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Industrial processes for chemical separations, including natural gas purification and the production of oxygen and nitrogen for medical or industrial

Now, a Northwestern University-led team has provided the basis for a technique to enhance the effects of an enzyme that breaks down polyester — the plastic used to make soda bottles and clothing.

In the United States, less than 10% of the 380 million metric tons of plastic generated yearly is recycled, posing a global environmental danger due to plastic manufacture and the annual absorption of millions of tons of garbage into bodies of water. When it comes to polymers, such as polyester, the proportion drops.

The search for thermoelectric materials that efficiently convert temperature changes into electric voltage is a difficult one. A material must conduct both small amounts of heat and large amounts of electricity to perform optimally.

Pyruvic acid is a type of alpha-keto carboxylic acid. These are organic compounds that are involved in the Krebs citric acid cycle, the main source of energy for cells. Pyruvic acid is one of the few organic molecules destroyed in the Earth's inner atmosphere by solar radiation rather than by reactions with highly reactive free radicals.