Date Time
Improved Desalination Process Also Removes Toxic Metals to Produce Clean Water
UC Berkeley chemists synthesized a flexible polymer membrane incorporating nanoparticles called “porous aromatic frameworks.” The membrane selectively absorbs nearly 100% of metals such as mercury, copper, or iron during desalination, more efficiently producing clean, safe water. The membrane can incorporate a single type of tuned nanoparticle if the metal is to be recovered – or several different types, each tuned to absorb a different metal or ionic compound if multiple contaminants need to be removed in one step. (Credit: Adam Uliana/UC Berkeley)
Adapted from UC Berkeley news release by Robert Sanders
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IMAGE: UC Berkeley chemists synthesized flexible polymer membranes, like those currently used in membrane separation processes, but embedded with nanoparticles that can be tuned to absorb specific metal ions - gold. view more
Credit: Adam Uliana/UC Berkeley
Improved Desalination Process Also Removes Toxic Metals to Produce Clean Water
-Adapted from UC Berkeley news release by Bob Sanders
Desalination - the removal of salt - is only one step in the process of producing drinkable water, or water for agriculture or industry, from ocean water or wastewater. Either before or after the removal of salt, the water often has to be treated to remove boron, which is toxic to plants, and heavy metals like arsenic and mercury, which are toxic to humans. Often, the process leaves behind a toxic brine that can be difficult to dispose of.
Apr 23, 2021 03:22 PM EDT
Plastics are a part of almost every product we make use of daily. The average person in the U.S. produces about 100 kg of plastic waste every year, most of which goes directly to a landfill. A team headed by Jay Keasling, Brett Helms, Kristin Persson, and Corinne Scown at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) developed a plastic known as Polydiketoenamine, which can help solve the waste crisis.
(Photo : Getty Images)
Poly(diketoenamine) or PDK
Not more than two years ago, Helms made known the invention of a new plastic that could solve the problem of the waste crisis directly. Known as poly(diketoenamine), or PDK, the material possesses all the appropriate properties of traditional plastics while preventing environmental hazards, because, PDKs can be reprocessed indefinitely with no loss in value, unlike traditional plastics.
Credit: (Credit: Thor Swift/Berkeley Lab)
Plastics are a part of nearly every product we use on a daily basis. The average person in the U.S. generates about 100 kg of plastic waste per year, most of which goes straight to a landfill. A team led by Corinne Scown, Brett Helms, Jay Keasling, and Kristin Persson at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) set out to change that.
Less than two years ago, Helms announced the invention of a new plastic that could tackle the waste crisis head on. Called poly(diketoenamine), or PDK, the material has all the convenient properties of traditional plastics while avoiding the environmental pitfalls, because unlike traditional plastics, PDKs can be recycled indefinitely with no loss in quality.
Date Time
Future Looks Bright for Infinitely Recyclable Plastic
Only about 2% of plastics are fully recycled currently. PDK plastics could solve the single-use crisis. (Chanchai Phetdikhai/Shutterstock)
Plastics are a part of nearly every product we use on a daily basis. The average person in the U.S. generates about 100 kg of plastic waste per year, most of which goes straight to a landfill. A team led by Corinne Scown, Brett Helms, Jay Keasling, and Kristin Persson at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) set out to change that.
Less than two years ago, Helms announced the invention of a new plastic that could tackle the waste crisis head on. Called poly(diketoenamine), or PDK, the material has all the convenient properties of traditional plastics while avoiding the environmental pitfalls, because unlike traditional plastics, PDKs can be recycled indefinitely with no loss in quality.