Amine functionalized graphene oxide yields laminates with an enhanced capacity to adsorb rare earth elements, improved water transport, and greater stability for effective membrane-based separation of critical minerals.

PNNL partners with businesses to test new HVAC technologies at commercial buildings to evaluate the performance of next-generation RTUs.

PNNL has formed a partnership with the Orlando-based firm Refinity, which has licensed a key process from PNNL that will help the company convert mixed plastic waste into valuable industrial products like chemicals, plastics, and fuels.

Chiral nanotubes facilitate the direction-specific diffusion of carbon dioxide to be faster than nitrogen gas.

Replacing commercial acid with acidic waste enables researchers to improve nickel extraction efficiency, lower projected costs, and improve process economics.

Localized gradients in magnetic fields have long-range effects on the concentration of rare earth ions in solution, facilitating field-driven extraction of critical minerals.

Studying a series of rare earth element compounds revealed differences in their magnetic behavior that will be leveraged for separations.

A new patent-pending technology can quickly identify refrigerant leakage in heating, cooling, and refrigeration systems.

Nanoscale domains of magnetically susceptible critical materials encounter enhanced magnetic interactions under external magnetic fields, providing a promising new avenue for separations.

The size of graphene oxide sheets affects the ability of assembled membranes and adsorbents to separate rare earth elements.

A PNNL team has developed an energy- and chemical-efficient method of separating valuable critical minerals from dissolved solutions of rare earth element magnets.

The ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit brings together researchers, industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors to showcase the latest technologies shaping tomorrow’s energy landscape. This year, eight projects led by PNNL were featured.

Surface manganese mining from nodules in South Dakota is now possible with a new scalable selective precipitation process.

Cobalt substitution for magnesium in a model mafic mineral dramatically slows reaction with carbon dioxide to form a cobalt-doped carbonate.

Precipitation with sodium hydroxide in a flow-gel device enables the rapid extraction of magnesium from seawater in a new scalable process.

PNNL researchers are exploring the kinds of flicker waveforms that the eye and brain can detect, seeking to understand the different visual and non-visual effects that result.

The atomic-level distribution of nickel and cobalt in forsterite depends on the concentration of the different elements.

The surface oxygen functionality of graphene oxide may be tuned using ultraviolet light, affecting how differently charged ions move through the material.

Recycling polyolefin materials is challenging. One waste management strategy is plastic upcycling. New work demonstrates a single-step upcycling route coupling cracking and alkylation, recycling carbon and keeping valuable resources active.

Practical decontamination of industrial wastewater depends on energy-efficient separations. This study explored using ionic liquids as part of the process, enabling efficient electrochemical separation from aqueous solutions.