Nanocellulose lines the cell walls of plants, trees, algae and bacteria consisting of glucose rings that link together like a chain and give it a rigged structure. In a perspective published in Nature, a University of Maryland ...
Materials Science
Feb 4, 2021
1
134
Researchers from the Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research at Osaka University have devised a new method to determine the degree of fibrillation in wood pulp. By taking advantage of the intrinsic optical birefringence ...
Polymers
Dec 17, 2020
1
13
Researchers have revealed a new molecular mechanism by which bacteria adhere to cellulose fibers in the human gut. Thanks to two different binding modes, they can withstand the shear forces in the body. Scientists of the ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 28, 2020
0
362
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.
Materials Science
Jan 14, 2020
3
185
Thermoelectric materials, capable of transforming heat into electricity, are very promising for converting residual heat into electrical energy, as they convert hardly usable or nearly lost thermal energy in an efficient ...
Nanomaterials
Jan 31, 2019
0
105
During rare desert rainfalls, cacti waste no time sopping up and storing a storm's precious precipitation. Inspired by this natural phenomenon, scientists report in a study appearing ACS Macro Letters that they have developed ...
Materials Science
Apr 11, 2018
0
27
It's likely not the first thing you think of when you see elephant dung, but this material turns out to be an excellent source of cellulose for paper manufacturing in countries where trees are scarce, scientists report. And ...
Nanomaterials
Mar 21, 2018
0
158
An enzyme discovered at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) proves adept at breaking down cellulose fibers regardless of whether their crystalline structure is simple or highly ...
Biotechnology
Sep 18, 2017
0
87
What if you could take one of the most abundant natural materials on earth and harness its strength to lighten the heaviest of objects, to replace synthetic materials, or use it in scaffolding to grow bone, in a fast-growing ...
Materials Science
Nov 7, 2016
0
19
Ask a biofuel researcher to name the single greatest technical barrier to cost-effective ethanol, and you're likely to receive a one-word response: lignin.
Biotechnology
Feb 16, 2016
2
638
