Plastics have become a vital part of our daily lives due to their vast applicability and low manufacturing costs. The high demand and usage have led to a continued escalation in production, which was ...

To date, several different microorganisms have been found to participate in the biodegradation of various synthetic plastic materials following their isolation from the soil of plastic-dumping sites, ...

Old trees are learning new tricks with the advent of composite materials. A "green composite" made from biodegradable ...

The biodegradation of natural rubber by microbial species represents a promising, environmentally sustainable approach to managing waste from industrial and consumer rubber products. Natural rubber, ...

To combat the alarming rise in plastic pollution worldwide, researchers have developed a synthetic microorganism ecosystem that works collectively to upcycle plastics into desired chemicals. Instead ...

Modern agriculture uses a lot of plastic, especially in the form of mulch film that farmers use to cover field soils. This keeps the soils moist for crops, suppresses weeds and promotes crop growth.

Thin mulch films made of polyethylene are used in agriculture in numerous countries, where they cause extensive soil contamination. Researchers have now identified an alternative: films made of the ...

A sample of a DUCKY polymer membrane researchers created to perform the initial separation of crude oils using significantly less energy. A new kind of polymer membrane created by researchers at ...

With rapid advances in high-throughput computing, machine learning (ML), and artificial intelligence (AI) applications, polymer informatics is emerging as a promising tool to ensure breakthrough ...

Pollution affects human health and the environment in many ways. Air, water, and land pollution continue to damage ecosystems, with conventional materials—especially plastics—being a primary ...

Researchers have developed an approach to accurately record and fully track the biodegradation of plastics in soils. Modern agriculture uses a lot of plastic, especially in the form of mulch film that ...