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Category: chemistry – Page 53

Earth’s First Crust May Have Looked Surprisingly Like The One We Have Today

Geologists have made certain assumptions about how the crust making up our planet’s earliest surface formed, but a new study has found that Earth’s very first protocrust was surprisingly similar to the shell of solid rock in place today.

It may mean a complete rethink of how Earth’s coat transitioned from a skin of boiling magma to the shifting armor of tectonic plates we now live on, according to the international team of researchers behind the study.

“Scientists have long thought that tectonic plates needed to dive beneath each other to create the chemical fingerprint we see in continents,” says geochemist Simon Turner, from Macquarie University in Australia.

Spray drying tech used in instant coffee applied to high-capacity battery production

The Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) and the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) have jointly developed spray drying technology-based high-performance dry electrode manufacturing technology for the realization of high-capacity secondary batteries. The study is published in the Chemical Engineering Journal.

Secondary battery electrodes are made by mixing active materials that store electrical energy, conductive additives that help the flow of electricity, and binders which act as a kind of adhesive. There are two methods for mixing these materials: the wet process, which uses solvents, and the dry process, which mixes solid powders without solvents.

The dry process is considered more environmentally friendly than the wet process and has gained significant attention as a technology that can increase the energy density of secondary batteries. However, until now, there have been many limitations to achieving a uniform mixture of active materials, conductive additives, and binders in the dry process.

Green recipe: Engineered yeast boosts D-lactic acid production

Constructed strain achieves record-high yield from methanol, advancing ecofriendly biomanufacturing. Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University have discovered the ideal genetic “recipe” to turn yeast into a tiny yet powerful eco-friendly factory that converts methanol into D-lactic acid, a key compound used in biodegradable plastics and pharmaceuticals.

This approach could help reduce reliance on petroleum-based processes and contribute to more sustainable chemical production.

Lactic acid is widely used in food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and bioplastics.

Novel membrane design mimics protein channels for efficient energy harvesting

A research team from the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with collaborators, has introduced a novel membrane design that mimics biological protein channels to enhance proton transport for efficient energy harvesting. The study was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Proton transport is fundamental to many biological processes and energy conversion methods. Inspired by the ClC-ec1 antiporter found in Escherichia coli, which facilitates the movement of chloride (Cl-) and , the researchers developed a hybrid membrane composed of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) integrated with aramid nanofibers (ANFs).

This ANF/COF composite forms a robust hydrogen-bonding network and features amide groups that selectively bind to Cl- ions, significantly lowering the for proton conduction.

RNA transformed into biosensor for detecting health-related chemicals

Scientists have transformed RNA, a biological molecule present in all living cells, into a biosensor that can detect tiny chemicals relevant to human health.

Research by Rutgers University-New Brunswick scientists centers on RNA, a nucleic acid that plays a crucial role in most cellular processes. Their work is expected to have applications in the surveillance of environmental chemicals and, ultimately, the diagnosis of critical diseases including neurological and cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

“Imagine that people will go to the hospital and give a sample of cells from their own bodies for regular check-ups,” said Enver Cagri Izgu, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology in the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences and the corresponding author of the study.

Scientists discover new inhibitors of inflammation-related enzyme

Using computational tools and virtual screening, researchers at the Center for Redox Processes in Biomedicine (Redoxoma) have identified new inhibitors of the enzyme human 15-lipoxygenase-2 (h15-LOX-2). This protein plays an important role in inflammatory and metabolic processes and contributes to cellular homeostasis.

The discovery, described in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, could open up new avenues for investigating the biological and pathological functions of the enzyme and provide promising candidates for the development of new drugs.

“Although h15-LOX-2 is a potential biological target, it’s scarcely been explored for this purpose. Our work contributes to new inhibitors that have structural diversity among themselves and with respect to inhibitors already described in the literature. What’s more, they have similar drug properties according to predictions based on computational models,” says Lucas Gasparello Viviani, first author of the article.

Recycling wind turbine blade materials to make improved plastics

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 Washington State University researchers to repurpose the materials to create stronger plastics.

The innovation provides a simple and environmentally friendly way to recycle wind turbine blades to create useful products.

Reporting in the journal, Resource, Conservation, and Recycling, the team of researchers cut the that is commonly used in , called glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP), into approximately two inch-sized blocks. They then soaked the flakes in a bath of low-toxicity organic salt in pressurized, superheated water for about two hours to break down the material. They then repurposed its components to make stronger plastics.

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