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.

Tracking water age using a new precipitation tagging method within a hydrologic model generates key information to support hydropower energy and other water-dependent systems.

Research provided definitive spectroscopic characterization, reactivity, and deactivation of a reactive monomeric diphosphine-copper hydride intermediate.

More rain and less snow shorten how long water stays in watersheds.

​​Tests show which low-cost 3D method best matches field measurements to minimize errors in mapping headwaters.​

Developed a method for selectively anchoring diverse divalent metal cations in zeolites, important for precise control over catalytic materials.

Developed a simple kinetic framework for evaluating catalyst hydride transfer ability.

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.

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 low-temperature, single-stage catalytic process converts PVC and polyolefin into valuable alkanes.

Distributed science is thriving at PNNL, where scientists share data and collaborate with researchers around the world to increase the impact of the work.

A comprehensive investigation provides quantitative data on the interaction between zeolite pores and linear alcohols, with hydroxyl group interactions playing the largest role.

Soil mineral preferentially incorporates rare earth elements based on size, with implications for critical mineral extraction.

After isolating copper hydride monomers, researchers identified the mechanistic details of catalyst aggregation and cluster formation.

Researchers have developed the first coastal transport model for microplastics to understand how particles move in waterways and coastal currents.

High-resolution hydrodynamic-sediment modeling shows that inundation, suspended sediment concentration in the Amazon River, and floodplain hydrodynamics drive sediment deposition in Amazonian floodplains.

Lakes are important sentinels of climate change and contribute significantly to the emissions of the second most important greenhouse gas—methane.

This study used historical data, remote sensing, and aquatic sensors to measure how far wildfire impacts propagated through the watershed after the 2022 Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon fire, New Mexico’s largest wildfire in history.