Fermentation revolution?

Trash becomes treasure as bio-waste yields valuable acetone and isopropanol

07-Feb-2024 - In a major stride towards sustainable industrial fermentation, a team of researchers at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in The Netherlands, has unveiled pioneering advancements in the purification of isopropanol and acetone from the fermentation of waste gases. The study, published in ...

Circular economy: joint project aims to increase recycling rate of lithium-ion batteries

Recovery of non-metallic components for the first time?

12-Apr-2023 - Chemist Prof. Jan J. Weigand and his team at TU Dresden are partnering in a joint project aimed at improving the ecological footprint of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The project led by the start-up company Elyte Innovations GmbH is named "SWELL – Recovery of Electrolyte Salts and Solvents", and ...

Upcycled plastic membrane helps clean up waste

Plant-derived biosolvents enable the sustainable conversion of plastic waste into valuable membrane materials

10-Feb-2023 - Plastic waste can be used as a raw material for making high performance porous membranes. These could then be used in the chemical industry for the energy-efficient separation of complex chemical mixtures or to clean up waste streams, furtheradding to the environmental appeal of the ...

Key to chemical industries’ sustainable future?

The world’s first industrial model of a flow photo-on-demand synthesis system

25-Nov-2022 - Various chemical products, such as polymers and pharmaceutical intermediates, are currently synthesized with phosgene as their precursor or raw material. However, phosgene is highly toxic and this usage poses safety risks. Thus, there is demand for the development of new methods and substitutes ...

Tiny porous crystals change the shape of water to speed up chemical reactions

The new approach is poised to play a role in helping chemical manufacturers move away from harmful solvent catalysts in favor of water

22-Sep-2021 - Chemical engineers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign now understand how water molecules assemble and change shape in some settings, revealing a new strategy to speed up chemical reactions critical to industry and environmental sustainability. The new approach is poised to play a role ...

Polypropylene recycling from carpet waste

Now possible thanks to a new process

04-Jun-2021 - A significant part of carpet waste consists of petroleum-based polypropylene. As a non-recyclable product, disposing of it has previously meant incineration or landfill. However, a new solvent is now making it possible to recover virgin-standard polypropylene from carpet waste — with no ...

Nanoparticle gel unites oil and water in manufacturing-friendly approach

Novel gel-creation method could open applications in water filtration, other applications

15-Feb-2021 - Oil and water may not mix, but adding the right nanoparticles to the recipe can convert these two immiscible fluids into an exotic gel with uses ranging from batteries to water filters to tint-changing smart windows. A new approach to creating this unusual class of soft materials could carry them ...

Mysterious organic scum boosts chemical reaction efficiency, may reduce chemical waste

09-Feb-2021 - Chemical manufacturers frequently use toxic solvents such as alcohols and benzene to make products like pharmaceuticals and plastics. Researchers are examining a previously overlooked and misunderstood phenomenon in the chemical reactions used to make these products. This discovery brings a new ...

Chemical recycling makes useful product from waste bioplastic

Chemical process can be used to break down real consumer plastics and produce green solvent

25-May-2020 - A faster, more efficient way of recycling plant-based "bioplastics" has been developed by a team of scientists at the Universities of Birmingham and Bath. The team has shown how their chemical recycling method not only speeds up the process, it can also be converted into a new product - a ...

How to make it easier to turn plant waste into biofuels

Innovative process to rapidly dissolve plant fibers

16-Jan-2020 - Researchers have developed a new process that could make it much cheaper to produce biofuels such as ethanol from plant waste and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Their approach, featuring an ammonia-salt based solvent that rapidly turns plant fibers into sugars needed to make ethanol, works well ...