Vitamin B12 adaptability in Antarctic algae has implications for climate change, life in the Southern Ocean

Peer-Reviewed Publication

WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION

 

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AN ICEBERG FLOATS IN ANTARCTICA’S COLD WATERS.

 

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CREDIT: PHOTO BY MAKOTO SAITO, ©WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION

Woods Hole, MA — Vitamin B12 deficiency in people can cause a slew of health problems and even become fatal. Until now, the same deficiencies were thought to impact certain types of algae, as well.  A new study examined the algae Phaeocystis antarctica’s (P. antarctica) exposure to a matrix of iron and vitamin B12 conditions. Results show that this algae has the ability to survive without B12, something that computer analysis of genome sequences had incorrectly indicated.

The alga, native to the Southern Ocean, starts as a single-cell that can transform into millimeter scale colonies. The research published in PNAS, "Flexible B12 ecophysiology of Phaeocystis antarctica due to a fusion B12-independent methionine synthase with widespread homologues,” conducted by MIT, WHOI, J.C. Venter Institute, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography (UCSD), found that unlike other keystone polar phytoplankton, P. antarctica can survive with or without vitamin B12.

“Vitamin B12 is really important to the algae’s metabolism and because it allows them to make a key amino acid more efficiently,” said Makoto Saito, one of the study’s co-authors and senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). “When you can’t get vitamin B12, life has ways to make those amino acids more slowly, causing them to grow slower as well. In this case, there’s two forms of the enzyme that makes the amino acid methionine, one needing B12, and one that is much slower, but doesn’t need B12. This means P. antarctica has the ability to adapt and survive with low B12 availability.”

Researchers came to their conclusion by studying P. antarctica's proteins in a lab culture, and also searching for key proteins in field samples. During their observation, they found the algae to have a B12-independent methionine synthase fusion protein (MetE). The MetE gene isn’t new, but was previously believed not to have been possessed by P. antarctica. MetE gives the algae the flexibility to adapt to low vitamin B12 availability.

“This study suggests that the reality is more complex. For most algae, maintaining a flexible metabolism for B12 is beneficial, given how scarce the vitamin's supply is in seawater,” said Deepa Rao, lead researcher of the study and former MIT postdoc.“ Having this flexibility enables them to make essential amino acids, even when they can't obtain enough of the vitamin from the environment. Implying that the classification of algae as B12-requiring or not might be too simplistic”

Antarctica, which lives at the base of the food web, has been thought to be entirely controlled by iron nutrition. The discovery of the MetE gene also indicates vitamin B12 likely plays a factor. Because of its presence in P. antarctica, the adaptability of the algae gives it a potential advantage to bloom in the early austral spring when the bacteria that produce B12, are scarcer.

This discovery also has implications for climate change. The Southern Ocean, where P. antarctica is found, plays a significant role in the Earth’s carbon cycle. P. antarctica takes in the CO2 and releases oxygen through photosynthesis.

“As our global climate warms, there’s increasing amounts of iron entering the coastal Southern Ocean from melting glaciers,” Saito said. “Predicting what the next limiting thing after iron is important, and B12 appears to be one of them. Climate modelers want to know how much algae is growing in the ocean in order to get predictions right and they’ve parameterized iron, but haven’t included B12 in those models yet.”

“We are particularly interested in knowing more about the extent of  strain level diversity. It will be interesting to see if B12 independent strains have a competitive advantage in a warmer Southern Ocean,” said co-author of the study Andy Allen, a joint professor at the J. Craig Venter Institute and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. “Since there is a cost to B12 independence in terms of metabolic efficiency, an important question is whether or not strains that require B12 might become reliant on B12 producing bacteria."

The discovery that P. antarctica has the ability to adapt to minimal vitamin B12 availability turns out to be true for many other species of algae that were also assumed to be strict B12 users previously. The findings from this study will pave the way for future research related to the carbon cycle and how different types of algae survive in the Southern Ocean’s cold and harsh environment.

Researchers conducting a study of P. Antarctica aboard the R/V Palmer in the Ross Sea.

CREDIT

(Photo courtesy: Makoto Saito)

JOURNAL

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI

10.1073/pnas.2204075121 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Flexible B12 ecophysiology of Phaeocystis antarctica due to a fusion B12–independent methionine synthase with widespread homologues

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

5-Feb-2024

Small but mighty – study highlights the abundance and importance of the ocean’s tiniest inhabitants

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH

Tiny plankton – measuring less than 20µm (or 0.02mm) in diameter – make up the majority of plankton in the ocean and play a critical role in the planet’s health, according to new research.

However, scientists say challenges in identifying them have led to them becoming a silent majority that is currently being overlooked when it comes to global ocean policy.

The study is one of the first to explore the abundance and importance of these tiny ocean inhabitants around the UK coastline, with the technology capable of monitoring them only having been introduced in around 2010.

However, that monitoring has shown that in some instances, 99.98% of plankton abundance – and 71% of plankton biomass – is derived from these tiny cells.

The research has also shown they can be impacted directly by changes in ocean temperatures and nutrients, in addition to other environmental shifts taking place as a result of climate change.

Published in the journal Ecological Indicators, the study involved a number of the UK’s leading plankton scientists – including experts from all three of the Marine Research Plymouth partners – and was carried out using cutting edge surveying and identification techniques.

Lead author Dr Abigail McQuatters-Gollop, Associate Professor of Marine Conservation at the University of Plymouth, said: “You hear of phrases like searching for a needle in a haystack, but this takes it to a whole new level. Identifying something that measures 0.02mm in the ocean is an immense challenge, but an increasingly important one at a time of huge environmental pressures. These plankton may be tinier than most people can realistically imagine, but they underpin the entire marine food web and play a critical role in producing the oxygen our planet needs. We need to take this silent majority more seriously.”

Larger plankton have been used for decades to monitor ecosystem productivity and biodiversity, but four UK plankton surveys – including the Marine Biological Association’s Continuous Plankton Recorder survey – have also sampled tiny plankton in the past 14 years.

The researchers involved in the current study used the results of those surveys, which focused on the English Channel and Scottish coast, to investigate six groups of tiny plankton including two groups of heterotrophic bacteria.

Doing that involved a combination of flow cytometry – a laser-based technique used to detect and analyse the chemical and physical characteristics of cells or particles – and light microscopes.

This provided evidence of the abundance of tiny plankton, with that data then being cross-referenced against known changes in environmental conditions to assess how they were being impacted.

As a result, the researchers have recommended that tiny plankton groups should be used to inform biodiversity indicators that meet policy obligations under the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), (Oslo-Paris Convention) OSPAR strategies, and the UK Marine Strategy.

They have also called for long-term monitoring of tiny plankton across multiple sites to ensure that policy decisions are based on accurate local and global evidence.

Study co-lead Dr Rowena Stern, a CPR Research Fellow at the Marine Biological Association (MBA), added: “We have been able to connect these tiny plankton to meaningful indicators for policy use by measuring how human-driven environmental pressures affect the timing of their growth. This has only been possible by taking consistent, long-term measurements of these types of plankton.”

•    The full study – McQuatters-Gollop et al: The silent majority: pico- and nanoplankton as ecosystem health indicators for marine policy – is published in Ecological Indicators, DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.111650. It involved researchers from: the University of Plymouth; The Marine Biological Association (MBA); Plymouth Marine Laboratory; Environment Agency; Marine Scotland Science; Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas); Scottish Association for Marine Science.

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JOURNAL

Ecological Indicators

DOI

10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.111650 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

The silent majority: pico- and nanoplankton as ecosystem health indicators for marine policy

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

5-Feb-2024

 

SwRI’s CHEDE-9 consortium expands decarbonization research priorities

The industry’s longest-running commercial vehicle consortium focuses on low-, zero-carbon technologies

Business Announcement

SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE

 

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SWRI LAUNCHES THE LATEST PHASE OF ITS LONGEST RUNNING VEHICLE RESEARCH CONSORTIUM.

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CREDIT: SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE

SAN ANTONIO — February 5, 2024 - Southwest Research Institute has launched the latest phase of the transportation industry’s longest running commercial vehicle research consortium. Building on more than 33 years of research and development, the Clean Highly Efficient Decarbonized Engines 9 (CHEDE-9) consortium has expanded its scope from diesel-engine-focused research to a range of internal combustion engines and hybrid solutions.

Formerly known as the Clean High-Efficiency Diesel Engine consortium, CHEDE-9 focuses on research of low- and net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) transportation technologies for light-duty passenger vehicles, heavy-duty commercial vehicles and large power systems. CHEDE-9’s approach to exploring decarbonization technologies combines past and future research efforts and includes examination of low-carbon fuels, advanced engine and powertrain systems, and life-cycle analyses.

“CHEDE-9 will have two main areas of concentration,” said Chris Bitsis, assistant director of research and innovation in SwRI’s Powertrain Engineering Division. “The first research pathway focuses on decarbonized engines and fuels, which includes the study of sustainable low- or zero-carbon fuel development while maintaining high engine efficiency. The second focuses on the development of aftertreatment solutions that reduce NOX emissions. CHEDE-9’s success requires innovation in both research pathways.”

CHEDE-9 leverages the most recent research from CHEDE-8 and other SwRI-led research programs, including the High-Efficiency, Dilute Gasoline Engine (HEDGE-V) and Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (H2-ICE) programs.

“The future of mobility is through decarbonization,” Bitsis said. “Those efforts will include making advancements to hybrid-electric vehicles and innovations in internal combustion using hydrogen and other fuel sources.”

CHEDE-9 members include major engine and vehicle manufacturers as well as fuels and lubricants companies and other suppliers. Consortium membership allows companies to share costs and access more research than would be feasible if funded individually.

CHEDE-9 includes three membership levels: Founder ($100,000 USD/year), Consultant ($50,000 USD/year) and Informed ($20,000 USD/year.) Founder-level members receive access to all collected data, voting rights to decide the program’s future direction and royalty-free access to the intellectual property developed during the consortium.

SwRI is home to several automotive consortia, such as the Advanced Fluids for Electrified Vehicles (AFEV) consortium, which seeks to advance industry understanding of electric and hybrid vehicle fluids, and the Electrified Vehicle and Energy Storage Evaluation (EVESE) program, which provides test data for member-selected sets of battery cells, among others.

For more information about CHEDE-9 and membership details, visit: https://www.swri.org/industry/automotive-vehicles-engines-drivelines/membership-details.

For more information about SwRI Consortia, visit https://www.swri.org/consortia.

 

Ultra-sensitive lead detector could significantly improve water quality monitoring

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - SAN DIEGO

 

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EXPERIMENTAL SETUP OF THE DEVICE DETECTING LEAD IONS IN A DROP OF WATER.

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CREDIT: BANDARU LAB/UC SAN DIEGO

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed an ultra-sensitive sensor made with graphene that can detect extraordinarily low concentrations of lead ions in water. The device achieves a record limit of detection of lead down to the femtomolar range, which is one million times more sensitive than previous sensing technologies.

“With the extremely high sensitivity of our device, we ultimately hope to detect even the presence of one lead ion in a reasonable volume of water,” said Prabhakar Bandaru, a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. “Lead exposure is a serious health concern, and it has been indicated that a lead concentration at the level of parts per billion in drinking water could lead to pernicious outcomes, such as stunted human growth and development.”

The work is described in a paper published recently in Nano Letters.

The device in this study consists of a single layer of graphene mounted on a silicon wafer. Graphene, with its remarkable conductivity and surface-to-volume ratio, offers an ideal platform for sensing applications. The researchers enhanced the sensing capabilities of the graphene layer by attaching a linker molecule to its surface. This linker serves as the anchor for an ion receptor and, ultimately, the lead ions.

One of the key features of this work was making the sensor highly specific for detecting lead ions. The researchers used an aptamer, which is a short, single strand of DNA or RNA, as the ion receptor. These receptor molecules are known for their inherent selectivity toward specific ions. The researchers further enhanced the receptor’s binding affinity for lead ions by tailoring its DNA or RNA sequence. This ensured that the sensor would only be triggered upon binding to lead ions.

Achieving the femtomolar limit of detection was made possible by studying in detail the molecular events occurring on the graphene sensor’s surface. The researchers used a combination of experimental and theoretical techniques to monitor the stepwise adhesion of the linker to the graphene surface, followed by the binding of the receptor to the linker, and finally, the attachment of lead ions to the receptor.

The researchers analyzed thermodynamic parameters of the system such as binding energies, changes in capacitance, and molecular conformations and found that they played critical roles in optimizing the sensor’s performance. By optimizing each of these thermodynamic parameters, along with the design of the entire system, from the electronics and materials all the way down to the ion receptor, the researchers created a sensor that can detect lead ions with unprecedented sensitivity and specificity.

In addition to its superior sensitivity, the new sensor possesses other advantages over existing methods. Traditional techniques for detecting lead with high accuracy and sensitivity often rely on expensive instrumentation, which limits their accessibility for widespread use. Meanwhile, home kits, while more accessible, tend to be unreliable and exhibit a relatively poor limit of detection, typically within the micromolar range.

“The technology that we developed aims to overcome the issues of cost as well as reliability,” said Bandaru. “Our goal is for it to be eventually deployed in homes, given its relative ease of manufacture.”

While the technology is currently at the proof-of-concept stage, Bandaru hopes to one day implement it in real-world settings. Next steps include scaling up the production for commercial use, which will necessitate collaboration with industry partners.

Paper title: “Toward the Ultimate Limit of Analyte Detection, in Graphene-Based Field-Effect Transistors.” Co-authors include Alex W. Lee, Yongliang Dong and Shreyam Natani, UC San Diego; and Deependra Kumar Ban, Keck Graduate Institute.

This work was supported by the Army Research Office (W911NF-21-1-0041-(74813-MS)).

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JOURNAL

Nano Letters

DOI

10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c04066 

ARTICLE TITLE

Toward the Ultimate Limit of Analyte Detection, in Graphene-Based Field-Effect Transistors

 

Stable binder boosting sulfide solid electrolyte thin membrane for all-solid-state lithium batteries

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BEIJING INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY PRESS CO., LTD

 

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SCIENTISTS FROM NINGBO INSTITUTE OF MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING, CAS DEVELOPED LI6PS5CL ELECTROLYTE THIN MEMBRANE AND ITS ELECTROCHEMICAL PERFORMANCES IN ALL-SOLID-STATE LITHIUM BATTERY.

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CREDIT: XIAYIN YAO, NINGBO INSTITUTE OF MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING, CAS

They published their work on Feb. 2 in Energy Material Advances.

 

"The development of thin sulfide solid electrolyte layers is imperative" said paper author Xiayin Yao, a professor at the Laboratory of All-solid-state rechargeable battery, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). "Although sulfide solid electrolyte is easy densified through cold pressing method, the freestanding membrane generally show a thickness greater than 500 μm. The thick and heavy layer of sulfide electrolyte results in less than expected cell-level energy density."

 

Yao explained that the difficulty in developing ultra-thin sulfide electrolyte membranes, suffering fracture during the cycle due to its brittleness nature, leading to short circuit of the battery.

 

"Inspired by the binder-assisted electrode fabrication in conventional lithium-ion batteries,” Yao said. “Combining polymeric binders with sulfide solid electrolytes is a promising strategy to prepare thin sulfide solid electrolyte layers with high mechanical strength."

 

Nevertheless, a slurry-based system has not yet been totally established due to the sensitivity character of sulfide solid electrolyte particle. Generally, a desirable polymeric binders should possess sufficient adhesion capability to adapt the volume changes during cell cycling while maintaining the performance of the sulfide solid electrolyte. Meanwhile, considering the chemical instability of sulfide solid electrolytes, the solvents are restricted to weakly polar organic solvents, such as toluene, xylene, heptane, ethyl acetate, etc. It is difficult to balance the stability and suitable adhesion between sulfide solid electrolyte particles and polymeric binders.

 

"The design of polymer binders with suitable solvents is rarely reported for the preparation of sulfide solid electrolyte membranes through wet method." Yao said. "The polarity of solvent is the primary factor to consider its compatibility with sulfide solid electrolyte, which is related to the functional groups contained and the structure of molecular. However, for different sulfide solid electrolytes, the polarity cannot reflect the same compatibility of electrolyte with solvents."

 

"Clearly, it is urgent to develop advanced binders with suitable solvents to realize ultrathin, robust, and highly ionic conductivity sulfide solid electrolyte membranes." Yao said. "In this paper, the interaction among solvents containing different functional groups with the Li6PS5Cl solid electrolyte were explored and a new polymeric binder with superior mechanical properties and excellent stability to Li6PS5Cl was designed."

 

"Different from previous conventional binders, the precursors of polymer binder are easily dispersed in anhydrous acetonitrile. Through in-situ photo-polymerization, a free-standing Li6PS5Cl thin membrane with room temperature ionic conductivity of 1.23 mS cm−1 can be prepared." Yao said.

 

"The assembled LiCoO2| Li6PS5Cl membrane| LiMg all-solid-state battery can stably cycle 1000 cycles at 0.2C under 60oC." Yao said. The pouch-type cells still exhibit outstanding electrochemical performance when increasing the mass loading of active materials up to 15.2 mg cm−2, which provides a new slurry-based system for the preparation of Li6PS5Cl electrolyte thin membrane in all-solid-state batteries.

 

Yao is also affiliated with the University of CAS Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering. Other contributors include Xiaolei Zhao, Lin Shen, Nini Zhang, Jing Yang, Gaozhan Liu and Jinghua Wu, the Laboratory of All-solid-state rechargeable battery, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, CAS.

 

The following authors have additional affiliations: Xiaolei Zhao and Nini Zhang, University of CAS Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering.

 

The National Key R&D Program of China (Grant no. 2022YFB3807700), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 22309194, 52372244), Ningbo S&T Innovation 2025 Major Special Programme (Grant No. 2021Z122, 2023Z106), Zhejiang Provincial Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2022C01072), Jiangsu Provincial S&T Innovation Special Programme for carbon peak and carbon neutrality (Grant No. BE2022007) and Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (Y2021080) supported this work.

 

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INSERT BOILERPLATE

 

Reference

 

Authors: Xiaolei Zhao, a, b Lin Shen,  a Nini Zhang, a, b Jing Yang, a Gaozhan Liu, a Jinghua Wu, a and Xiayin Yao, a, b

 

Title of original paper: Stable Binder Boosting Sulfide Solid Electrolyte Thin Membrane for All-Solid-State Lithium Batteries

 

Journal: Energy Material Advances

 

DOI: 10.34133/energymatadv.0074

 

Affiliations:

 

a Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, P.R. China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, P.R. China

b Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P.R. China

 

A brief introduction of the Author

Xiayin Yao is a professor at Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIMTE, CAS). He received Ph.D from Institute of Solid State Physics and NIMTE, CAS in 2009. After that, he joined NIMTE and worked there until now. He worked as a research fellow or visiting scholar in Hanyang University, S. Korea (2012-2013), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (2013-2014) and University of Maryland, College Park, USA, (2018-2019). So far, he has coauthored over 200 peer-reviewed journal papers and applied more than 80 Chinese patents. His major interests include developing solid state electrolytes with high ionic conductivities and solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries as well as solid-state sodium batteries.

 

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JOURNAL

Energy Material Advances

DOI

10.34133/energymatadv.0074 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Stable Binder Boosting Sulfide Solid Electrolyte Thin Membrane for All-Solid-State Lithium Batteries

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

2-Feb-2024

 

Green steel from toxic red mud

An economical process with green hydrogen can be used to extract CO2-free iron from the red mud generated in aluminium production

Peer-Reviewed Publication

MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT

The production of aluminium generates around 180 million tonnes of toxic red mud every year. Scientists at the Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung, a centre for iron research, have now shown how green steel can be produced from aluminium production waste in a relatively simple way. In an electric arc furnace similar to those used in the steel industry for decades, they convert the iron oxide contained in the red mud into iron using hydrogen plasma. With this process, almost 700 million tonnes of CO2-free steel could be produced from the four billion tonnes of red mud that have accumulated worldwide to date – which corresponds to a good third of annual steel production worldwide. And as the Max Planck team shows, the process would also be economically viable.

According to forecasts, demand for steel and aluminium will increase by up to 60 percent by 2050. Yet the conventional production of these metals has a considerable impact on the environment. Eight percent of global CO2 emissions come from the steel industry, making it the sector with the highest greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, aluminium industry produces around 180 million tonnes of red mud every year, which is highly alkaline and contains traces of heavy metals such as chromium. In Australia, Brazil and China, among others, this waste is at best dried and disposed of in gigantic landfill sites, resulting in high processing costs. When it rains heavily, the red mud is often washed out of the landfill, and when it dries, the wind can blow it into the environment as dust. In addition, the highly alkaline red mud corrodes the concrete walls of the landfills, resulting in red mud leaks that have already triggered environmental disasters on several occasions, for example in China in 2012 and in Hungary in 2010. In addition, large quantities of red mud are also simply disposed of in nature.

Potential to save 1.5 billion tonnes of CO2 in the steel industry

"Our process could simultaneously solve the waste problem of aluminium production and improve the steel industry's carbon footprint," says Matic Jovičevič-Klug, who played a key role in the work as a scientist at the Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung. In a study published in the journal Nature, the team shows how red mud can be utilized as a raw material in the steel industry. This is because the waste from aluminium production consists of up to 60 percent iron oxide. The Max Planck scientists melt the red mud in an electric arc furnace and simultaneously reduce the contained iron oxide to iron using a plasma that contains ten percent hydrogen. The transformation, known in technical jargon as plasma reduction, takes just ten minutes, during which the liquid iron separates from the liquid oxides and can then be extracted easily. The iron is so pure that it can be processed directly into steel.

The remaining metal oxides are no longer corrosive and solidify on cooling to form a glass-like material that can be used as a filling material in the construction industry, for example. Other research groups have produced iron from red mud using a similar approach with coke, but this produces highly contaminated iron and large quantities of CO2. Using green hydrogen as a reducing agent avoids these greenhouse gas emissions. "If green hydrogen would be used to produce iron from the four billion tonnes of red mud that have been generated in global aluminium production to date, the steel industry could save almost 1.5 billion tonnes of CO2," says Isnaldi Souza Filho, Research Group Leader at the Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung.

An economical process, including with green hydrogen and electricity

The heavy metals in the red mud can also be virtually neutralized using the process. "After reduction, we detected chromium in the iron," says Matic Jovičevič-Klug. "Other heavy and precious metals are also likely to go into the iron or into a separate area. That's something we'll investigate in further studies. Valuable metals could then be separated and reused." And heavy metals that remain in the metal oxides are firmly bound within them and can no longer be washed out with water, as can happen with red mud.

However, producing iron from red mud directly using hydrogen not only benefits the environment twice over; it pays off economically too, as the research team demonstrated in a cost analysis. With hydrogen and an electricity mix for the electric arc furnace from only partially renewable sources, the process is worthwhile, if the red mud contains 50 percent iron oxide or more. If the costs for the disposal of the red mud are also considered, only 35 percent iron oxide is sufficient to make the process economical. With green hydrogen and electricity, at today's costs – also taking into account the cost of landfilling the red mud – a proportion of 30 to 40 percent iron oxide is required for the resulting iron to be competitive on the market. "These are conservative estimates because the costs for the disposal of the red mud are probably calculated rather low," says Isnaldi Souza Filho. And there's another advantage from a practical point of view: electric arc furnaces are widely used in the metal industry – including in aluminium smelters – as they are used to melt down scrap metal. In many cases, the industry would therefore need to invest only a little to become more sustainable. "It was important for us to also consider economic aspects in our study," says Dierk Raabe, Director at the Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung. "Now it's up to the industry to decide whether it will utilize the plasma reduction of red mud to iron."

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JOURNAL

Nature

DOI

10.1038/s41586-023-06901-z 

ARTICLE TITLE

Green steel from red mud through climate-neutral hydrogen plasma reduction

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2024/01/making-green-steel-from-red-mud-by-tim.html

Smart agriculture: Farming in the digital age

Mizzou’s new Digital Agriculture Research and Extension Center will enhance research, education and outreach in emerging digital technologies for farming

Business Announcement

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-COLUMBIA

 

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THE CENTER COULD HELP FARMERS BE MORE EFFICIENT BY USING DATA-DRIVEN STRATEGIES —GENERATED BY AI — TO MAKE DECISIONS ON WHEN, WHERE AND HOW MUCH OF THE RESOURCES LIKE NUTRIENTS AND WATER ARE USED IN FOOD PRODUCTION.

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CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Nearly one-third of Missouri's economy is tied to agriculture. That’s why the state’s flagship land-grant institution, the University of Missouri, has launched the Digital Agriculture Research and Extension Center (DAREC). The center aims to help farmers and other agricultural producers move toward a future of sustainable agriculture by leveraging emerging digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) for increased agricultural productivity, sustainability and profitability. 

“The skills needed for today’s farmers are not the same as they were five to 10 years ago, and it’s important for us to train the next generation of farmers to adapt and make use of existing and future technologies,” said Shibu Jose, associate dean for research at the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR). “This is the future of farming in Missouri and elsewhere, and people are looking to us as a proven academic leader in this space.” 

Formed by a partnership between CAFNR, MU Extension and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service, the center will explore key areas in agriculture such as crop production, soil health, precision livestock farming and engineering innovations through research by faculty and students, and collaboration with industry partners and agencies.

“We want to investigate the next generation of technology,” said Jianfeng Zhou, one of the center’s co-directors and an MU associate professor of plant science and technology. “For both teaching and research purposes, it’s helpful to adopt the next-generation tools designed to improve the efficiency of agriculture.” 

One component of the center will be a field demonstration site located at MU’s South Farm called the MU Digital Farm. The farm will also be part of the Central Missouri Research, Extension and Education Center. 

“By demonstrating new digital technologies at the digital farm, we will be able to document their benefits and use that information to show farmers and other stakeholders how to use these digital tools, many of which have already been developed but are not fully adopted yet by the agriculture industry,” Zhou said. 

Adoption of any new technology takes time, and the center hopes to build trust and confidence in farmers and other stakeholders by being proactive in its education and outreach efforts. 

“The Digital Agriculture Research and Extension Center will work with our MU Extension specialists to put new digital agriculture technologies into the hands of Missouri farmers,” said Rob Kallenbach, associate dean of extension at CAFNR. “The information, demonstrations, trainings and research that will come out of this center will benefit our Missouri agricultural industry for years to come.” 

Leading this new initiative with Zhou will be co-directors Kent Shannon, an assistant teaching professor of plant science and technology and field specialist in ag engineering with MU Extension; and Ken Sudduth from the USDA Agricultural Research Service. The center is planning a symposium for this spring.