A Green Approach to Reducing Flood Impacts

Penn State researchers are exploring green stormwater infrastructure to manage severe urban flooding and pollution. They are studying ways to improve the existing green stormwater infrastructure in Lancaster, PA, as a pilot project for other cities as well.

Megawatt Electrical Motor Could Help Electrify Aviation

Aerospace engineers designed a 1-megawatt electrical motor that is a stepping stone toward electrifying the largest aircraft.

Turning Plastic Waste into a Valuable Soil Additive

Researchers have moved a step closer to finding a use for the hundreds of millions of tons of plastic waste produced every year that often winds up clogging streams and rivers and polluting our oceans.

Bioelectronic Devices Enable Real-Time Sensing

If a chemical spill in a river goes unnoticed for 20 minutes, it might be too late to remediate. Living bioelectronic sensors developed at Rice University can help.

Scrubbing Carbon Dioxide from Power Plant Smokestacks

Aluminum formate (ALF) has a talent for separating carbon dioxide from the other gases that commonly fly out of the smokestacks of coal-fired power plants.

Smart Microrobots Walk Autonomously

A collaborative effort has installed electronic “brains” on solar-powered robots that are 100 to 250 micrometers in size — smaller than an ant’s head — so that they can walk autonomously...

Smart Grid for Stable, Reliable Electricity Supply

The largest ever simulation of its kind, modeled on the Texas power grid, concluded that consumers stand to save about 15 percent on their annual electric bills by partnering with...

3D-Printed Graphene Aerogels for Water Treatment

The aerogels safely remove contaminants from water without releasing any problematic chemical residue.

Cleaner Water Through Corn

Activated carbon made from corn stover filters 98 percent of a pollutant from water.

Chemistry Discovery Could Remove Micropollutants from the Environment

This approach could result in developing chemical sensors that are sensitive at a very low level to a specific chemical in the environment.

Microgrids are a Key to Grid Resiliency

The aging energy grid is being pushed to the breaking point. Power outages from extreme weather alone cost anywhere from $2 billion to $77 billion per year. And some isolated communities still rely...

Water Purification System Engineered from Wood

The eco-friendly process removes heavy metals, dyes, and other pollutants.

2021 Create the Future Design Contest: Sustainable Technologies/Future Energy Category Winner — Multifunctional Bionanocomposite Fruit Coatings

The invention could capture the potential of the edible packaging market.

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.

Microbe Turns Waste into Industrial Chemical

The method could be applied to carbon waste streams.

Method Turns Discarded Plastic into Surfactants

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

Pre-Treatment Solution for Water Recovery

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

Desalination Process Removes Toxic Metals

The desalination method produces clean water while, at the same time, potentially capturing valuable metals such as gold.

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.

Filters from Tree Branches Purify Drinking Water

Prototypes show promise as a low-cost, natural filtration option.

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...

Products of Tomorrow

Head-up displays, health-monitoring sensors from NASA, and a pollen sponge.

Smart Aerogel Turns Air into Drinking Water

This invention achieves sustainable freshwater production in a variety of climates at minimal energy cost.

Turning Carbon Dioxide into Liquid Fuel

A new electrocatalyst efficiently converts carbon dioxide into ethanol.

Advanced Supercritical Water Oxidation Reactor

This technology has potential across many industries including water reclamation and treatment, and waste destruction in liquid waste streams.

Catalyst Efficiently Turns Carbon Dioxide into Useful Fuels and Chemicals

By converting CO2 into complex hydrocarbon products, a new catalyst could aid in large-scale efforts to recycle excess carbon dioxide.

Copolymer Removes Toxins from Water

Researchers have demonstrated that they can attract, capture, and destroy perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of federally regulated substances nicknamed “the forever...