Lignin is arguably the most abundant component of biomass that most people have never heard of. That may be about to change.
Many people are familiar with its biochemical cousin cellulose, a byproduct of paper and wood milling. But the same processes produce 50 million tons of lignin annually, industry experts estimate. Once distilled, 98 percent of the inky liquid is burned to produce electricity.
Scientists have been working to find more efficient and sustainable approaches to transform this naturally occurring polymer for use as a cleaner and greener building block to develop next generation materials.
Thus, engineered wood has emerged as a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional building materials. However, this wood is prone to warping and deterioration of structural integrity, diminishing its life span.
Tesla Cybertruck sightings are continuing, and a video of the all-electric pickup released today gives a much better look at the vehicle’s air suspension.
Last night, a video of the Cybertruck rolling around Gigafactory Texas was shared, showing off its air suspension at what people said was its maximum ride height. However, it was very unclear and grainy, so it didn’t necessarily give a great look at what the Cybertruck will look like when utilizing its air suspension.
Now, a new video has been shared, where the Cybertruck appears to be, once again, at its maximum ride height, thanks to its air suspension, but the clearer resolution gives us a much more revealing look at the beast in its rarest form.
Our new series The Future with Hannah Fry explores the science, tech and people on the cusp of the most transformative breakthroughs of our age – from AI to clean energy. Watch the first episode on Bloomberg Originals on Feb. 22.
– Do you want to know what your future holds? A life beyond 150 years old? A world where computers can read our emotions? A planet transformed by unlimited clean energy? Mathematician Hannah Fry will explore these questions and more in the new series The Future With Hannah Fry, debuting on Bloomberg Originals on Feb. 22.
Watch The Future With Hannah Fry on Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on Bloomberg.com, the Bloomberg app on your connected TV, Apple TV, Roku, Samsung TV.
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Biodegradable, wood-based computer chips can perform just as well as chips commonly used for wireless communication, according to new research.
The inventors argue that the new chips could help address the global problem of rapidly accumulating electronic waste, some of which contains potentially toxic materials. The results also show that a transparent, wood-derived material called nanocellulose paper is an attractive alternative to plastic as a surface for flexible electronics.
This innovative startup is revolutionizing architecture — with building panels made out of fastest-growing perennial grass on Earth.
With housing shortages in need of quick fixes, the manufacturing industry is facing a conundrum: how to source materials and build structures while cutting down on emissions. The answer lies with sustainable construction — not only could it help reduce our environmental impact, but it also keeps costs low during implementation.
Recently, a new startup named Plantd achieved a milestone of building ultra-strong building panels out of the fastest-growing perennial grass on Earth — the best sustainable alternative to construction.
Building materials stronger than wood
Plantd recently developed a sustainable solution to capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – long perennial grass. This rapid-growth plant can reach lengths of 20 — 30 feet in just one year, making it an ideal choice for building materials.
This type of grass does not need replanting every season and can store large amounts more CO2 than trees. Due to this, Plantd believes that these plants could help in reducing the effects caused by global warming faster than traditional methods.
Putting that soda bottle or takeout container into the recycling bin is far from a guarantee it will be turned into something new. Scientists at Rice University are trying to address this problem by making the process profitable.
The amount of plastic waste produced globally has doubled over the past two decades—and plastic production is expected to triple by 2050—with most of it ending up in landfills, incinerated or otherwise mismanaged, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Some estimates suggest only 5% is actually being recycled.
“Waste plastic is rarely recycled because it costs a lot of money to do all the washing, sorting and melting down of the plastics to turn it into a material that can be used by a factory,” said Kevin Wyss, a Rice graduate student and lead author on a study published in Advanced Materials that describes how he and colleagues in the lab of chemist James Tour used their flash Joule heating technique to turn plastic into valuable carbon nanotubes and hybrid nanomaterials.
The batteries comprise ammonium-ion electrolytes that may provide an environmentally friendly competitor to traditional metal-ion batteries dependent on precious, finite, and consistently dwindling resources. The ammonium-ion batteries may also have uses in several fields, most notably for grid storage.
KAUST researchers have innovated metal-free, ammonium-ion batteries that provide a sustainable alternative to power the green transition.
UN hopes to complete revisions to the Law of the Sea governing the protection of marine biodiversity.
In 2017, the members of the General Assembly of the United Nations convened to review the existing Convention on the Law of Sea with the idea to look at providing protection for marine biodiversity and ocean waters beyond marine national government boundaries and exclusive economic zones. Subsequently, there have been meetings at the United Nations to work through outstanding issues with the last in August 2022. A revised Intergovernmental conference is now underway and expected to last two weeks to complete a new High Seas Treaty.
The world’s oceans and seas cover more than 70% of the planet’s surface. The ocean contains 1.35 billion cubic kilometres (324 million cubic miles) of water representing 97% of all the water on the planet. The ocean is where life on Earth first came from and is what makes the continuation of life on this planet possible.
A portion of the ocean lies within the jurisdictions of nation-states. In these locales, countries establish the rules regarding the exploitation of ocean resources from below the seabed, through the entire vertical water column, to the surface as above. But beyond these jurisdictions is a collective commons where national laws bear no weight. That, however, hasn’t stopped countries, fishers, fossil fuel companies and even mining ventures from staking claims. In this arena, a mere 1.2% is currently protected from those looking to exploit what the ocean has to give.
