{"title":"Recycle, reduce, reform and close the loop","authors":"Thomas Dursch","doi":"10.1038/s44286-024-00141-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-024-00141-2","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142451302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Encouraging activity in molecular thermodynamics","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s44286-024-00138-x","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-024-00138-x","url":null,"abstract":"Molecular thermodynamics emerged from the convergence of classical thermodynamics with molecular chemistry and physics. In this Editorial, we reflect on the impact of molecular thermodynamics in chemical engineering and share our excitement for future developments in this field.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s44286-024-00138-x.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142451335","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reducing desalination energy consumption","authors":"Mo Qiao","doi":"10.1038/s44286-024-00133-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-024-00133-2","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142451299","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Biodegrading living plastics","authors":"Alessio Lavino","doi":"10.1038/s44286-024-00132-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-024-00132-3","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142451280","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Queue in the surfactant molecules","authors":"Scott S. H. Tsai","doi":"10.1038/s44286-024-00130-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-024-00130-5","url":null,"abstract":"Scott Tsai discusses the relationship between interfacial tension and surfactants, and their role in various droplet microfluidics technologies.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142451334","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kevin D. Nixon, Zoé O. G. Schyns, Yuqing Luo, Marianthi G. Ierapetritou, Dionisios G. Vlachos, LaShanda T. J. Korley, Thomas H. Epps, III
{"title":"Analyses of circular solutions for advanced plastics waste recycling","authors":"Kevin D. Nixon, Zoé O. G. Schyns, Yuqing Luo, Marianthi G. Ierapetritou, Dionisios G. Vlachos, LaShanda T. J. Korley, Thomas H. Epps, III","doi":"10.1038/s44286-024-00121-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-024-00121-6","url":null,"abstract":"A circular plastics economy can leverage the lightweight, strong and durable characteristics of macromolecular materials, while simultaneously reducing the negative environmental impacts associated with polymer waste. Advanced recycling technologies provide an opportunity to valorize plastics waste and extend the lifespan of these materials by converting waste into new monomers, polymers or specialty chemicals. Although many advanced technologies appear promising, assessments of economic and environmental sustainability are often not conducted in a standardized fashion and neglect factors such as plastics waste transportation, sorting and pretreatment. These shortcomings can lead to inaccurate or misleading predictions, reduce opportunities for optimization and limit industrial relevance. In this Review, we highlight select industrial case studies to underscore the notable consequences of underestimating the complexity of real-life consumer plastics waste. In addition, the current challenges associated with the assessment of the industrial viability of laboratory-scale processes are explored. By discussing relevant analysis frameworks and system boundaries, along with potential analytical pitfalls, future research will be guided beyond chemical considerations and toward impactful circular solutions. Advanced recycling is an end-of-life option for plastics waste toward the generation of high-value products. This Review highlights the importance of developing holistic analyses of candidate recycling technologies, with a focus on industrial pitfalls, key assessment parameters, complexities of recycling infrastructure, scale-up considerations, and environmental and economic trade-offs.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s44286-024-00121-6.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142451315","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Electrified chlorination for critical metals recovery from electronic waste","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s44286-024-00129-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-024-00129-y","url":null,"abstract":"A protocol termed electrothermal chlorination is developed for the energy-efficient recovery of critical metals from electronic waste. The incorporation of direct electric heating into a chlorination process enables precise temperature control and rapid heating and cooling rates, facilitating metal separation based on subtle differences in thermodynamics as well as kinetic selectivity.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142451336","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zhengyin Piao, Amma Asantewaa Agyei Boakye, Yuan Yao
{"title":"Environmental impacts of biodegradable microplastics","authors":"Zhengyin Piao, Amma Asantewaa Agyei Boakye, Yuan Yao","doi":"10.1038/s44286-024-00127-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-024-00127-0","url":null,"abstract":"Biodegradable plastics, perceived as ‘environmentally friendly’ materials, may end up in natural environments. This impact is often overlooked in the literature due to a lack of assessment methods. This study develops an integrated life cycle impact assessment methodology to assess the climate-change and aquatic-ecotoxicity impacts of biodegradable microplastics in freshwater ecosystems. Our results reveal that highly biodegradable microplastics have lower aquatic ecotoxicity but higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The extent of burden shifting depends on microplastic size and density. Plastic biodegradation in natural environments can result in higher GHG emissions than biodegradation in engineered end of life (for example, anaerobic digestion), contributing substantially to the life cycle GHG emissions of biodegradable plastics (excluding the use phase). A sensitivity analysis identified critical biodegradation rates for different plastic sizes that result in maximum GHG emissions. This work advances understanding of the environmental impacts of biodegradable plastics, providing an approach for the assessment and design of future plastics. Biodegradable plastics, often considered environmentally friendly, may contribute to environmental impacts in natural ecosystems, which are not fully understood due to inadequate assessment methods. The authors develop a life cycle impact assessment method to evaluate the climate-change and aquatic-ecotoxicity impacts of biodegradable microplastics in freshwater environments and support the design of future plastics.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s44286-024-00127-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142451330","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Biomimetic air purification with liquid-gating topological gradient microfluidics","authors":"Hanxu Chen, Lingyu Sun, Yu Wang, Lijun Cai, Yuanjin Zhao, Luoran Shang","doi":"10.1038/s44286-024-00128-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-024-00128-z","url":null,"abstract":"Particle capture is vital for air purification in environmental protection, regional climate regulation and public health. In particular, filters operating with gas–liquid interfaces can provide efficient particle absorption and removal while serving in a maintenance-free manner. Here a liquid-gating topological gradient microfluidics (LGTGM) device is developed for air purification inspired by the liquid-assisted filtration mechanism of the human respiratory system. The LGTGM device is based on the continuous generation of microbubbles from a supplied gas flow. Due to the large specific interfacial surface area, together with tailored wettability in the device, particulate pollutants in the microbubbles preferentially transfer across the gas–liquid interface and enter a collection liquid. Benefiting from the fine regulation of bubble generation dynamics, multiple LGTGM devices can be combined in series or parallel to achieve efficient air purification as well as high-throughput processing. Moreover, the application potential of LGTGM is demonstrated for smoke filtration, disease prevention and visual detection. This study develops a liquid-gating topological gradient microfluidics device that generates finely tuned microbubbles in a functional liquid in a high-throughput manner for air purification in different scenarios.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142451309","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Engineering MOx/Ni inverse catalysts for low-temperature CO2 activation with high methane yields","authors":"Chuqiao Song, Jinjia Liu, Ruihang Wang, Xin Tang, Kun Wang, Zirui Gao, Mi Peng, Haibo Li, Siyu Yao, Feng Yang, Hanfeng Lu, Zuwei Liao, Xiao-Dong Wen, Ding Ma, Xiaonian Li, Lili Lin","doi":"10.1038/s44286-024-00122-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-024-00122-5","url":null,"abstract":"Low-temperature methanation allows the near-equilibrium conversion of CO2 to methane at atmospheric pressure, promising remarkable energy efficiency and economic interests. However, it remains challenging for the efficient catalytic activation of CO2 at low temperature owing to the kinetic limitations of hydrogenation intermediates. Here we report that Ni-based inverse catalysts composed of oxide nano-islands loaded on metallic Ni support show significant activity advantages over traditional Ni/oxide with the same composition. The optimized CeZrOx/Ni catalyst realizes ~90% CO2 conversion and >99% CH4 selectivity at 200 °C and atmospheric pressure; it also exhibits excellent long-term stability and overheating/start–stop cyclic operation stability. Mechanistic studies show that the inverse interface effectively modulates H2 and CO2 coverage and alters the configuration of adsorbed oxygenates, which benefits the hydrogenation of surface intermediates. Energy and economic analyses demonstrate that the low-temperature CO2 methanation process powered by inverse catalysts potentially reduces both capital investment and methane production costs. Low-temperature CO2 methanation processes have potential for improved energy efficiency due to high equilibrium conversion but are generally limited by poor catalyst activity. Here the authors report an inverse CeZrOx/Ni catalyst that realizes high low-temperature (200 °C) methanation activity at ambient pressure.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142317818","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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