Environment

SRI addresses important environmental issues with a diversified, holistic, mutidisiplinary approach to solve problems ranging from air pollution to ocean acidification.

In the 1940s, SRI pioneered smog research in Los Angeles and hosted the first National Air Pollution Symposium. In the 1970s, our groundbreaking research into the environmental causes of lung diseases led to regulatory guidelines for air pollutants. In the 1980s, we demonstrated how chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) contribute to the ozone hole, and developed protocols for the EPA’s regulation of pesticides.

Today SRI researchers are developing solutions to target these areas:

• Biodegradable materials
• Carbon dioxide separation, sequestration, and reaction (download PDF)
• Chemical and engineering processes
• Dinitramide salts for nontoxic oxidizers
• Eco-effective product design
• Environmental impacts and site selection
• Fuel clean-up (sulfur, heavy metals)
• Handheld biological and chemical sensors
• Hazardous waste destruction: Assisted Hydrothermal Oxidation (AHO), hot water extraction, trace chemical detection
• Hydrogen fuel generation, storage, and distribution (download PDF)
• Hydrothermal technology
• Nitrous oxide, sulfur oxide sensing and removal
• Noise suppression/vibration control
• Ocean research
• Optoelectronic systems
• Pollution abatement
• Ultrasensitive hazardous materials detection
• Waste destruction
• Water purification and desalination

For information about our work in related areas, visit SRI's Physical Sciences Division and Engineering and Systems Division.