In the U.S., coal plants produce around 50 million tons of waste each year that is rich in calcium, magnesium and other elements but is landfilled at a cost of $3-35/ton. Similarly, an estimated two b...
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UW-Madison researchers have developed an electrochemical system that can not only selectively remove phosphate from a phosphate containing solution but also recover it as H3PO4 without needing additio...
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UW-Madison researchers disclose a new method for recycling (upcycling) plastics that addresses the shortcomings of pyrolysis.  In the first step, the feedstock (e.g., polymer, long-chained alkan...
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UW researchers developed an axisymmetric direct energy convertor (DEC) which can harvest the energy from the exhaust of an axisymmetric mirror, thereby increasing its energy gain. The configuration in...
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UW-Madison researchers have developed a new sustainable process to manufacture calcium hydroxide as a way to reduce the CO2 emissions associated with cement production. This process utilizes a low-tem...
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Systems and methods for determining genetic variations of an organism for performing a physiological function. The systems include a number of modules that can be integrated into existing metabolic en...
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• Water quality monitoring is often done by scientists at universities or government agencies who either collect samples in the field and transport them to stationary laboratories for analysis or in...
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A method to make metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in which a first aqueous solution of a transition metal salt is mixed with a second aqueous solution of an imidazole or alkyl-substituted imidazole to ...
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Monodispersed colloidal gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were synthesized by an easy, cost-effective, and eco-friendly synthesis route. The resulting AuNPs exhibited excellent electroanalytical ability to s...
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An apparatus for generating a highly energetic plasma employs a low-energy neutral beam injected into a magnetically contained mirror plasma to produce plasma ions boosted in energy to fusion levels b...
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A method of producing phosphoric acid from at least one mineral containing phosphate and an element which is calcium, magnesium, iron, or aluminum. The method includes contacting the at least one mine...
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An important criterion for assessing food safety is the amount of time it spends in the ‘danger zone’ (40-120° F). A 2013 food policy report found that more than 90 percent of Americans throw out...
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According to BCC research, the global catalyst market was valued at $6.8 billion in 2015. With a CAGR of 2.8%, this market is anticipated to exceed $8.0 billion by 2021. Driving this growth is the gl...
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Aerogels are the world’s lightest solid materials made by removing liquid from gels. Such materials may contain up to 99 percent air and have special properties like high porosity and absorption. O...
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Slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) are an emerging class of materials with unique properties. They possess useful antifouling characteristics, meaning they prevent other matter or organis...
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According to the EPA, as of 2015 carbon dioxide and methane comprise about 82% and 10% respectively of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activities. Landfill gas is a considerable source ...
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Seismic events produce two types of seismic waves, referred to as P waves and S waves. P waves are relatively easy to detect (or “pick”) with software. S waves travel more slowly and arrive in the...
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Activated (porous) carbon is conventionally produced by pyrolysis (carbonization) of carbon-rich biomass or coal followed by activation/oxidation. Activated carbon produced by this conventional method...
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An estimated one million tons of heavy metals are discharged into sewers each year in the United States, persisting in soil and water and ultimately contaminating crops and fish. Waste streams contain...
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Capacitive deionization devices use high surface area carbon electrodes to remove ions from water. However, these systems perform poorly at removing Ca2+ and other multivalent cations, which are atoms...
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Common biodegradable polymers such as poly(lactide) and poly (3-hydroxyalkanaoates) are derived from relatively expensive chemical feedstocks and have low melt stability. This presents a challenge for...
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Wireless sensing technology provides an unprecedented ability to monitor the physical environment by using a network of cheap sensor nodes. Current approaches to extracting information from a wireless...
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Although highly sensitive techniques already exist for monitoring gas phase chemicals in the environment, these methods involve expensive, complex instruments and processes such as mass spectroscopy, ...
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Detecting chemical and biological agents at low levels is important in military applications, drug enforcement, airport security and environmental monitoring.  A variety of devices and methods cu...
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Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are a group of fatal diseases caused by a misfolded form of the prion protein.  TSEs include sheep scrapie; bovine spongiform encephalopathy, know...
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