Recycling, as a topic, encompasses the collection, separation, processing, and reintroduction of post-consumer or post-industrial materials into manufacturing cycles to displace primary raw resources. Scientifically, it involves material-specific pathways such as mechanical and chemical recycling for polymers, re-smelting and refining for metals, and deinking and pulping for paper fibers. Research addresses process efficiency, contamination control, life cycle assessment (LCA), and system-level optimization of material flows within circular economy frameworks. Key metrics include recovery rates, material quality retention, embodied energy, and net environmental impact relative to landfilling, incineration, or virgin-material production.
When Ange Nzihou, an expert in converting society's waste into valuable products, visited Princeton in 2022, he brought with him a technique to transform waste biomass into graphene, a material with many uses from batteries ...
Nanomaterials
Jul 13, 2023
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The University of Cordoba has developed a biodegradable material, made with nanocellulose and photocatalytic particles, for the efficient decontamination of urban air.
Nanomaterials
Apr 19, 2023
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125
Engineers at Duke University have produced the world's first fully recyclable printed electronics that replace the use of chemicals with water in the fabrication process. By bypassing the need for hazardous chemicals, the ...
Nanomaterials
Apr 6, 2023
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187
A team of researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi has developed a single-step, organic solvent-free, hydrothermal process to convert polyethylene-based plastic bags and polypropylene-based surgical masks into carbon dots.
Nanomaterials
Mar 6, 2023
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298
Due to its exceptional properties, graphene is now added to a wide range of plastics. The carbon-based material improves, for instance, the conductivity and stability of composites.
Bio & Medicine
Feb 21, 2023
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Putting that soda bottle or takeout container into the recycling bin is far from a guarantee it will be turned into something new. Scientists at Rice University are trying to address this problem by making the process profitable.
Nanomaterials
Feb 16, 2023
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As the need to mitigate climate change accelerates, scientists are trying to find new ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. One process, called electrochemical reduction or electrolysis, uses electricity and a catalyst ...
Nanomaterials
Sep 22, 2022
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84
For a few years now, spent grain, the cereal residue from breweries, has been reused in animal feed. This material could also be used in nanotechnology. Professor Federico Rosei's team at the Institut national de la recherche ...
Nanomaterials
Jun 22, 2022
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245
Researchers at Texas A&M University and ExxonMobil are developing a method to reprocess petroleum coke—a byproduct of refining crude oil—into a sustainable, high-value alternative. Using a chemical process called electrochemical ...
Nanomaterials
Jun 16, 2022
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177
Here's another thing to do with that mountain of used plastic: make it soak up excess carbon dioxide.
Nanomaterials
Apr 5, 2022
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