Tomorrow's coolants of choice

Later during this century, around 2060, a paradigm shift in global energy consumption is expected: we will spend more energy for cooling than for heating. Meanwhile, the increasing penetration of cooling applications into ...

On the way to printable organic light emitting diodes

Organic light-emitting diodes are components that no longer consist of compounds containing the semiconducting material gallium, but of so-called organic compounds in which carbon is a main component. Compared to conventional ...

New sensor detects rare metals used in smartphones

A more efficient and cost-effective way to detect lanthanides, the rare earth metals used in smartphones and other technologies, could be possible with a new protein-based sensor that changes its fluorescence when it binds ...

Electric cars can clean up the mining industry – here's how

Growing demand for electric vehicles is important to help cut transport emissions, but it will also lead to new mining. Without a careful approach, we could create new environmental damage while trying to solve an environmental ...

The complicated future of offshore wind power in the US

Over the past decade, wind power production in the U.S. has tripled, becoming the largest source of renewable energy in the country, the American Wind Energy Association has reported. There are more than 56,800 wind turbines ...

Carbon capture and conversion must not rely on rare metals

Last year, humans emitted approximately 37 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere – a disastrous and unsustainable figure. To avoid the worst effects of climate change we could capture some of that carbon ...

Rare-earth elements in mining industry's waste piles

If rare-earth metals can be extracted from previously quarried ore, the environmental hazards of new mines and mining waste can be mitigated. In his doctoral research, Wenzhong Zhang from the Department of Chemistry at the ...

Shortening the rare-earth supply chain via recycling

Modern technology depends on a set of 17 elements at the foot of the periodic table. Known as rare earths (REs), many of these metals are highly magnetic, and find use in computing, green power and other technologies. However, ...

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