Technical Briefs, Design Engineering News

Keyword: Waste management

Articles: Materials

2021 Create the Future Design Contest Grand Prize Winner: Self Destructing Plastics via Embedded Enzymes

Once triggered, the enzyme-embedded plastics self-destruct, completely degrading and eliminating microplastics in days.

Q&A: Green Design & Manufacturing

Q&A: Plastics Could See Second Life as Biodegradable Surfactants

A chemical process produces valuable biodegradable chemicals from discarded plastics.

Briefs: Materials

Microbe Turns Waste into Industrial Chemical

The method could be applied to carbon waste streams.

Articles: Test & Measurement

Products of Tomorrow: December 2020

Robotic exoskeletons, a breath-test for cancer, and plastic-eating enzymes are Products of Tomorrow.

Briefs: Materials

Faster-Degrading Plastic for Marine Uses

This material could reduce persistent plastic accumulation in the environment.

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Laser-Based System Detects Fires Even in Dusty, Harsh Environments

A new laser-based system offers an efficient way to detect fires in challenging environments such as industrial facilities or large construction sites.

Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing

Plastic-Degrading Enzyme

Eight million metric tons of plastic waste, including polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, enter the oceans each year, creating huge manmade islands of garbage. Experts estimate that by 2050, there will be as much waste plastic in the ocean by mass as there are fish. A bacterium, Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6, can...

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Printing Ink Removes Oxygen in Sealed Packages

Oxygen adversely impacts food flavor and nutrition. NASA’s proposed five-year shelf life for astronaut food requires aggressive measures to minimize oxygen. Previously, NASA packaged foods in containers with a high oxygen and moisture barrier. These materials have limiting properties. They contain...

Articles: Green Design & Manufacturing

Bacteria Provide Cleanup of Oil Spills and Wastewater

Given the size of our planet and its wealth of resources, it is easy to forget that those resources are finite. As Earth’s human population continues to grow, the questions of how to...

Articles: Lighting

Keep Lighting Green from Start to Finish With Proper Packaging and Disposal of Used Fluorescent Lamps

Fluorescent lamps are a popular lighting option for businesses and consumers that are looking for ways to conserve energy and cut down on...

Briefs: Medical

Anaerobic Digestion in a Flooded Densified Leachbed

A document discusses the adaptation of a patented biomass-digesting process, denoted sequential batch anaerobic composting (SEBAC), to recycling of wastes aboard a spacecraft. In SEBAC, high-solids-content biomass wastes are converted into methane, carbon dioxide, and compost.

Briefs: Information Technology

Processing Satellite Imagery To Detect Waste Tire Piles

A methodology for processing commercially available satellite spectral imagery has been developed to enable identification and mapping of waste tire piles in California. The California Integrated Waste Management Board initiated the project and provided funding for the method's development....

Briefs: Materials

Improved Process for Scrubbing and Treating NOₓ Liquor

A new process and equipment have been developed for reducing the emissions of hazardous nitrogen oxides (NO_x), and eliminating a hazardous waste stream. In this process, a...