Letter to the Editor from Martin Cole
Read the letter to the Editor of C&I from Martin Cole, DSc, FRSB, PhD (Imperial College) - Retired director of research programmes at SKB; vice chairman of a college of further education and higher education, retired, and former member of the Parliamentary & Scientific Committee. Life Member of SCI.
A light boost for solar cells and cancer therapies
Scientists at Kobe University, Japan, have discovered an important mechanism for the upcycling of light, which could allow more targeted development of materials for high-efficiency solar photovoltaic cells and photodynamic cancer therapies, whereby targeted drugs are activated by light.
MOFs weed out glyphosate
New metal-organic frameworks, or MOFs, can completely remove glyphosate from water, a study shows. The new material could be an important tool for removing organic pollutants from water supplies.
Korean researchers claim battery breakthrough
Lithium-ion batteries increasingly make the world go round. However, they are not without problems. In the drive to diversify battery stocks, a number of alternatives have been suggested, both to the manufacturing process and the batteries themselves.
Longer shelf life for fruit and veg
Longer-lasting, bacteria-free produce is within reach, say US researchers at Texas A&M University. An interdisciplinary team covering chemical engineering, food science, and horticulture, claim a new coating could improve the safety of fresh fruit and vegetables and boost protection against bacteria and fungi.
Plasma plasters
An effective treatment for chronic wounds that relies on an ionised gas rather than antibiotics has been developed by a team of international scientists. It could help change the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers and internal wounds.
Can we engineer our way out of climate crisis?
Limiting greenhouse gas emissions is one way to fight climate change – but there are more radical approaches, too, as Jasmin Fox-Skelly reports.
First carbon capture for Flue2Chem
Carbon dioxide from factory chimneys in the UK has started its journey towards being recycled into household detergent ingredients. This marks a major milestone for the two-year Flue2Chem initiative – a cross-sector collaboration supported by Innovate UK to find an alternative raw material to virgin fossil fuel for manufactured goods from cosmetics to plastics.
Business digest
The latest business digest for C&I Issue 4 2024 with all the latest mergers and acquisitions in the chemical industry.
CO2-derived e-fuels milestone
On 28 November 2023, a plane flew from London to New York. For the first time in history, this transatlantic flight was 100% powered by sustainable alternative fuels. This rounded off a promising year for sustainable fuels in aviation. Earlier in 2023, the ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation was adopted by the European Union, mandating a 70% sustainable aviation fuel blending obligation by 2050.