HELPFUL – Our Fragile Earth

MANAGING DIFFICULT MATERIALS

Blended materials are difficult to recycle. 99% of the over 113 million tons of textiles produced today ends up burned[…]

Ammonia is the most widely produced chemical, primarily used as a source for nitrogen fertilizer, and a major source of[…]

Tiny copper ‘nano-flowers’ attached to an artificial leaf can produce clean fuels and chemicals without any additional carbon emissions. Combining[…]

Zaps of static electricity can be an untapped source of energy. A device called a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), can convert[…]

Coral reefs can absorb and weaken damaging waves so that when hitting shores, they’re smaller and cause less flooding and[…]

A new living 3D-printed fungal battery could supply power to sensors for agriculture or research in remote regions. Once the[…]

Construction materials like concrete and plastic could lock away billions of tons of carbon dioxide. While bio-based plastics could take[…]

A new method extracts gold from electronics waste, then uses the recovered precious metal as a catalyst for converting carbon[…]

One way to increase solar cell efficiency is to change their chemical makeup. Current cells use silicon, a long-lasting inorganic[…]

A new material for high density data storage can be erased and recycled in a more efficient and sustainable way,[…]