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Categories: Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published UK air pollution regulations will reduce deaths, but do little to protect ecosystems
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Existing air pollution regulations will reduce thousands of premature adult deaths in the UK, but even the most effective technically feasible actions, which will save thousands more lives, will do little to protect the country's sensitive ecosystems, find researchers.
Published Diapers can be recycled 200 times faster with light
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source More than 100,000 tons of diapers are disposed of annually in Germany. Vast amounts of valuable resources, such as diaper liners, end up in the trash. The liners consist of special polymers, so-called superabsorbers. Researchers have now succeeded in considerably improving their complex recycling process. They use UV radiation to degrade the chemical chains that keep the polymers together. No chemicals are needed. Recycling at room temperature is 200 times faster than conventional recycling. The recycled polymers can then be processed to new adhesives and dyes.
Published Sunflower extract fights fungi to keep blueberries fresh
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Opening a clamshell of berries and seeing them coated in fuzzy mold is a downer. And it's no small problem. Gray mold and other fungi, which cause fruit to rot, lead to significant economic losses and food waste. Now, researchers report that compounds from sunflower crop waste prevented rotting in blueberries. They suggest the food industry could use these natural compounds to protect against post-harvest diseases.
Published Bitcoin mining has 'very worrying' impacts on land and water, not only carbon
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have grown in market share, they've been criticized for their heavy carbon footprint: Cryptocurrency mining is an energy-intensive endeavor. Mining has massive water and land footprints as well, according to a new study that is the first to detail country-by-country environmental impacts of bitcoin mining.
Published Biological fingerprints in soil show where diamond-containing ore is buried
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have identified buried kimberlite, the rocky home of diamonds, by testing the DNA of microbes in the surface soil. These 'biological fingerprints' can reveal what minerals are buried tens of meters below the earth's surface without having to drill. The researchers believe it is the first use of modern DNA sequencing of microbial communities in the search for buried minerals. The research represents a new tool for mineral exploration, where a full toolbox could save prospectors time and a lot of money,
Published Adding crushed rock to farmland pulls carbon out of the air
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Adding crushed volcanic rock to farmland can pull carbon dioxide out of the air. In a field test, scientists found that the process works even in dry climates.
Published Scientists develop new method to create stable, efficient next-gen solar cells
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Next-generation solar materials are cheaper and more sustainable to produce than traditional silicon solar cells, but hurdles remain in making the devices durable enough to withstand real-world conditions. A new technique could simplify the development of efficient and stable perovskite solar cells, named for their unique crystalline structure that excels at absorbing visible light.
Published Researchers probe molten rock to crack Earth's deepest secrets
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international team re-created molten rock conditions deep within the Earth and measured the spin states of iron atoms within that rock melt. An iron atom's spin state drives its magnetic behavior and reactivity in chemical reactions, and can influence whether iron prefers to be in the molten or solid rock.
Published Researchers create the most water-repellent surface ever
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A revised method to create hydrophobic surfaces has implications for any technology where water meets a solid surface, from optics and microfluidics to cooking.
Published Plants transformed into detectors of dangerous chemicals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source What if your house plant could tell you your water isn't safe? Scientists are closer to realizing this vision, having successfully engineered a plant to turn beet red in the presence of a banned, toxic pesticide.
Published Land use: Producing more food and storing more carbon
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Doubling food production, saving water, and increasing carbon storage capacity -- this may sound paradoxical, but would be theoretically feasible considering the biophysical potential of the Earth. Reaching this goal, however, would require a radical spatial reorganization of land use.
Published New extremes in stratospheric water vapor
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The focus of new research was to determine how deep, how much and how frequently water in the stratosphere was being increased by thunderstorms.
Published Cobalt-free battery for cleaner, greener power
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source High-capacity and reliable rechargeable batteries are a critical component of many devices and even modes of transport. They play a key role in the shift to a greener world. A wide variety of elements are used in their production, including cobalt, the production of which contributes to some environmental, economic, and social issues. A team now presents a viable alternative to cobalt which in some ways can outperform state-of-the-art battery chemistry. It also survives a large number of recharge cycles, and the underlying theory can be applied to other problems.
Published Yeast speeds discovery of medicinal compounds in plants
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have harnessed the power of baker's yeast to create a cost-effective and highly efficient approach for unraveling how plants synthesize medicinal compounds, and used the new method to identify key enzymes in a kratom tree.
Published Drought conditions expose rivers to hotter water temperatures
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study reveals how reduced water flows and rising atmospheric temperatures are set to heat our rivers -- creating major challenges for aquatic life, ecosystems, and society.
Published Ancient diamonds shine light on the evolution of Earth
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Formed millions to billions of years ago, diamonds can shine light into the darkest and oldest parts of the Earth's mantle. The analysis of ancient, superdeep diamonds dug up from mines in Brazil and Western Africa, has exposed new processes of how continents evolved and moved during the early evolution of complex life on Earth. These diamonds that were formed between 650 and 450 million years ago on the base of the supercontinent Gondwana, were analysed by an international team of experts, and have shown how supercontinents such as Gondwana were formed, stabilised, and how they move around the planet.
Published Researchers: There is a need for more accurate accounting of nitrous oxide from agricultural crop residues
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source According to researchers, there is a need for changing the way of accounting greenhouse gases from agriculture. The current inventory of nitrous oxide from plant residues relies solely on the amount of nitrogen in the residues, while crucial factors such as the degradability of plant residues are not included. According to the researchers, this leads to misleading inventories, which also misrepresents possible mitigation measures.
Published Researchers study one of the world's darkest rivers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source They set out to study the Congo Basin's carbon cycle and in the process have become aware of one of the world's darkest blackwater rivers: the Ruki. In the first study on this major jungle river, an international research team explains how this blackness comes about and what it says about the river system's carbon balance.
Published Germicidal UV lights could be producing indoor air pollutants, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source While useful for killing pathogens including SARS-CoV-2, 222-nanometer UV lights may produce harmful compounds in indoor spaces, and should be used with ventilation, researchers have found.
Published New recipe for efficient, environmentally friendly battery recycling
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers are now presenting a new and efficient way to recycle metals from spent electric car batteries. The method allows recovery of 100 per cent of the aluminum and 98 per cent of the lithium in electric car batteries. At the same time, the loss of valuable raw materials such as nickel, cobalt and manganese is minimized. No expensive or harmful chemicals are required in the process because the researchers use oxalic acid -- an organic acid that can be found in the plant kingdom.