Business digest
The latest business digest for C&I Issue 5 2024 with all the latest mergers and acquisitions in the chemical industry.
Membrane tackles lithium extraction challenge
A biologically inspired sieve for extracting lithium from brines has been developed by researchers in China. The design, mimicking biological ion channels, displayed impressive efficiency in separating lithium from magnesium ions.
The environmental robots mimicking maple seeds
Researchers from Finland and the US have created miniature robots inspired by the graceful twirling of falling maple seeds. These light-controlled robots could hold promise for environmental monitoring and reaching difficult-to-access areas.
Applied chemistry
Read the latest applied chemistry highlights for July 2024 by Nigel P Freestone | University of Northampton, UK.
Highways to hell
Every time it rains, a toxic cocktail of pollutants runs off the UK’s road network and into our rivers and water sources. The pollution comes from tyre particles, fuel spills and other vehicle fluids, road surface fragments, sediment and herbicides. These contain heavy metals and toxic chemicals such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), known to be carcinogenic and hormone disrupting to aquatic life.
Sustainable packaging
Plastic packaging waste is a problem that isn’t getting smaller. Despite the many initiatives, targets and corporate ESG commitments, plastic packaging on the market in the UK totals 2.3m t, according to charity WRAP, with plastic packaging now accounting for nearly 70% of the UK’s plastic waste. This figure is unsustainable and doing untold damage to the environment.
Gene editing boosts camelina's biofuel oil content
A group in the US have yellowed seeds of camelina (Camelina sativa) to boost their oil content. The researchers wielded Crispr-Cas9 to knock out copies of a key gene that helps determine how much oil goes in.
EU's methane crackdown
The first EU rules to curb methane emissions from the energy sector have now become law. As well as requiring emitters in Europe to measure and monitor emissions, from 2030, the EU will impose maximum methane limits on fossil fuels placed on the European market.
Stem cell therapy hope for osteoarthritis
Patients’ own stem cells could be used to treat their osteoarthritis – a chronic joint disease that restricts mobility and impacts most elderly people – as researchers have come up with a formula to help stem cells survive after injection into joint tissue.
Algae robots designed to fight lung cancer
A microrobot has been designed to rove around lungs and disperse life-saving drugs. The tiny robots were made by bolting together green microalgae (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii) and PLGA polymer nanoparticles coated with red blood cell membranes, which were loaded with an anti-cancer drug.