industrial
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Chemistry
Development with industrial potential with silicon nitride-based electromagnetic metamaterials
Graphical abstract. Credit: Journal of Advanced Ceramics (2025). doi:10.26599/jac.2025.9221037 Electromagnetic metamaterials with negative physical parameters such as negative dielectric constant and negative magnetic permeability have attracted widespread attention in the academic community. In 2010, they were praised for today’s material as one of the top ten advancements in materials science over the past 50 years. Unlike traditional electromagnetic materials, it…
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Chemistry
Selective combustion offers an energy-efficient alternative to remove contaminants from industrial processes
This diagram shows the combustion of a small amount of acetylene in a mixture with ethylene. Credit: Greg Stewart/SLAC National Accelerator Research Institute Researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin City have discovered a new method that allows the catalyst to be used to selectively burn a single molecule with a mixture of hydrocarbons, a compound made of hydrogen and…
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Chemistry
Ceramic catalyst uses sodium and boron to drive sustainable industrial reactions
The polymer-derived ceramic method uses transition metal-free, sodium-doped, amorphous SiBN ceramics composed of silicon (Si), boron (B), and nitrogen (N) atoms for small molecule activation and catalysis. was adopted to design and synthesize. The distribution of sodium (Na+) and B sites within amorphous silicon nitride enhances the reactivity of both B and N sites, leading to the formation of frustrated…
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Earth
Industrial snow: clouds freeze in factories, causing localized snowfall
Satellite images show plumes of snow rising on the ground downwind of Russia’s Fokino cement factory. Credit: V. Toll et al. Anthropogenic aerosols, small solid and liquid air pollution particles, have masked some of the global warming caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gases. Climate researchers have known for decades that anthropogenic aerosols disrupt liquid clouds by allowing more cloud droplets to…
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Chemistry
Discovery of lignin’s molecular properties could help turn trees into affordable, greener industrial chemicals
Bob Kelly (left) and Jack Wang look at the poplar trees in the greenhouse on North Carolina State University’s Centennial Campus. Credit: Dee Shore, North Carolina State University. Trees are the most abundant natural resource on Earth’s landmass, and North Carolina State University scientists and engineers are using trees as a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to producing industrial chemicals…
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