Keyword: Recycling Technologies

Green Design & Manufacturing

Question of the Week: Materials

Will Coatings Reduce Food Waste?

Today’s lead story highlighted an egg-based coating that extends the shelf life of fruits and vegetables.

Blog: Materials

A New Use for Leftover Eggs: Preserving Produce

A micron-thick coating, made largely from leftover eggs, can extend the shelf life of the fruits and vegetables in your refrigerator.

Question of the Week: Materials

Will Technology Help to Reduce Plastic Pollution?

Our October Q&A in Tech Briefs highlighted an achievement from Professor Aaron Sadow of Ames Laboratory in Iowa. Sadow’s chemical process produces valuable biodegradable chemicals from discarded plastics, which are then used as surfactants and detergents in a range of applications.

Blog: Materials

With Enzymes, A 'Create the Future' Winner Builds Self-Destructing Plastic

The 2021 Create the Future Design Contest winner wants to build a truly recyclable bioplastic.

Q&A: Materials

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

A chemical process produces valuable biodegradable chemicals from discarded plastics.

UpFront: Robotics, Automation & Control

UpFront: October 2021 Tech Briefs

NASA reveals winners of a CO2 conversion challenge.

Briefs: Energy

Microbe Turns Waste into Industrial Chemical

The method could be applied to carbon waste streams.

Briefs: Aerospace

Technology Converts Waste Plastics to Jet Fuel

The reaction converts 90% of plastic to jet fuel and other valuable hydrocarbon products within an hour at moderate temperatures.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Metal-Free, Recyclable Polypeptide Battery Degrades on Demand

The new battery is degradable, recyclable, non-toxic, and safer than lithium-ion batteries.

Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing

Sustainable Aluminum-Anode Batteries

The rechargeable batteries could be a safer and more environmentally friendly alternative to lithium-ion batteries.

Blog: Electronics & Computers

An Electronics Recycling Approach Gets the Most Out of Nanowires

Researchers at North Carolina State University demonstrated a low-cost technique for retrieving — and then reusing — nanowires from electronic devices.

Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing

Method Turns Discarded Plastic into Surfactants

The chemical process turns plastic into biodegradable chemicals for surfactants and detergents.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

System Identifies Battery Materials for Recycling

The Battery Identity Global Passport could be accessible as a scannable QR code or a computer chip.

Briefs: Materials

Solvent-Based Recycling Process

By reclaiming polymers in plastics, the process could cut down on millions of tons of plastic waste.

Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing

Method Recovers Metals from Electronic Waste

The technology recovers pure and precious metals from alloys in cellphones and other electrical waste.

Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing

Pre-Treatment Solution for Water Recovery

The solution increases water recovery, prevents mineral scaling, and cuts the volume of brines in half.

Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing

Using Wood Byproducts to Produce Sustainable Bioplastics

The high-quality bioplastics can be molded into a film that can be used in plastic bags and packaging.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Green Method for Producing Hydrogen Peroxide

This portable method could enable hospitals to make their own supply of the disinfectant on demand and at lower cost.

5 Ws: Green Design & Manufacturing

5 Ws of Compostable Plastic

A new enzyme-activated compostable material could diminish microplastics pollution.

Articles: Software

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Getting Specific About Where 3D Printing Hits the Mark

Learn how to reuse more material without recycling.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Eco-Friendly Technique Upcycles Metal Waste into Multipurpose Aerogels

Potential applications include lightweight building materials and growing cells for biomedical purposes.

Articles: Wearables

Products of Tomorrow: July 2021

Battery recycling, NASA's water treatment, and a wireless wearable transmitter.

Blog: Materials

Ultrasound Improves Efforts to Recycle the Battery

Could a tool from the dentist's office lead to better recycling of lithium-ion batteries?

Question of the Week: Electronics & Computers

Will Recyclable Electronics Catch On?

Our June issue of Tech Briefs features a completely recyclable transistor from Duke University. The fully functional semiconductor is made out of three carbon-based inks that can be easily printed onto paper or other flexible, environmentally friendly surfaces.

Briefs: Materials

New Process Breaks Down Polystyrene

Due to the chemical stability and durability of industrial polymers, plastic waste does not easily degrade in landfills and is often burned, which produces carbon dioxide and other hazardous gases. In...