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.

Five PNNL innovations earned 2026 R&D 100 Awards for advances in biotechnology, manufacturing, critical minerals, and nuclear security.

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.

Connecting energy generation, electricity storage, and using sensors and control software to track load, including precommercial market marine energy generation technologies.

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.

PNNL researchers developed a new computational workflow to study day-to-night gene expression dynamics of cyanobacterium in real time.

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

PNNL researchers have found yet another way to turn trash into treasure: using algal biochar, a waste production from hydrothermal liquefaction, as a supplementary material for cement.

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.

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

PNNL chemical engineer Mariefel Olarte shares passion for mentoring students and the next-generation workforce.

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.

Francesca Pierobon holds a joint appointment with UW and WSU to advance low-carbon technologies.

The first tidal turbine deployed in the Pacific Northwest at PNNL-Sequim showcases the Lab’s growing role as a regional center for marine energy research.

The 2024 State of the Science Report on environmental effects of marine renewable energy research has been released.

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