Petrochemicals – News and Features

The main issue behind Nylon-6, the plastic inside fishing nets, carpet and clothing, is that it’s too strong and durable to break down on its own. Now, chemists have developed a new catalyst that quickly, cleanly and completely breaks it down.

By pressure-cooking birch leaves, researchers can produce quantum dots with favorable enough optical properties to replace some of the rarer elements used in semiconductors for optoelectronics, a new study suggests.

Bio-based plastics can be hard to separate from conventional plastics, but a new "one-pot" process could be the answer to simple separation.

Researchers from Rutgers University have uncovered the potential impact of exposure to air pollution on prenatal hormone health and infant reproductive development.

An international group of 35 scientists, including IRES’s Gunilla Öberg, is calling out conflicts of interest plaguing global plastic treaty negotiations and that have interfered with timely action on other health and environmental issues.

Researchers posit that swapping out palm oil for synthetic fats could save the world millions of tons of carbon emissions per year.

Engineered enzymes that modify grass plants could make the conversion of plant sugars to biofuels more efficient by providing access to sugars usually locked within complex structures.

Biodegradable plastics may not be the solution to plastic pollution many hoped for, with a University of Otago study showing they are still harmful to fish.

The Ruki River, a tributary of the Congo, has water so dark that researchers couldn't see their hands in front of their faces. Despite its uniqueness, the river has never been scientifically studied.

A new kind of polymer membrane could reshape how refineries process crude oil, dramatically reducing the energy and water required while extracting even more useful materials.