Using sunlight to recycle black plastics

"Simple, visible light irradiation holds the potential to transform the chemical recycling of plastics..."

27-Nov-2024 - Not all plastics are equal — some types and colors are easier to recycle than others. For instance, black foam and black coffee lids, which are often made of polystyrene, usually end up in landfills because color additives lead to ineffective sorting. Now, researchers report in ACS Central ...

Breakthrough in capturing 'hot' CO2 from industrial exhaust

A metal-organic framework is capable of capturing CO2 at extreme temperatures

19-Nov-2024 - Industrial plants, such as those that make cement or steel, emit copious amounts of carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas, but the exhaust is too hot for state-of-the-art carbon removal technology. Lots of energy and water are needed to cool the exhaust streams, a requirement that has limited ...

Novel method for direct lithium extraction from produced water

Researcher develops technology to contribute to the high demand for electric vehicles and green energy

12-Sep-2024 - As the world transitions to cleaner energy sources, the need for energy-relevant metals and critical minerals has surged dramatically. Driven by the rise of electric vehicles and other green technologies, these essential materials are in high demand across the globe. Metals, such as lithium, ...

Halogen bonding for selective electrochemical separation

Path to sustainable chemical processing demonstrated

20-Aug-2024 - With a new polymer that only attracts certain substances from solutions when electrically activated, researchers have taken a major step towards sustainable chemical separation. A team based at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has reported the first demonstration of selective ...

Scientists achieve more than 98% efficiency removing nanoplastics from water

The liquid-based solution uses a solvent to trap the plastic particles, leaving clean water behind.

20-Aug-2024 - University of Missouri scientists are battling against an emerging enemy of human health: nanoplastics. Much smaller in size than the diameter of an average human hair, nanoplastics are invisible to the naked eye. Linked to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in people, nanoplastics continue ...

A recipe for zero-emissions fuel: Soda cans, seawater, and caffeine

MIT engineers have developed a fast and sustainable method for producing hydrogen fuel using aluminum, saltwater, and coffee grounds

01-Aug-2024 - A sustainable source for clean energy may lie in old soda cans and seawater. MIT engineers have found that when the aluminum in soda cans is exposed in its pure form and mixed with seawater, the solution bubbles up and naturally produces hydrogen — a gas that can be subsequently used to power an ...

Researchers develop innovative battery recycling method

30-Jul-2024 - A research team at Rice University led by James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry and professor of materials science and nanoengineering, is tackling the environmental issue of efficiently recycling lithium ion batteries amid their increasing use. The team has pioneered a new ...

Plastic-eating bacteria turn waste into useful starting materials for other products

Microbial Upcycling of Waste PET

03-Nov-2023 - Mountains of used plastic bottles get thrown away every day, but microbes could potentially tackle this problem. Now, researchers in ACS Central Science report that they’ve developed a plastic-eating E. coli that can efficiently turn polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste into adipic acid, which ...

Tracking down Environmental Toxins

Detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) by interrupted energy transfer

02-Nov-2023 - PFAS, a family of highly fluorinated substances, represent a danger for humans and the environment. Particularly problematic members of this family, such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) appear to cause organ damage and cancer, as well as disrupting the ...

Plants transformed into detectors of dangerous chemicals

Scientists engineer plants to speak in color

26-Oct-2023 - What if your house plant could tell you your water isn’t safe? Scientists are closer to realizing this vision, having successfully engineered a plant to turn beet red in the presence of a banned, toxic pesticide. To achieve this, UC Riverside researchers had to solve an engineering puzzle: how ...