Today’s chemical industry is based on oil, because many chemical products originate from oil and its components. Products ranging from solvents to medication, plastics to detergents and crop protection products are all based on oil. Due to the limitations in the number of oil reserves, scientists are now searching for new techniques to produce these products from sustainable materials.
Despite the rigors of scientific analysis and the systematic approaches of the most talented researchers of the world, science still surprises us at times.
More than four billion tons of uranium exist in the oceans. This huge quantity would be sufficient to meet the global energy requirements for the next 10,000 years, only if the element could be captured from seawater to fuel nuclear power plants.
A research team has unexpectedly discovered a rechargeable battery, which is as cheap as the standard car batteries, but with very high energy density. This new battery could be used as an alternative to support the power grid and store renewable energy in an environmentally friendly and cost-effective manner.
An ultraflexible, ultrathin and protective layer has been developed by researchers from the University of Tokyo. The researchers illustrated the use of this material by developing an air-stable, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display.
3D-printed figures are often produced with the aid of costly or customized 3D printers, using various materials such as; glass, sugars, thermoplastics, ceramics, and metals.
Virginia Tech engineers have developed a new technique to recover precious rare earth minerals from coal and coal byproducts. The team has collaborated with industry and academic partners in a major pilot project, which aims to extract rare earth elements from coal waste.
A new method to create plastic has been developed by Stanford scientists, using carbon dioxide (CO2) and inedible plant material, such as agricultural waste and grasses. This method could provide a low-carbon substitute to the existing petroleum-based plastic bottles and other items.
Renewable non-food biomass could potentially replace petrochemical raw materials to produce energy sources, useful chemicals, or a vast array of petroleum-based end products such as plastics, lubricants, paints, fertilizers, and vitamin capsules. In recent years, biorefineries which transform non-edible biomass into fuel, heat, power, chemicals, and materials have received a great deal of attention as a sustainable alternative to decreasing the reliance on fossil fuels.
A milestone study in solar cell fabrication was conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in partnership with Washington State University (WSU) and the University of Tennessee. This research will facilitate the use of solar energy to directly contend with electricity generated from traditional energy sources.
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