blog posts

• Plastic pyrolysis − chemists explain a technique attempting to tackle plastic waste by bringing the heat

  May 7, 2025 10:00 am

  Source: The Conversation, 3/18/25

  Because plastic is so commonly used, finding new ways to manage and recycle plastic waste is becoming ever more important. Plastic waste pyrolysis is one technology that could help address this issue.

• Behind Keurig’s bid to make coffee pods without plastic

  May 1, 2025 5:00 pm

  Source: Trellis, 4/30/25

  Years of persistence and experimentation led to a biodegradable coffee pod that improves brewing performance. Inspired by baristas tamping down grounds for espresso, the Keurig team sought to compact the coffee tightly enough to maintain its patty shape without a container. Along the way, the new format also yielded a stronger brew. However, the team realized those naked coffee pods would not survive distribution. They tried beeswax before landing on an algae-based coating that kept the pods intact. Their prototyping advanced in 2021 in the company lab with a small pilot line of coffee pods. The team used a hand crank to encapsulate roasted and ground coffee in a layer of alginate. This coating was found to tolerate pressure levels up to approximately 200 pounds per square inch, meaning the pods could be used to brew espresso. Today, about 200 consumers are beta-testing the pods, called K-Rounds, in their homes, providing daily data that helps with product refinement.

• Researchers recycle wind turbine blade materials to make improved plastics

  Apr 17, 2025 3:30 pm

  Source: Washington State University, 4/3/25

  A new method to recycle wind turbine blades without using harsh chemicals resulted in the recovery of high-strength glass fibers and resins that allowed researchers to re-purpose the materials to create stronger plastics. The innovation provides a simple and environmentally friendly way to recycle wind turbine blades to create useful products. 

• Waste not, want not: turning food waste into fertile soil for sustainable growth

  Apr 17, 2025 3:30 pm

  Source: Horizon Magazine, 12/3/24

  EU-funded researchers are turning food processing waste into a valuable resource, transforming discarded biomaterials into natural fertilizers.
  

• Federal researchers find new ways to recycle minerals from electronics

  Apr 4, 2025 4:30 pm

  Forbes, 3/30/25

  Federal researchers are making gains in experiments to ease the process of harvesting recyclable materials in electronic waste from discarded cellphones and computers. 

  Two new methods developed by Richland, Wash.-based Pacific Northwest National Laboratory scientists may hold the keys for how to better salvage critical minerals in e-waste. Traditional methods are time consuming, require a great deal of energy and involve handling hazardous chemicals. 

  Scientists at Illinois-based Argonne National Laboratory spearheaded a project to make and recycle luminescent polymers in semiconductor materials that light up such electronics as computer screens and car dashboard navigation displays.

• From high school science project to $18.3M: AI-accelerated enzymes are coming for fast fashion’s plastic waste

  Mar 25, 2025 2:00 pm

  Source: TechCrunch, 3/5/25

  A U.K. startup, originating from founder Jacob Nathan’s high school science project on using enzymes to break down plastic waste, has secured an oversubscribed $18.3 million in Series A funding.

• How 2 startups are turning imperfect clothes into a business opportunity

  Mar 21, 2025 3:00 pm

  Source: Trellis, 3/21/25

  Alternew and Revive are partnering with fashion brands to profit from repairs and alterations while keeping clothes out of closets, warehouses and landfills.

• Plastic recycling gets a breath of fresh air

  Mar 17, 2025 5:00 pm

  Source: Northwestern University, 3/11/25

  Harnessing moisture from air, Northwestern University chemists have developed a simple new method for breaking down plastic waste. The non-toxic, environmentally friendly, solvent-free process first uses an inexpensive catalyst to break apart the bonds in polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the most common plastic in the polyester family. Then, the researchers merely expose the broken pieces to ambient air. Leveraging the trace amounts of moisture in air, the broken-down PET is converted into monomers — the crucial building blocks for plastics. From there, the researchers envision the monomers could be recycled into new PET products or other, more valuable materials. Safer, cleaner, cheaper and more sustainable than current plastic recycling methods, the new technique, published in the journal Green Chemistry, offers a promising path toward creating a circular economy for plastics.

• This sponge soaks up pollutants but saves valuable minerals

  Mar 17, 2025 4:45 pm

  Source: Northwestern University, 2/5/25

  Northwestern researchers have developed a specialized sponge that slurps up pollutants, offering a reusable and cost-effective solution to water contamination. As more waterways contend with algae blooms and pollution caused by minerals from agricultural runoff and industrial manufacturing processes, new methods to remove pollutants like phosphate, copper and zinc are emerging across fields. While solutions exist, they tend to be costly and can be used just once. The sponge, coated with nanoparticles that have an affinity for pollutants, can collect metals like zinc and copper, as well as phosphate, and in previous iterations has successfully pulled lead from water, and microplastics and oil from lakes and oceans. It then releases these valuable resources when it is exposed to different pHs. 

  See https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsestwater.4c01234 for the study describing this research.

• Recycling the unrecyclable: Reclaiming materials from epoxy resins and composites

  Mar 6, 2025 12:30 pm

  Source: University of Tokyo, 2/6/25

  Epoxy resins are coatings and adhesives used in a broad range of familiar applications, such as construction, engineering and manufacturing. However, they often present a challenge to recycle or dispose of responsibly. Now a team of researchers has developed a method to efficiently reclaim materials from a range of epoxy products for reuse by using a novel solid catalyst.

• Nature’s puzzle: cracking walnuts for a greener tomorrow

  Dec 24, 2024 4:00 pm

  Source: Horizon Magazine, 12/24/24

  EU-funded researchers are exploring how to make strong and sustainable new materials from hard-to-crack nutshells.        

• Game, Set, Mouse | Meet the beneficiaries of Wimbledon’s recycled tennis balls

  Aug 8, 2024 9:00 am

  Source: Great Big Story, 8/8/24

  Harvest mice are the smallest mammals in Britain. They are only about the size of your thumb, and live in tall grass across the countryside, usually in small nests. But with their habitat infringed upon, animal conservationists found an object that makes for a perfect harvest mouse home: the tennis ball.