Plastic upcycling efficiently converts plastics to valuable commodity chemicals while using less of the precious metal ruthenium. The method could recycle waste plastic pollution into useful products, helping keep it out of landfills.
A PNNL study has shown the nation’s wastewater resource recovery facilities could generate revenue by converting sludge into biofuel—while significantly reducing disposal costs—using an in-house-developed technology.
A demonstration converting biocrude to renewable diesel fuel has passed a significant test, operating for more than 2,000 hours continuously without losing effectiveness.
Scientists have created a single-crystal, nickel-rich cathode that is hardier and more efficient than before—important progress on the road to better lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.
Researchers at PNNL have come up with a novel way to use silicon as an energy storage ingredient, replacing the graphite in electrodes. Silicon can hold 10 times the electrical charge per gram, but it comes with problems of its own.
Scientists have uncovered a root cause of the growth of needle-like structures—known as dendrites and whiskers—that plague lithium batteries, sometimes causing a short circuit, failure, or even a fire.