Ytterbium thin-disk lasers pave the way for sensitive detection of atmospheric pollutants

The laser's capacity to generate high-power, stable pulses in the SWIR range is a game-changer for field-resolved spectroscopy and femtosecond fieldoscopy

19-Nov-2024 - Alongside carbon dioxide, methane is a key driver of global warming. To detect and monitor the climate pollutants in the atmosphere precisely, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) have developed an advanced laser technology. A high-power ytterbium thin-disk laser ...

How a carbon central bank can turn Europe into a CO2 “eater”

Carbon removal can become a game changer

19-Sep-2024 - The EU has decided to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. From then on, for every tonne of CO2 still emitted, one tonne would have to be taken out of the atmosphere. A European Carbon Central Bank could play a key role on the way there - and use market-based incentives to set the course for a ...

Upcycling excess carbon dioxide with tiny microbes

Scientists specially engineered microbes to turn carbon dioxide into chemicals that are potential building blocks to pharmaceuticals

03-Sep-2024 - While some microbes can make people sick or spoil food, others are critical for survival. These tiny organisms can also be engineered to make specific molecules. Researchers reporting in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering have rewired one such microbe to help tackle greenhouse gases in the ...

Greenhouse gas HFC-23: Abatement of emissions is achievable

Novel measuring method for gas emissions

23-Aug-2024 - Researchers from Empa, the University of Bristol and the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) have investigated the emissions of the potent greenhouse gas HFC-23 from the production of Teflon and coolants. Their study shows: Abatement measures work – but are not being ...

Exploring the structures of xenon-containing crystallites

20-Aug-2024 - Noble gases have a reputation for being unreactive, inert elements, but more than 60 years ago Neil Bartlett demonstrated the first way to bond xenon. He created XePtF6, an orange-yellow solid. Because it’s difficult to grow sufficiently large crystals that contain noble gases, some of their ...

Are sustainable aviation fuels truly sustainable?

24-Jul-2024 - A new IIASA-led study offers the first detailed estimates of land use change emissions for six sustainable aviation fuel production pathways. The authors focused on both food and non-food raw materials used to produce biofuels, using trusted global data sources to provide fine-scale emissions ...

Decline in harmful ozone-depleting greenhouse gases

International environmental treaty shows effect

13-Jun-2024 - A new study by an international team of researchers, published in Nature Climate Change, has revealed significant progress in the drive to reduce atmospheric levels of chemicals that destroy the Earth’s protective ozone layer, confirming the success of historic regulations limiting their ...

Researchers develop a detector for continuously monitoring toxic gases

The material could be made as a thin coating to analyze air quality in industrial or home settings over time

22-May-2024 - Most systems used to detect toxic gases in industrial or domestic settings can be used only once, or at best a few times. Now, researchers at MIT have developed a detector that could provide continuous monitoring for the presence of these gases, at low cost. The new system combines two existing ...

OQ Chemicals Declares Force Majeure for Oberhausen Products

Disruption at Raw Material Supplier

05-Mar-2024 - OQChemicals declares Force Majeure for certain products manufactured at the Oberhausen, Germany site due to a significant disruption at a raw material supplier. On February 27, a substantial operational disruption occurred at a raw material supplier's synthesis gas unit located at the ...

Sensors made from ‘frozen smoke’ can detect toxic formaldehyde in homes and offices

The proof-of-concept sensors could be adapted to detect a wide range of hazardous gases

14-Feb-2024 - Researchers have developed a sensor made from ‘frozen smoke’ that uses artificial intelligence techniques to detect formaldehyde in real time at concentrations as low as eight parts per billion, far beyond the sensitivity of most indoor air quality sensors. The researchers, from the University of ...