Today's Tech News: Notable or Not?

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1082848 "no electrospinning with its high voltages/ toxic chemicals... uses pressure/ rotation simultaneously to spin fibers, beads, ribbons, meshes, films (each of which have different manufacturing applications) from soft matter liquid jet, using horizontal rather than vertical vessel containing surface nozzles/ injecting jet into still or flowing water, forming cellulose fibers... existing pressurized spinning machines adapted... work with dairy farmers to scale... cling film, surgical masks, paper products, textiles, foods, pharmaceuticals." Related: New enzyme capable of cleaving cellulose should revolutionize biofuel production https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1083320 Coconut-blend fuel performed similarly to jet fuel with reduced hydrocarbon emissions https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1140631

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1067858 "reaction accelerated by visible light... oxidizes nitrogen oxides converting into nitrates/ nitrites... combining carbon nitride (enabling reaction to visible light) and lamellar double hydroxides (catalyzes)... easily scalable, converts 65% of nitrogen oxides, like with other photocatalysts, but using safer, cheaper magnesium or aluminum instead of cadmium, lead or graphene"

https://phys.org/news/2024-03-paper-coating-biomaterials-derived-anaerobic.html "extracellular polymerics from anaerobic granular wastewater sludge cost-effective, sustainable... enhances waterproofing (65%), oil and grease resistance... multi-layered paper's surface microstructure smoother, less porous... EPS rich sludge, widely used removing pollutants from wastewater, potential alternatives to synthetic polymers in agricultural, medical, and construction biomaterials, having polysaccharides, proteins, and humic-acids... best samples from paper-industry sludge" Related: Low-temperature synthesis technique uses upcycled textile waste to create green, safe waterproof coating https://phys.org/news/2024-10-temperature-synthesis-technique-upcycled-textile.html From food to textile – agricultural waste can become the clothes of the future https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1087563 Torrefaction turns agricultural waste into advanced materials https://www.eurekalert.org/n...

https://phys.org/news/2023-12-electrification-strategy-low-temperature-nox.html "diesel exhaust temperatures, <250 ℃, too low for catalytic NOx conversion to occur, so: Pt and K co-supported antimony-doped tin oxides serve as conductive catalysts. Using C3H6 as reductant, a low input power (0.5-4 W) applied to catalyst triggers NSR reactions... ignition temperature for 10% NOx conversion reduced to 165 °C... 23% increased maximum energy efficiency, promoting NO oxidation for NOx adsorption, O2 evolution for NOx desorption, asnd C3H6 activation for NOx reduction" Related: Using electricity, scientists find promising new method of boosting chemical reactions https://phys.org/news/2024-01-electricity-scientists-method-boosting-chemical.html Researchers reveal interfacial confinement on open space of oxide–oxide catalysts https://phys.org/news/2024-03-reveal-interfacial-confinement-space-oxideoxide.html Mechanochemical technique achieves 99.98% nitrous oxide removal at just 42...

https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/all-news/2023/dec/waste-to-bichar "removes pathogens, PFAS and microplastics from biosolid, food, and garden waste... more environmentally sustainable and cost-effective... fertiliser, carbon electrodes for batteries and other advanced energy storage devices... progressing towards commercialization" Related: CarbonScape Secures U.S. Patent for Breakthrough Graphite Technology, Advancing Domestic Supply of Critical Raw Materials for EV Batteries https://www.altenergymag.com/news/2025/03/20/carbonscape-secures-us-patent-for-breakthrough-graphite-technology-advancing-domestic-supply-of-critical-raw-materials-for-ev-batteries-/44932/ Can the pyrolysis of lignocellulose unlock efficient production of biochar? https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1084195 Turning toxic bio-tar into high-value bio-carbon https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250926035016.htm Biochar’s promise under pressure: Study urges realistic, systems based path forward ht...

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-09-nitrogen-oxide-emissions-industrial-vehicles.html "more effective catalysts abate NOx emissions from hard-to-electrify farm machinery and offroad vehicles... acid sites are an important component to drive this reaction at low temperatures and a key consideration for designing superior catalysts that will be more active at lower temperatures," Rappe said. "It is a major development. This field has been so intensely studied. This is a significant advancement because it gives us another tool to actually improve these catalysts"

https://phys.org/news/2023-07-scientists-highly-porous-materials-electronic.html 1-pot catalyst-free porous poly(aryl thioether) produced simply sodium sulfide and perfluorinated aromatics... bound together by sulfur linkers... single reaction create combination differing structures... polycondensation... bonds at particular atom over other possible atoms preventing random crosslink and enables control over porosity... pore size <1 nm, high surface area 753 m^2/g... remove organic micropollutants and toxic mercury ions water... photocatalysis and optoelectronics" Related: Beyond reduction cocatalysts: A new paradigm for the role of metal cocatalysts in photocatalysis https://phys.org/news/2023-07-reduction-cocatalysts-paradigm-role-metal.html

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-simple-diy-air-filter-effective.html "Corsi-Rosenthal boxes... four MERV-13 filters, duct tape, a 20-inch box fan and a cardboard box... protect against illness caused not only by viruses but also by chemical pollutants...  PFAS, a type of synthetic chemical found in a range of products including cleaners, textiles and wire insulation, decreased by 40% to 60%; phthalates, commonly found in building materials and personal care products, were reduced by 30% to 60%.... reduce particles carrying the SARS-CoV-2" Related: Scientists Destroyed 95% of Toxic 'Forever Chemicals' in Just 45 Minutes, Study Reports https://www.vice.com/en/article/akep8j/scientists-destroyed-95-of-toxic-forever-chemicals-in-just-45-minutes-study-reports A magnetic method to clean PFAS contaminated water https://phys.org/news/2023-01-magnetic-method-pfas-contaminated.html Farewell to 'forever': Destroying PFAS by grinding it up with a new additive https://...

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2022/02/16/turning-ppe-into-water-miracle.html "The PPE-to-liquid process is carried out at a temperature of 300°C and takes about an hour in a small prototype machine in a laboratory in the faculty... liquid produced in the process is safe, inert and can be reused – the vinegar or acetic acid can be used for disinfecting and the water can be reused for the processing cycle therefore minimising water consumption and helping with sustainability" Related: Sunlight converts plastic waste into vinegar without added emissions https://uwaterloo.ca/news/media/waterloo-researchers-turning-plastic-waste-vinegar

https://www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1440 "Particles that enter the air as a result of tire wear not only contribute to air pollution, which has been shown to reduce life expectancy, but it also contributes to the pollution of our oceans... ENSO has created durable designs that prevent tire wear particles from leaving the road and entering the air and ocean" Related: Agricultural waste, converted into material that cleans air https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/986632 Bees and ETRVs: An unlikely match-up of the natural world and electric trackless rubber-tired vehicles https://techxplore.com/news/2023-08-bees-etrvs-match-up-natural-world.html Tire maker honored for tackling electric car pollution https://techxplore.com/news/2023-09-maker-honored-tackling-electric-car.html New technology for customized air purification of toxic gases https://www.newswise.com/articles/new-technology-for-customized-air-purification-of-toxic-gases One Nigerian entrepreneur...

https://www.tum.de/die-tum/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/details/37116 "four individual robot components: An autonomously driving robot boat carries out an initial scan of the sea floor... drone from the air also ensures that further rubbish in the water is detected. With the help of all this information, a virtual map is generated. A collecting robot then drives through certain points on the map and collects the garbage. Larger parts are transported away with the help of a gripper... collect 90% successfully - comparable to the success achieved when divers are used" Related: No Wires Needed! Quick and Safe Docking with Automated Mooring for Autonomous Ships https://www.kimm.re.kr/eng/sub011001/view/id/1234

https://acoustics.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/1pPA7_microplastics_final.docx "two speakers to create acoustic waves... creating pressure on a tube of inflowing water. As the tube splits into three channels, the microplastic particles are pressed toward the center as the clean water flows toward the two outer channels... cleaned 150 liters per hour of polluted water... above 56% efficient in pure water and 58% efficient in seawater. Acoustic frequency, speaker-to-pipe distance, and density of the water all affected the amount of force generated and therefore the efficiency" Related: 99% efficient way to remove microplastics from water https://scitechdaily.com/99-efficiency-princeton-engineers-have-developed-a-new-way-to-remove-microplastics-from-water/ New fabric coating could drastically reduce microplastic pollution from washing clothes https://techxplore.com/news/2023-01-fabric-coating-drastically-microplastic-pollution.html Microplastic pollution: New device uses wood d...

Two Articles: Bacteria could help build eco-friendly construction materials https://www.bath.ac.uk/announcements/bacteria-could-help-build-eco-friendly-construction-materials/ "bacteria-based construction technology (BBCT)... exploit the natural biofilm-forming abilities of bacteria to function as a kind of glue that will help improve... Their biodegradable plasterboard... Breathaboard uses compostable crop waste instead of gypsum, is lighter and has better thermal and acoustic insulation compared with traditional plasterboard... six-month pilot project that aims to optimise the properties" ----- Chilean scientist plans to clean up mining with 'metal eating' bacteria https://news.yahoo.com/chilean-scientist-plans-clean-mining-012602594.html "Some metals can be recycled in smelting plants but others... cannot and are often discarded in Chile's Atacama desert... Starving... iron-oxidizing bacteria called Leptospirillum... [a type of] extremophiles... microorgan...

https://news.mit.edu/2021/removing-lead-water-electrodialysis-0922 "first such method that might be applicable for treating household water supplies, as well as industrial uses... uses a process called shock electrodialysis, in which an electric field is used to produce a shockwave inside an electrically charged porous material carrying the contaminated water... costs are mostly for the ongoing energy input, which is very small... We do have a reasonable idea of how to scale this up" Related: Zapping Untreated Water Gets Rid Of More Waterborne Viruses https://today.tamu.edu/2021/10/20/zapping-untreated-water-gets-rid-of-more-waterborne-viruses/ Microwave-assisted synthesis of biomass-derived N-doped carbon dots for metal ion sensing https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1097204

https://www.isglobal.org/en/-/el-impacto-ambiental-del-agua-embotellada-es-hasta-3-500-veces-mayor-que-el-del-agua-del-grifo • Environmental impact of bottled water 1400–3500 higher than tap water • Local health burden of tap water consumption equivalent to 2 h of life lost • Filtered water considerably reduced health and environmental impacts