Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) is a widely used polymer in consumer goods like plastic bottles and is highly accepted for recycling due to its lightweight, durability,...
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) is a widely used polymer in consumer goods like plastic bottles and is highly accepted for recycling due to its lightweight, durability, and low oxygen permeability, which helps keep foods fresh. PET can be recycled mechanically or depolymerized into its chemical components, but only 9% of the 35.7 million tons of plastic waste generated in 2018 was recycled. Recycled plastics often suffer from lower quality due to contamination and physical damage, and they can be more expensive than virgin plastics, as seen with Coca-Cola's reduction in recycled plastic usage. Upcycling plastics with engineered microorganisms offers potential cost and environmental benefits, though it has not yet been proven viable on an industrial scale.
University inventors have developed genetically-engineered Pseudomonas putida strains that synergistically degrade polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic into building blocks that can be used to create new materials. The use of multiple strains of bacteria instead of a single one allows for the use of a greater number of degradation pathways. This alleviates the metabolic pressure on the strains and reduces the effects of toxic starting materials and degradation products, increasing efficiency.
Chemical agents such as sarin gas are extremely potent, with exposed victims succumbing to repiratory paralysis within minutes of inhaling a lethal dose. Although sarin...
Chemical agents such as sarin gas are extremely potent, with exposed victims succumbing to repiratory paralysis within minutes of inhaling a lethal dose. Although sarin gas was outlawed by the Chemical Weapons Convention and is classified as a Schedule 1 substance, its use by the Syrian government in 2011 and subsequent uses of chemical weapons by Russia in Ukraine have increased the awareness and risk of exposure for military personnel and security contractors. Extremely sensitive detection of chemical agents is imperitive for providing personnel with the information necessary to avoid dangerous levels of exposure while confirming the presence or use of these agents.
Existing techniques for detecting nerve agents such as sarin are slow and have difficulty detecting levels below one part per billion, or ppb. This inability to identify trace levels makes it difficult to control or confirm exposure to this dangerous substance. Professor Paul Braun has developed a postage-stamp-sized device that is deployable in the field and is capable of detecting sarin at levels below 1 ppb.
Benefits
Extremely sensitive (part per billion) detection of sarin gas or other chemical agents
Field deployable
Publication
Amplified Detection of Chemical Warfare Agents Using Two-Dimensional Chemical Potential Gradients. Mohammad A. Ali, Tsung-Han Tsai, and Paul V. Braun. ACS Omega 2018 3 (11), 14665-14670
Heat waves can have profound negative impacts on human morbidity and mortality, both directly (e.g., heatstroke) and by exacerbating existing health conditions....
Heat waves can have profound negative impacts on human morbidity and mortality, both directly (e.g., heatstroke) and by exacerbating existing health conditions. The most obvious way to avoid these heat-related stresses--avoiding physical exertion and staying in an air-conditioned space--is not realistic for many whose occupations require exposure to hot weather. Rising energy and home improvement (e.g., to better insulate a dwelling or to repair/replace an HVAC unit) costs make escaping the heat even more difficult for lower-income people. A low-cost solution is needed to help people better adapt to hot weather without relying on energy-intensive cooling infrastructure.
Researchers have developed a thermally adaptive smart textile (TAST) which enables passive outdoor radiative cooling by 6-10 degrees Celsius compared to normal fabrics, while maintaining good mechanical strength, breathability and washability. Succinctly, TAST is a fabric that can be used to make clothes that keep the wearer cooler while requiring NO energy inputs. TAST can not only detect changes in physiological signals in the human body but can adapt its thermoregulation function in response to changes in the ambient temperature and perspiration level. TAST does not require electrical wiring or external energy input. The researchers have also invented a scalable manufacturing platform for further exploration of multifunctional fibers such as TAST that can offer a new paradigm for the advancement of smart wearables.
Benefits
Passive cooling (no energy inputs required)
Durable
Made from low-cost materials
Scalable manufacturing
Applications
Fabric
Clothing
Personal cooling
Publication
Radiative Cooling Smart Textiles with Integrated Sensing for Adaptive Thermoregulation.Yoon Young Choi, Kai Zhou, Ho Kun Woo, Diya Patel, Md Salauddin, and Lili Cai. ACS Materials Letters 2024 6 (10), 4624-4631 DOI: 10.1021/acsmaterialslett.4c01624
Heat management technologies have been integrated into fabrics and textiles for decades, dating back at least to NASA's use of reflective aluminum-coated nylon to keep...
Heat management technologies have been integrated into fabrics and textiles for decades, dating back at least to NASA's use of reflective aluminum-coated nylon to keep astronauts warm in their spacesuits. This material, however, and the various analogues that have been introduced to date, feature limited optical and aesthetic variability: all have incorporated a telltale shiny metallic surface that reflects not only the infrared wavelengths relevant to heat management, but optical wavelengths as well. This limitation is an unwelcome constraint in the apparal industry, where aesthetic control is paramount, and is even more problematic for applications that include both visual and thermal shielding (e.g., camouflage).
Researchers have developed a visibly transparent, IR-reflective coating suitable for application to textiles. This coating allows for passive heat (IR) management in two modes: (1) cooling, by reflecting heat away from an object/wearer when the coating is oriented toward the environment; and, (2) heat retention, by reflecting heat back toward an object/wearer when the coating is oriented toward the object/wearer. The optical transparency of this metallic, nanostructured layer confers unprecedented flexibility in the aesthetic and useful visual properties (e.g., fluorescent safety colors, camouflage colors/patterns) of materials.
Benefits
Visibly transparent
Passive operation (no energy input required)
Made from low-cost materials
Durable
Reversible, allowing for both heating and cooling functions
Applications
High-performance, reversible clothing
IR-resistant, camouflaged tarpaulins for military equipment and facilities
