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Category: sustainability

Breakthrough method purifies rare earths element with just water

A rare earth breakthrough could rewrite the rules of recycling.

Scientists at IOCB Prague have developed a cleaner, smarter way to recover these critical elements, crucial to technologies from smartphones to wind turbines.

The technique can efficiently extract metals like neodymium and dysprosium from discarded magnets, bypassing the toxic solvents and waste generated by conventional processes.

With global demand for rare earths soaring, the need for sustainable recovery methods has never been greater.

ICOB Prague’s chelator tech separates rare earths cleanly—and just revealed holmium’s surprise EV comeback.

New biodegradable plastic shines in vibrant colors without dyes or pigments

Plastics are one of the largest sources of pollution on Earth, lasting for years on land or in water. But a new type of brilliantly colored cellulose-based plastic detailed in ACS Nano could change that. By adding citric acid and squid ink to a cellulose-based polymer, researchers created a variety of structurally colored plastics that were comparable in strength to traditional plastics, but made from natural biodegradable ingredients and easily recycled using water.

Many plastics are dyed using specialized colorants, which can make these materials hard to recycle using typical processes. Over time, dyes can fade or leach into the environment, posing risks to wildlife. One way to make these colorants largely unnecessary could be a phenomenon called . This occurs when tiny structures in a material reflect certain wavelengths of light rather than a dye or pigment molecule. Structural color gives peacock feathers and butterfly wings their vibrant hues and dazzling shine, but certain display structural color as well.

Hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC), a derivative of cellulose often used in foods and pharmaceuticals, is one example of a material that can display structural color. In , it shines in iridescent tones, but its have historically made it difficult to form into a solid plastic. Researchers Lei Hou, Peiyi Wu and colleagues wanted to see if they could fine-tune the chemistry of HPC to create vibrant, structurally colored plastics that worked as well as existing petroleum-based plastics and were environmentally friendly.

From cosmic strings to computer chips: Cooling rate triggers phase transitions in silicon surfaces

Solar cells and computer chips need silicon layers that are as perfect as possible. Every imperfection in the crystalline structure increases the risk of reduced efficiency or defective switching processes.

If you know how arrange themselves to form a on a thin surface, you gain fundamental insights into controlling crystal growth. To this end, an international research team analyzed the behavior of silicon that was flash-frozen. The study is published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

The results show that the speed of cooling has a major impact on the structure of silicon surfaces. The underlying mechanism may also have occurred during phase transitions in the early universe shortly after the Big Bang.

Bifacial thin-film solar cells harness sunlight from both sides for higher output

A research team successfully implemented CuInSe2 thin-film solar cells composed of copper (Cu), indium (In), and selenium (Se) on transparent electrode substrates. Furthermore, the team developed a “bifacial solar cell technology” that receives sunlight from both the front and back sides to generate power. This technology can be fabricated at low temperatures, enabling a simpler production process, and is broadly applicable to building-integrated solar power, agricultural solar power, and high-efficiency tandem solar cells in the future.

Goodbye plastic? Scientists create new supermaterial that outperforms metals and glass

Scientists at Rice University and University of Houston have developed an innovative, scalable approach to engineer bacterial cellulose into high-strength, multifunctional materials. The study, published in Nature Communications, introduces a dynamic biosynthesis technique that aligns bacterial cellulose fibers in real-time, resulting in robust biopolymer sheets with exceptional mechanical properties.

Plastic pollution persists because traditional synthetic polymers degrade into microplastics, releasing harmful chemicals like bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates and carcinogens. Seeking sustainable alternatives, the research team led by Muhammad Maksud Rahman, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Houston and adjunct assistant professor of materials science and nanoengineering at Rice, leveraged bacterial cellulose — one of Earth’s most abundant and pure biopolymers — as a biodegradable alternative.

Hollow molecules selectively extract cyclohexane for greener hydrocarbon separation

Hollow, pumpkin-shaped molecules can efficiently separate valuable hydrocarbons from crude oil, KAUST researchers have shown. These “molecular sieves,” known as cucurbiturils, could enable a more sustainable approach to producing raw materials for the chemicals industry.

Self-powered solar panels remove dust using wind-generated electricity

A collaborative research team has successfully developed a self-powered pollution prevention technology that can remove pollutants from the surface of solar panels without external power. This technology uses a wind-powered rotational triboelectric nanogenerator to generate power and combines said power with electrodynamic screen (EDS) technology to move dust in the desired direction for removal.

The findings are published in the journal Nano Energy. The team was led by Professor Juhyuck Lee from the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology, along with Dr. Wanchul Seung at Global Technology Research, Samsung Electronics.

The dust that gathers on the surface of solar panels causes a significant reduction in power production efficiency. EDS technology, designed to address this problem, uses electric fields to remove dust from the surface, and it is noted for environments that are not easily accessible, such as deserts, mountains, and space, as it does not require cleaning equipment or personnel. Traditional EDS technology, however, requires and, consequently, external power, and it has the disadvantage of additional maintenance costs.

ReElement Technologies uses Purdue tech in rare earth elements production critical to semiconductor manufacturing, other new-age technologies

Many essential products, from smartphones and magnets to electric vehicles, semiconductors and wind turbines, need rare earth metals to perform.

The rapidly growing demand for these critical products has led to increased need for domestic production of rare earth elements (REEs). However, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, the nation is still lagging globally behind countries such as China, with just over 14% of the world’s REE raw ore production and none of the world’s refining capacity. Purdue University is changing this harsh reality by using its patented rare earth technology in a partnership with Indiana-based ReElement Technologies in an effort to narrow the gap between the U.S. and the rest of the world in this critical industry.

Indy-area company builds on cutting-edge Purdue technology to help narrow the international gap in essential area.