By combining visible light and electrochemistry, researchers have enhanced the conversion of carbon dioxide into valuable products and stumbled upon a surprising discovery. The team found that visible ...

Researchers have spent the last few years trying to find which type of plastic biodegrades the fastest in a marine environment as millions of tons of plastics find their way into our oceans every year. It turns out that a common bioplastic we've been using for over 100 years does, and they've learned how to accelerate that process.

Biomass is among the most abundant renewable resources on Earth. Through catalytic conversion, biomass can upgrade into a series of fuels and chemicals which can substitute traditional fossil resources, ...

Scientists at the Wood Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have been working for years to find out what types of plastics have the shortest and longest lifespans in the ocean, and what types of plastic ...

Scientists found that cellulose diacetate foam (CDA) is the fastest degrading bioplastic in an ocean environment. This new foam material is demonstrated to be a viable replacement for Styrofoam products and single-use plastics, like food packaging trays, as it achieves all the benefits of plastic but doesn't contribute to plastic pollution. This biodegradable bioplastic foam was evaluated in a flow-through seawater tank. After 36 weeks, the CDA foam lost 65-70% of its mass, and the degradation rate of the CDA foam was 15 times faster than solid CDA.

By combining visible light and electrochemistry, researchers have enhanced the conversion of carbon dioxide into valuable products and stumbled upon a surprising discovery. The team found that visible light significantly improved an important chemical attribute called selectivity, opening new avenues not only for CO2 conversion but also for many other chemical reactions used in catalysis research and chemical manufacturing.