Overview: Science News
Treated plastic waste good at grabbing carbon dioxide
16/05/2022
Researchers at Rice University have developed a technique to turn plastic waste into an effective carbon dioxide (CO2) sorbent for industry.
Taking the fight to microplastics with lasers
16/05/2022
The newly developed laser-drilled microplastic filter filters out tiny microplastic particles in wastewater. As part of the "SimConDrill" project, 59 million holes with a diameter of ten micrometers were drilled into a filter sheet using a multi-beam process. The process was developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT.
A stretchy display for shapable electronics
25/04/2022
Zhenan Bao, a chemical engineer at Stanford University, and her research team have provided proof of principle for a stretchable, potentially reshapeable display using a method to fabricate an elastic light-emitting polymer with high luminosity.
New enzyme discovery is another leap towards beating plastic waste
25/04/2022
Scientists have characterized an enzyme that has the ability to degrade terephthalate (TPA), one of the chemical building blocks of the plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is used to make disposable beverage bottles, for example.
Edible, biodegradable, anti-microbial plastic boasts higher tensile strength than petroleum-based plastic
12/04/2022
A research team at São Paulo State University (UNESP) made their bioplastic from type B bovine gelatin. Besides nanoclay the material is produced from clay and a nanoemulsion of black pepper essential oil.
A previously unknown bacterial enzyme makes new type of biodegradable polymer
12/04/2022
Researchers have identified a bacterial enzyme that can produce a new type of polysaccharide similar to the biopolymer chitin. The new molecule could be useful for drug delivery, tissue engineering and other biomedical applications. It is also biodegradable.
New plant-derived composite is tough as bone and hard as aluminum
04/04/2022
MIT researchers has engineered a composite made mostly from cellulose nanocrystals mixed with a bit of synthetic polymer. The material could pave the way for sustainable plastics.
PERC Solar Cells from 100 Percent Recycled Silicon
07/03/2022
In order to be able to reuse silicon, a working group from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and the largest German recycling company for PV modules, Reiling GmbH & Co. KG, have developed a solution, in which the silicon in the discarded modules was recycled on an industrial scale and reused to produce new PERC solar cells.
Creating sustainable material from waste
01/03/2022
University of Delaware researchers demonstrated that it is possible to efficiently turn industrially processed lignin into high-performance plastics, such as bio-based 3D-printing resins, and valuable chemicals. The research team replaced methanol, a traditional solvent used in lignin deconstruction, with glycerin so the process could be done at normal atmospheric pressure.
Chemists develop radical way to make it easier, more profitable to recycle plastic
01/03/2022
By modifying carbon-hydrogen bonds, chemists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill transform plastic trash into tougher, stronger material. They started with plastic foam packaging used to protect electronics during shipping that otherwise ends up in landfills.