By editing the polymers of discarded plastics, chemists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have found a way to generate new macromolecules with more valuable properties than those of the starting ...
"Microplastic particles are currently found almost everywhere—in water, food, fish, and even breast milk," says Artūras Torkelis, a Ph.D. student at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU). He emphasizes that proper waste ...
Researchers at Colorado State University and their partners have developed an adhesive polymer that is stronger than current commercially available options while also being biodegradable and reusable. The findings, described ...
A new study documents the dramatic change in America's material diet from 1900 to 2020—ongoing shifts in US commodity consumption patterns with profound environmental, economic, and geopolitical implications.
A recent study that recommended toxic chemicals in black plastic products be immediately thrown away included a math error that significantly overstated the risks of contamination, but its authors are standing by their conclusions ...
EU researchers are exploring how to make strong and sustainable new materials from hard-to-crack nutshells.
Researchers at Kyushu University have developed a device that combines a catalyst and microwave flow reaction to efficiently convert complex polysaccharides into simple monosaccharides. The device utilizes a continuous-flow ...
When a spider is spinning its web, its silk starts out as liquid and quickly turns into a solid that is, pound for pound, sturdier than steel. They manage to create these impressive materials at room temperature with biodegradable ...
Poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) has emerged as a viable alternative to conventional plastics due to its biodegradability and similar properties to polypropylene. Under composting conditions, PBS can break down into water, ...
Africa's small-scale farmers make up nearly 80% of all farms in the agriculture sector. In South Africa, there are about 2 million small-scale farmers, predominantly Black and based in the eastern summer rainfall region of ...
