Discarded or drifting in the ocean, plastic debris can accumulate on the water's surface, forming floating islands of garbage. Although it's harder to spot, researchers suspect a significant amount also sinks. In a new study ...
Environment
May 8, 2023
0
78
A team of environmental engineers at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland and Dalhousie University Halifax in Canada has found that techniques for recycling plastics may inadvertently lead to increased environmental ...
A team of A*STAR scientists has successfully upcycled waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic into polymer electrolytes, which are key components for safer lithium-ion batteries (LiBs). The study is the first known ...
Polymers
Feb 10, 2023
0
74
Researchers from the University of Auckland calculated that 74 metric tons of microplastics are dropping out of the atmosphere onto the city annually, the equivalent of more than 3 million plastic bottles falling from the ...
Environment
Dec 12, 2022
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212
One possible replacement for drink containers made from PET is polyethylene furandicarboxylate (PEF), made from renewable resources. However, the production of the raw material for PEF from biomass is still rather inefficient. ...
Materials Science
Aug 26, 2022
0
17
Researchers from the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (MIB) have developed a new enzyme engineering platform to improve plastic degrading enzymes through directed evolution.
Biochemistry
Aug 11, 2022
0
65
Rice University chemical engineers have improved their design for a light-powered catalyst that rapidly breaks down PFOA, one of the world's most problematic "forever chemical" pollutants.
Materials Science
Jul 25, 2022
2
2757
Plastic bottles, punnets, wrap—lightweight packaging made of PET plastic becomes a problem if it is not recycled. Scientists at Leipzig University have now discovered a highly efficient enzyme that degrades PET in record ...
Biochemistry
May 18, 2022
2
4513
Chemists from Konstanz have developed a new class of catalysts that enable manufacturing of polyethylene dispersions directly in water. This opens up perspectives for the environmentally-friendly, solvent-free production ...
Materials Science
Apr 21, 2022
0
25
What if the life cycle of the plastic bottle was circular? Where a used plastic bottle was returned to its original components, ready to be made into a new plastic bottle instead of possibly ending up in a landfill.
Materials Science
Apr 13, 2022
0
62
