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UrduPolystyrene, the main material in plastic tableware and insulating materials, is a widely used polymer but is currently difficult to recycle. Reporting in the journal Angewandte Chemie, a team of US researchers have now developed a thermochemical approach, making it possible to recover valuable chemicals from polystyrene waste in a simple two-step process.
Tag: industrial chemistry
Low concentration CO2 can be reused in biodegradable plastic precursor using artificial photosynthesis
Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate—a biodegradable plastic—is a strong water-resistant polyester often used in packaging materials, made from 3-hydroxybutyrate as a precursor.
New Method to Promote Biofilm Formation and Increase Efficiency of Biocatalysis
Birmingham scientists have revealed a new method to increase efficiency in biocatalysis, in a paper published today in Materials Horizons.
Converting Methane to Methanol—With and Without Water
Adding water to the catalytic reaction that converts methane into useful methanol makes the process more effective, but it creates challenges for industry due to steam from the water. Now scientists have identified a common industrial catalyst, copper-zinc oxide, that completes the conversion along different pathways depending on whether water is present or not. This could potentially keep methane, a potent greenhouse gas, out of Earth’s atmosphere and instead turn it into useful products.
Scientists ID Enzyme for Making Key Industrial Chemical in Plants
Scientists studying the biochemistry of plant cell walls have identified an enzyme that could turn woody poplar trees into a source for producing a major industrial chemical. The research, just published in Nature Plants, could lead to a new sustainable pathway for making “p-hydroxybenzoic acid,” a chemical building block currently derived from fossil fuels, in plant biomass.
Scientists can predict and design single atom catalysts for important chemical reactions
Using quantum chemical calculations, scientists create a new single atom catalyst that converts propane to propylene with 100% efficiency, with little deactivation by coking. If adopted by industry, the catalyst could save billions of dollars and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by millions of tons.