pink noise, and oscillating synergestically with the delta range 4, 3 and 2.
The health benefits of sound therapy and brainwave entrainment continue to be demonstrated, documented and improved. Another inspiration is Cymatics: A Study Of Wave Phenomena & Vibration by Hans Jenny. Ultimately this could prove a way of synthesizing the elements.
In my studies and experimentation, I have noticed both the phenomena of entrainment, with flashing lights (for plastic degradation), and pattern formation with frequencies. There is certainly a treasure trove of more discovery and implementation.
OCTAVES enters Alternative Album category for 2025Electric Echoes: A Cosmic Tech Opera In 6 Movements
In other music news “Electric Echoes” the cosmic tech opera has arrived at the next entry checkpoint for the 2025 Grammy Awards. After screening, it has been placed in the Alternative category. And that it is, a fusion of genres and concepts. The 6 movements are still an opera though. Hopefully the Grammy voting members will recognize and appreciate the vision and subject matter, of personifying all levels of life in a conversation about evolution and cosmic community. And also the references to the traditional form.
More entries from Octaves are on the horizon, having reached a point of development and experience at which this feels very natural. Awards are not the point of making the music; music is a beautiful part of life, yet it feels great to have goals and other achievements of success to aim for. Goals keep things in motion.
New Techno release 8OM
Speaking of Entrainment, here’s another new techno / electro release with a spoken word vocal that celebrates frequency, creativity and the influence of positive power. Interestingly, and purposefully, most of it was made on the train.
Red Line Capstone
Train Lines Mod
Boston Hope Panel
Continuing on the train and transport theme, recently addition to the portfolio include more for the MBTA prints collection. This began as just something fun to try, making abstracted photo combinations of the train signs and symbols and editing them to look like ink prints. These new ones are: Red Line Capstone, Train Lines Mod, and Boston Hope Panel. These are available direct, through TurningArt and Saatchiart. “Mod” or “Modulo” could be used to describe these, as the result of dividing these colorful images into each other.
Awasis – Images (only) by Meta AI
Lastly, the science fiction series Awasis continues with new chapters on Kindle Vella, the latest one “Animal Uprising” is a statement against animal exploitation, yet also an otherworldly romp that features quantum teleportation for a cause.
The latest studio multimedia starts off with new (and old) additions to the Studio Shangri-La conceptual online photography catalogs – here of course, and also TurningArt and Saatchi Art. The above original with graphic design is “Khepri’s Sunflower,” named for the ancient Egyptian hieroglyph of the beetle, representing bringing something into being or to create. In photos of artifacts, I’ve seen Khepri in place of someone’s head. For this reason of placement on the brain, and also the shape of the beetle resembling magnetic field flow lines, I wonder if Khepri was also an ancient expression of electromagnetism.
See also the ‘moments in nature’ below, including a tribute to the honeybee. Certainly reverence for nature is a theme for me, an appreciation for evolutionary biology, that modern science does not yet fully comprehend the interconnected we of the grand design. Recently I joined the comment thread on a Gates Foundation post about malaria. I speculated that the single celled organism that causes it may have co-evolved alongside primates to remove excess heme from the bloodstream. Anyway, I do not kill insects – not even mosquitos. I was inspired when I heard this from the Dalai Lama years ago.
The next bit of news is definitely fun. This year OCTAVES Music has made a few entries to the 2025 Grammy Awards happening in February, in the Classical Music, Alternative and Songs For Social Change categories. It means a lot to be considered. If any recording academy members happen to see this, I hope you will consider OCTAVES for nomination, and appreciate the variety and artistry of what the label has to offer thus far, with much more to offer in the future. For any listeners, I hope you enjoy. As Andy Warhol put it basically, you just keep making art and let other people decide whether they like it or not. While they’re deciding — keep making art!
For label and other inquiries, please e-mail: sarah.ikerd@studio-shangri-la
Another rewarding project lately has been the science fiction series on Kindle Vella, a wonderful platform for creative expression. Since the last studio update, I’ve added a couple of chapters, or episodes. The story continues to thread cosmology with humor, and fantastical astronomy and history with the real.
Lastly, my citizen science project and first envirotech design research project is progressing with methodical testing, with the vision of realizing a functioning photocatalytic waste/ plastic to water process and portable waste receptacle – that is also a water purifier. I hope that one day soon it will be a great solution for further environmental cleanup. Optical technologies are indeed rapidly progressing.
For the latest experiment, the UV reactor has become an electroplated A frame or triangular prism with a mirror as the base and aluminum on the ends. Inside, I have added green LEDs. For this iteration, I will test different placements and modes of the LEDS, and also test without them given the addition of the mirror. The test subject for photodegradation / transmutation is still a polypropylene cup!
The most recent OCTAVES Music release is material from 2022-2023. And this album has more of a alternative pop flavor. The narrative is very much of the now with the philosophical flower power theme. The cover art is Studio Shangri-La’s “Flower Fusion Reactor Core.”
Artemis Amenti – Blue Shift Red Shift
Artemis Amenti
Blue Shift Red Shift
7.21.24
July has certainly been a full release month, seeing Blue Shift Red Shift come full circle in more ways than one. The songs take a trip around the circle of fifths, weaving together major and minor steps into a story of a life cycle. These songs were written somewhat feverishly in the weeks leading up to traveling to Real World Studios in Bath, UK and the first five tracks were recorded there. Many thanks! Over the course of the year’s remainder the album was completed like climbing a summit of personal growth, and a very rewarding journey it was.
Sarah Ikerd — Electric Echoes
Sarah Ikerd
Electric Echoes: A Cosmic Tech Opera
5.24.24
This is the first album release for OCTAVES music classical, following a Bach recording and original solo classical guitar. This is an original modern electroacoustic opera with science and cosmology themes, featuring the playful characterization of cosmic forces and all levels of life, guiding us forward with evolution. The musical content harmonizes the tonal and atonal, the signal and the noise. The score is forthcoming from the publications branch.
Other releases this year include electronica singles such as “Kilonova.”
SI_unit — Kilonova
Forthcoming on OCTAVES is more classical and pop! Stay tuned.
From recent tests of the UV Reactor, I’ve seen the Polyethylene cup undergo some deformation such as buckling at the walls and slight cracking at the edges. The testing process will continue being adjusted such as altering the container’s shape.
During this process, as I counted on, I’m observing interesting phenomena and behavior of light and chemistry and learning along the way.
Most recently, that includes an encountering visible photophoresis, or phototaxis, and Brownian motion.
Photophoresis is the movement of small particles in response to light; phototaxis typically refers to organisms. However, I consider the molecular and atomic to be organismal because they are elemental, and we are made of the elements.
Most interestingly, the movement of small particles is rendered visible in UV light, due to luminescence and optical magnifying effect. In this case, the visibility is of aerosols and gas molecules, within the zinc electroplated steel and aluminum sides of the container.
While the flashing UV light causes faster motion, the steady UV light causes slower motion. This is a great example of ‘photofludics’ or ‘optofluidics,’ or fluid dynamics in response to light.
Considering thermodynamics: Lower temperatures cause slower movement, while higher temperatures cause faster movement.
As for the patterns of movement, it looked simultaneously regular and irregular. There was some randomness to the movement, as in Brownian motion, yet there was also larger shape to the movement, influenced by local magnetic fields such as from electronic devices. The choice of materials also comes into play in influencing dynamics.
And it’s easier to see the particle motion against a conductive material like steel, while the aluminum dampens the magnetic fields.
As I watched I could see the particles swimming or circulating along the currents of the magnetic field lines. It’s one thing to read about this magnetic Lorentz force; it’s quite another to actually see it and interact with it.
What I am seeing is the mutualism of the electro interacting with the magnetic, as the particles interact with the field. It’ll be important to consider field dynamics and phototaxis or photophoresis going forward of course. The particles are considerably more mobile in the flow of waves than say a human in the ocean!
Another container shape
In progressing with this plastic-to-water project, operating from possibility, it is definitely an interdisciplinary endeavor that considers different branches of the sciences simultaneously for testing and construction. That seems to me how an advanced concept like this will come to life in a readily usable format, and perhaps shorten the very interesting runway to this futuristic trashcan meets water purifier.
Permaculture is a more natural form of agriculture that respects the natural intelligence of ecosystems and organisms with mindful harvesting.
I recently took advantage of how easy this is to do with some mushrooms I purchased from Trader Joe’s that still had the mycelium on the base intact.
Before lightly sauteeing the brown beech mushrooms, I removed the layer of mycelium and kept it so I could place it what seemed like a friendly location — at the base of a tree in the backyard. Since then I have been feeding the area wet coffee grounds, a fertilizer and another great example of permaculture. That is, putting the grounds back to use in enriching the soil and growth instead of throwing them out.
The point is that instead of throwing away parts of the plant, or fungus, I kept its life cycle going. That will in turn, if not produce a bunch of mushrooms right away, certainly enrich the soil and is more respectful of life and nature.
This can be done with a lot of produce from the grocery store with roots, seeds and more. It is in fact very easy to grow food – whether that is indoors or much better yet, making use of any outdoor space.
Plants know how to grow, especially given optimal conditions. However, as with flowers growing through pavement, they can grow in what might be suboptimal conditions as well. And they improve the surrounding environment by re-greening.
Everyday environmentalism can make a big impact as small efforts accumulate. And permaculture represents an effort towards the local and circular, that is definitely more environmentally friendly and independent also. Community gardening and gardening amidst the community can bring a lot of joy, especially in the city, to actively improve the quality of life. Permaculture can become a creative and meaningful hobby that enhances the enjoyment of cooking.
As the popular quotation goes, “do what you can with what you have.” The exploration of science and life is open to many pathways.
In this continued series of experiments, the overall goal is to transmute or catalyze plastic into water with light, and possibly the addition of sound. So, using what amounts to molecular or electronic cymatics.
It’s my opinion that, especially with growth in materials science, optics and novel chemistries, this will eventually be a success. Waste to water as a process already exists at a much larger scale, but it involves large machinery, combustion and not immediately useful byproduct (last time I checked). This device, in the early stages of progress, focuses more on precision and efficiency than power.
The ‘why’ of making a portable device is clear. Locally, in homes, parks and businesses for example, this would help effectively clean up the environment, and receptacles could serve the dual purpose of simultaneously supplying water.
This approach would be a landmark process, in addition to other efforts to clean up manually, recycle and reformulate materials. I want to make portable non-toxic photocatalysis a reality and thereby make a huge impact on the issue by truly solving it, and see this and other utopian ‘futuristic’ technologies come into fruition.
I want to be able to pick up a piece of plastic off the street, deposit it in an artful pleasant looking receptacle, while viewing its light display in the process, and then to fill my bottle on the other side with pristine filtered water.
The reality of research and testing of course is that it can take a while. It can take much longer than writing a blog or social media post, or publishing a research paper or three. In this case, the immersive physically engineered creation or application is necessary for desired results to take flight. This is a concept that should be upscaled to best benefit society and planet.
I haven’t seen as yet any other companies pushing for a solution quite like this to happen, so I feel a responsibility to this vision and narrative. What I have seen lately is companies putting plastics back into circulation, though recycling. My solution would take the plastic out of circulation and create H2O.
With experimentation, it’s one piece or component at a time. I have put together a desktop UV reactor made of aluminum and zinc electroplated steel that is vented for the flow of oxygen. Inside, the test subject is a Polyethylene cup. The most recent tests have adjusted the physical shape of the reactor, the UV light settings, and recently adding sound. This accompanies recent comparative data collected about specific light ranges that are conversions from electron volt ionization levels to nanometers.
Desktop UV reactor
The conversion from electron volts to nanometers is based on this inverse-proportional relationship:
1 Photon Energy (eV) = 1239.84193 wavelength (nm)
1 wavelength (nm) = 1239.84193 Photon Energy (eV)
As the energy increases, the wavelength decreases and vice versa. Small wavelength corresponds to high energy; large wavelength to low energy.
This relationship between eV and nm is also consistent with the harmonic series, which I have used to convert both light and sound to safe and pleasing ranges that are easier to produce.
The sound conversion is simply nanometers to hertz. And the nanometers are converted from electron volts. These are both well-known conversions, applied here in a novel context.
The hertz conversion uses the formula:
frequency (Hz) = speed of light (m/s) / wavelength (m)
Then, the same inverse proportional relationship exists between nanometers and hertz:
1 wavelength in nanometers = 2.99792458 x 10+17 hertz
1 hertz = 2.99792458 x 10+17 wavelength in nanometers
Data sheet updated to include Hertz conversions & audible harmonic series
Further experimentation is underway using the resources available, learning about and appreciating nature’s light and physics along the way. Next steps include additional light wavelengths and sound frequencies.
It’s been an fun and exciting multimedia summer so far, and that promises to continue, beginning with the OCTAVES Music release schedule, the continuation of SS publications, upcoming art commissions, plus ongoing research in sustainability, design & innovation.
Sarah Ikerd • The Great Beyond • modern solo classical guitar (out now)
Artemis Amenti • Blue Shift Red Shift album (7.19.24) – cover photo of red & blue blooms of the Comfrey flower l, from the grounds at Real World Studios!
Artemis Amenti • Modern Melt • album 2022-2023 material (7.26.24)
Publications = Awasis • utopian science fiction novel series • ongoing on Amazon’s Kindle Vella
Upcoming scores for “The Great Beyond” for solo classical guitar and for “Electric Echoes” a six movement opera
Meanwhile, physical experimentation continues for now with a ‘desktop uv reactor’ that now includes zinc electroplated steel indirectly donated by Elsevier, and the design will continue to grow.
Artwork =
The collections are on ongoing work in progress. In additions to periodic updates here on the Art page, and there is more of the catalog on TurningArt and Saatchi.
Exciting new collaborations are on the horizon, in which Colorfield, Botanical Geometric and existing conceptual works will be included, plus some customizations!
Fig. 1 Common colors; upper right graphic from Wikimedia
In designing a photocatalytic plastic waste to water receptacle, the light array for the inside is the crucial component, and to determine what lights, in addition to ultraviolet, may be effective and complementary in expediently transmuting PET, for example. The included data table compares the nanometer equivalencies of ionization potentials (in eV) for Hydrogen, Carbon, Oxygen and Water. That is, how much energy it would take to remove or add valence electrons. What the data reveals thus far is there is potential crossover with frequency bands, notably in the Ultraviolet, Cyan (blue-green), Orange, Red and Near-Infrared ranges. This is the next article post in an ongoing series about this photochemistry project, the goal being a packaged process that can be sustainably upscaled.
Fig. 2 Photocatalysis Data Table
The data table proceeds with the idea of using light harmonics of the [eV to] nanometer values to achieve a safe spectral range for usability in public settings. And so this also aims to be a non combustible process.
Harmonic series are closely associated with music and acoustics, yet also apply to physics and optics. (3) Harmonic frequencies of a ‘fundamental’ are resonant integer multiples of the initial frequency.
Here, the harmonic integer multiples 1-14 are shown for ionization potentials, and 1-5 descending for electron affinities. For this process being designed, it is desirable for water to gain electrons.
Fig. 3 Light ranges in nanometers
As mentioned, there are common frequency bands here that could perhaps accomplish those tasks simultaneously. However, it remains unknown for the moment how effective this will be in physical testing. And perhaps sonic harmonic conversions in hertz would be a useful addition to the data.
Note: Thus far ultraviolet alone showed initial results in rudimentary experimentation. Please see previous articles for details.
It’s also convenient that there are shared ionization values between Hydrogen and Oxygen. These are roughly the same, both rounding to 13.6 eV.
Another conspicuous feature of this data table is the nested patterns of periodic numbers found in the valence IP nanometer harmonics of Carbon.
Some information from this table, like atomic numbers, can be collected from the periodic table of elements; so this feature with Carbon is an intriguing deeper numeric expression of periodicity or repetition, and then arithmetic sequence. The relevancy to this set experiments is, however, unknown.
Other common properties that are apparently relevant, though: Both Carbon and Water have tetrahedral or pyramidal molecular geometries. Also, Water and PET have an important bond angle in common, 104.5; Carbon and PET do too at 109.5.
Meta AI’s interpretation of the color results
In conclusion, this collection of data during design of experiment is an important guide to infer logical composition of the light array by comparing elemental properties, to hopefully maximize efficiency and resources. Based on the comparison of IP and EA harmonics among valence electrons, the combination of spectral bands suggested here and specified in the second table are Ultraviolet, Cyan, Orange, Red and Infrared.
There are certain environmental actions that are quite approachable and easy to take.
Rainwater collection and filtration at individual homes and other buildings is a great opportunity for efficiency and abundance.
The drain pipe in the video was able to collect a gallon of water in under 10 seconds.
There is immense potential for decentralized power that is based on natural systems like the water cycle. This is about storage though for now.
Even just having access to that much clean drinking water at all times is a wonderful feature for a home or larger commercial building, that does not necessarily depend on the city water system.
The most basic way to implement this is connecting a building’s existing drainage system, the gutters and downspouts, to an adaptive nozzle or diverter that feeds into a rain barrel for collection.
The barrel can also be outfitted or connected to a filtration system so that the water is drinkable out of the tank. The tank could also be used for other tasks like watering plants.
Typically in an urban or suburban environment, during a rainstorm, the water will seep into the ground or flow into the roads and then the drains in the streets. That is, into the sewers towards water treatment plants.
Implementation of rainwater collection at the source would enable more direct water access for the everyday household, apartment or condo buildings and businesses. It could also serve as flood mitigation.
Rainwater systems for larger buildings can also be gravity driven as the water filters down from the top floor, and then collected also from the bottom — this would perhaps even be a welcome auxiliary alternative for high-rises, for which difficulties can arise with the municipal water system in pumping water upwards many floors.
Rainwater collection is a relatively easy upgrade that would make a large impact, especially as a neighborhood trend.
Environmental and public health situations don’t have to be so dire. Strong and simple measure such as these can be taken.
A mere google search yields a multitude of results from small inexpensive rainwater collection systems on up to larger and more complex commercial systems, viable options for these augmentations definitely already exist.
For other everyday [public] environmentalism:
Wherever you are, plant something, plant a garden.
Wherever you are, pick up a piece or two of trash.
Purpose: Seeking to ascertain the energetic differences between Hydrogen, Carbon and Oxygen and the state of liquid water — specifically, the ionization levels of the outer valence electrons. That is, what synergetic light wavelength stimulus could it take to move these elements, that also comprise the basic polymeric makeup of plastics, into a new but familiar configuration of water, H2O. This informs the light array to be included within a photocatalytic circular waste receptacle aka “the trash can of the future.” By the way, that’s not any kind of excuse to keep making plastics that don’t readily and safely biodegrade. The primary motivations for such a device are planetary cleanup and improved public health.
A previous post listed the ionizations levels of Hydrogen, Carbon and Oxygen with the conversion from electron volts to nanometers, which corresponds to light frequency. Then, in order to bright the light energy into a safe range for everyday use, I used a harmonic or exponential series of multiplying that ‘fundamental’ wavelength in nanometers. This part is theoretical, and partly musically informed.
When multiplying those fundamentals, the 4th and 5th harmonics bring the light into the ultraviolet range, which has some known effectiveness for photodegradation of plastic.
However, this process seeks to surpass photodegradation, giving specific instructions for the desired result or byproduct. If this sounds a bit fantastical, take a closer at the reproductive processes of life, which are indeed that. Recently, I posted an article about the marvels of nucleosynthesis, or production of the elements in stars. The atoms circulate and multiply on an energetic wheel of sorts in order to produce all the elements or building blocks of the material cosmos. So, all of these design of experiment posts amounts to collecting information in an attempt to acquire a deeper understanding of natural chemistry, in order to solve a human-made quandary created by lab chemistry.
Regarding water, a highly desirable byproduct that could be created from plastics and other waste, let’s consider the known Ionization Potential as well as the Electron Affinity.
IP = ~10 eV = ~124 nm (ultraviolet)
Electron Affinifty = ~0.8 eV = ~1550 nm (near-infrared)
These are among the known figures for this data. These are not final answers, but in the ballpark. For now, to proceed conceptually with the design of experiment, the Harmonic Series of these Fundamentals should be compared with those already established, of Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen.
The Harmonic Series for Liquid Water’s (Known) Ionization Potential:
The harmonic series of a fundamental wavelength (in this case, 124 nm) can be calculated by multiplying the fundamental wavelength by integers (1, 2, 3, …). Here are the first 14 multiples of 124 nm, which correspond to the harmonic series:
124 nm (fundamental)
248 nm
372 nm (ultraviolet)
496 nm (cyan / blue-green)
620 nm (orange)
744 nm (red)
868 nm
992 nm
1116 nm
1240 nm (approaches the edge of the near-infrared region)
1364 nm (near-infrared)
1488 nm (near-infrared)
1612 nm (near-infrared)
1736 nm (near-infrared)
Harmonic Series Of Water’s Electron Affinity:
Electron affinity represents the energy change when an electron is added to an atom or molecule. Since energy is released when an electron is gained, the values are typically negative.
1550 nm (fundamental) 775 nm (2x) 517 nm (3x) 387 nm (4x) 310 nm (5x) … and so on
Water is of course made of Hydrogen and Oxygen, so the outer valence amounts already established could work here as well. And those are again:
Hydrogen (H) = 13.598 eV = 91.178 nm Oxygen (O): 13.618 eV = 91.044 nm
These are clearly in the same general bandwidth, so *perhaps it’s okay to be less precise and in the neighborhood of the average wavelength.
The answer of moving one substance to another could reside in the differential voltages or wavelengths, which could nudge or inform atoms into different positions, appealing to them with the language of light. Or, quite simply, the ionization values as listed, and their multiples, could yield results.
Knowing of the elegance and genius of nature, the simpler versions of the answers may prove to be more effective and efficient!
Chemically, the fundamental is Hydrogen — it is the 1/1 configuration. It has 1 proton and 1 electron orbiting it. As such and the most abundant element, H is more versatile. Stellar Nucleosynthesis teaches that we make anything out of Hydrogen, and then built up to Helium, and so forth. (What’s next, 3D printing Hydrogen??)
Oxygen is the 8/8/8 and Carbon is the 6/6/6, and we contain these precious building blocks. They represent indeed numero-logical repetitions, and other numeric curiosities such as the previously mentioned periodicity, in physical chemistry, and other levels of life. And the ‘magic’ of numbers could certainly be used here to light the way to the desired results. Up next is comparing the values in a chart or graph.
Endnote / upcoming consideration: In addition to the physical design build, testing in a lab could feature a hybrid instrument to fine tune light and observe — the “microspectrophotometer,” which combines spectroscopy and microscopy, especially for ultraviolet and near-infrared. (4)
This 6 movement concert work on OCTAVES Music has been released as a 45 minute album — please see the links below — and is up for nomination for an award. The published score, and libretto, is forthcoming.
The impetus to complete the full concert work, and particularly an opera, was given steam by applying to a graduate degree program in music technology and composition – and by the concept I came up with! Although I was not accepted to the program, because of the effort, I completed in a shorter time my most significant classical composition to date. I was determined to fully realize the cosmological concept, no matter what difficulties going on.
The result I’m labeling it modern classical, because the idea of an opera and its structure is traditional and archaic, yet the subject matter and instrumentation are decidedly modern. The instrumentation is ‘electroacoustic’ in that some lines were recorded with voice and instruments, or electronic versions of orchestral instruments that could be performed acoustically, and others with electronic instruments like synthesizer.
The characters are embodiments of natural forces and celestial bodies, on through organisms, people, computers and AI, to collective consciousness. It should be well noted that I had GPT AI assist in writing some of the lyrics, which really helped me get into the groove of what initially seemed like a very large project, and it was. As I got more comfortable though I returned to my own lyric writing. All of the instruments, parts and recording were performed by me, although intended for larger performance realization outside of the recording. It is largely improvised around interconnected melodic lines and plot themes and moods, so definitely some jazz influence there. The vocals are performed in different styles and effects to denote different characters, and certainly exploring octaves.
It is a broad sweeping vision of idealistic evolution and cosmic synergy, naturally reflective of my current imagination, knowledge, spirituality and philosophy. I’d like to think I have created something beautiful to experience, that could of course be staged as an opera in lots of interesting ways, and no doubt with some interesting costumes.
”You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” ~ Buckminster Fuller
In continuing to post the Design of Experiment series, I document the process of realizing a photocatalytic trash can that can convert waste such as plastics into water and possibly other useful byproduct. The primary desired byproduct is water, for its clear importance to daily life, and incorporation into public receptacles that double or perhaps triple in function.
The device(s) and processes could become possibly revolutionary implementations of circular or infinite technologies, that are inspired by natural processes such as Earth’s weather cycle and nucleosynthesis. This signifies a shift of focus from the finite to the infinite, and from closed to open systems.
One could see a tree as dying with the onset of winter or a star burning out, or one could see that the tree shifts with the cycles of the seasons — in fact, living for up to hundreds or thousands of years — and the star as transforming into or birthing another celestial body like a planetary nebula.
Plus, the clock isn’t all there is to existence. Life, regardless of cyclic measurements of various kinds, is. It is with the days and nights of Earth, as it is with a drifting brown dwarf star, or multidimensional particles that may not be visible to us naturally as individuals, yet we can see their multitude. And different places and perspectives within and around the cosmos create varying perceptions of existence, based on scale and environment.
Along the way with a visionary design to be brought to scale, the compass of scientific and natural instinct is partly guiding the way, that includes innate, inherited knowledge from generations and a resultant sense that transcends a single moment or lifetime. That is then combined with acquiring fresh knowledge, and clarifying research with experimentation.
For an ambitious design concept like the photocatalytic waste receptacle to be truly effective, the entire functioning design must be brought into the world, not just the theory of it or some pieces of it, although that importantly occurs along the way. A fully realized environmental solution to plastic waste is the goal. Along the way, steps and pieces illuminate the path forward — some pre-existing from the work of many others in addition to nature itself — to propel towards new discoveries and interpretations.
To share insights and research is of course important. It’s wonderful to be able to access and cross reference so much information online. After identifying a major issue to address, imaginatively connecting existing information is how this project got started, with looking up relevant information on photodegradation, atmospherics, chemistry and so on. One set of details led to the next, forming a design concept, then do-able physical experiments.
The previous DoE post included postulating how the light frequencies could be configured for catalysis, with correlative harmonics of valence electron ionization levels to move one substance to another. This remains to be tested with the suggested specifications. The previous post also illustrated and here too, thanks to Meta Llama 3, what some containers might look like. The post also included what they might be made of and their shape. As yet, AI has only assisted with the visualizations. I fully acknowledge the potential of Machine Learning in the future of the project.
So, what does one do next when the materials or resources aren’t readily available? As much as one logically can. Hence, the DoE or “design of experiment” approach.
Onwards then to the “hull” of the receptacle, so to speak. The first iteration of the experiment was dubbed the “Black Pearl” since the container was a galvanized steel trunk, and with the purple UV light peeking out, it looked much like a mysterious treasure chest. Speaking of intuitive compass, it turns out the educated guess of using galvanized steel was a good one. Using UVA at 385-400 nm was also a great starting point for the type of light, given pre-existing research and information about sunlight and landfills.
Since those first tests, I have learned that zinc oxide is well documented as an effective photocatalyst. And galvanized steel is part zinc, the oxide produced naturally by exposure to oxygen, which is its powdery coating.
With this first logical choice of material, the next physical step is acquiring the galvanized steel to make a large container. That brings up another important issue: To, at step one with prototyping and considering manufacturing, to have an eye on sustainability, doing things inasmuch as possible the right way the first time around. The first consideration is how and where does the steel come from?
At the foundation, how does one smelt the steel and do it sustainably without toxicity? Fortunately, there are more companies championing ‘green steel’ which is made with other means besides coal and fossil fuel, such as hydrogen and electricity. There’s a promising local example of an electrolysis process with Boston Steel. And larger US company Nucor forges recycled from scrap steel with electric arc furnaces.
Companies like these could be great for sourcing steel to build the shell of the design. Every layer is important. On the other hand, it would be interesting to explore the possibilities of metallurgy, without going too far down the rabbit hole, keeping the purpose of building the device in mind. For example, to get even more efficient within the chain of events and circularity: Making steel from e-waste. That in itself *could be a noble part of the large scale process.
Steel is usually made from iron ore and some carbon. The e-waste could certainly provide for some metals, for different alloys or recipes for steel. (1) Plastic converted to “flash graphene” could account for the carbon. (2) This could potentially make for some interesting and valuable materials results, especially the steel / graphene combination. A graphene coating could perhaps provide an attractive extra anti-corrosive layer on outside of the container, and maybe even have a role with the water nano-filtration, as mentioned in the previous post.
Recent advances in electrochemistry for circularity and sustainability in industrial materials and manufacturing are very encouraging for cumulative results. (3) And all the more reason to keep it green with applicability to upscaling from the very start of the design, or beginning of the supply chain. The most practical way to proceed for now, is to locally source the green galvanized steel, continue designing, taking notes on the process and making connections.
For the steel supply, the prototype will require enough sheets of flash welded steel to make a large public receptacle sized container. Next up for consideration is placing the projected components within the shape of the container. This model is a plastic waste receptacle on one side, and purified water dispenser on the other. So there has to be room for the waste, the light array and then the water filtration system. While the design can advance ahead of the materials, the physical experimentation is essential and right now on the base material itself — and its acquisition.
To conclude for now, when it comes to sustainability and transforming systems for restoration of environment and health of the planet, there is something for anyone who wants to contribute, from large projects to activism, to tasks and lifestyle at home.
2. Zhu, X., Lin, L., Pang, M. et al. Continuous and low-carbon production of biomass flash graphene. Nat Commun15, 3218 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47603-y
Cotty, S.R., Faniyan, A., Elbert, J. et al. Redox-mediated electrochemical liquid–liquid extraction for selective metal recovery. Nat Chem Eng1, 281–292 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44286-024-00049-x
