Researchers Announce Sustainable Metals Processing, Electrodes From Scrap Metal
Researchers in Canada and China have discovered new ways to make sustainable metals and reclaim scrap metal for battery electrodes.
green chemistry
NYC Sewage Gets A First-of-Its Kind Green Makeover
Glycerol is better known as a common ingredient in pharmaceuticals, foods, soaps and perfumes, but lately it’s been wandering off into strange new territory, popping up here and there as a green chemistry alternative to petrochemicals. In the latest development, glycerol (aka glycerin or glycerine) has been successfully deployed as … [continued]
Toxic Metals in Your Water? No Problem, Have a Banana
Yes, we all know that thing about getting high from banana peels was a 1960’s hoax, but this is the real deal. A team of researchers has found that minced banana peels can clean pollution from river water, such as lead and copper. Not only that, but they can do it more quickly and efficiently than conventional chemical water treatments. Okay, so you’d probably need a ton of bananas to clean up a big site, but the discovery does have some implications for small scale uses, especially where budgets are tight.
Landfills Can Free Us from Petrochemicals
The gigantic waste hauling company Waste Management has been transforming itself into something of a jolly green giant, given its recycling operations, landfill gas recovery and sewage-to-biofuel ventures. In its latest move, company signed an agreement with the research firm Genomatica to develop processes for converting municipal landfill gas to … [continued]
Bionic Silkworms Can Make Super Strong Spider Silk
Bioengineered silkworms may help free the world from its dependence on petrochemicals, by providing a greener way to produce fabrics that are as strong as spider silk. A research team has successfully altered silkworms to produce a substance that has the distinct physical characteristics of spider silk, namely its extraordinarily … [continued]
Pickles Picked for Azo Dye Pollution Solution
Move over, Peter Piper, because a new pickle-picker has picked up on the potential for pickles to provide a solution to the pollution problem posed by azo dyes from industrial wastewater.
New Bio-Based Adhesive Eliminates Toxic Petrochemicals
A newly discovered bio-based adhesive could help speed up the long, slow fade of petrochemicals. Currently, a wide variety of pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes get their stickiness from petroleum-based polymers (large molecules composed of strings of repeating units). Now an almost accidental discovery by researchers at Oregon State University raises the … [continued]
New Zealand Scientists Invent Steamin' Hot Sewage Recycling Solution
We are always on the lookout for sustainable new developments in the burgeoning field of wastewater recycling, so of course this item from New Zealand caught our attention. A PhD project by a Victoria University student is undergoing commercial development as a means of reclaiming water, high-pressure steam, fertilizer products, … [continued]
The Sun is Setting on Petrochemicals, with a Little Help from Lovley Microbes
Derek Lovley, that is. The University of Massachusetts researcher has already introduced a revved-up species of electricity-generating microbes to the world, and now he and a team of scientists are experimenting with microbes that can convert solar energy into chemicals. As part of the growing trend in bioplastics, biofuels and … [continued]
