It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Attempts to discover a breakthrough dementia drug might be drawing attention these days, but traditional medicinal products can offer hints for preventive medicine.
A research group led by Specially Appointed Professor Takami Tomiyama of Osaka Metropolitan University’s Graduate School of Medicine has found that administering the dried seeds of a type of jujube called Ziziphus jujuba Miller var. spinosa, used as a medicinal herb in traditional Chinese medicine, holds promise in restoring cognitive and motor function in model mice.
By administering hot water extracts of Zizyphi spinosi semen to model mice with Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia with Lewy bodies, the team found that cognitive and motor functions were restored.
Furthermore, when the seeds were simply crushed into powder and administered to the model mice, the team discovered that the cognitive function of the model mice recovered to a level above that of control mice. In addition, the powders apparently suppressed cellular aging in older mice and improved their cognitive function to a similar level as younger mice.
Previously, members of the research team reported separately that the pathology of dementia in model mice improved with cognitive and motor functions restored after using the Hawaiian herb mamaki and the Chinese herb Acorus gramineus.
“The results of our research will hopefully make it possible to develop dementia prevention products that middle-aged and elderly people can take at their own discretion,” Professor Tomiyama suggested.
The findings are currently available as a reviewed preprint in eLife.
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About OMU
Established in Osaka as one of the largest public universities in Japan, Osaka Metropolitan University is committed to shaping the future of society through “Convergence of Knowledge” and the promotion of world-class research. For more research news, visit https://www.omu.ac.jp/en/ and follow us on social media: X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.
Simply crushed Zizyphi spinosi semen prevents neurodegenerative diseases and reverses age-related cognitive decline in mice
COI Statement
Takami Tomiyama is a founder of Cerebro Pharma Inc., and Tomohiro Umeda and Ayumi Sakai are/were members of that company. NOMON Co., Ltd. is a subsidiary of Teijin Ltd. and has the same address as Teijin. Kei Yamana and Ryota Nakajima belong to both NOMON and Teijin. Cerebro Pharma and Teijin funded this study, discussed the research plans and results, and jointly applied for a patent on ZSS. The other authors declare no competing interests.
Friday, September 20, 2024
21ST CENTURY ALCHEMY
Unlocking the secrets of tea's healthful compounds: phosphate and jasmonate's role
Nanjing Agricultural University The Academy of Science
image:
A model for CsPHRs-mediated catechin biosynthesis in tea.
A recent study reveals the intricate dynamics behind catechin biosynthesis in tea plants, highlighting how phosphate (Pi) signaling and jasmonate (JA) pathways interact to regulate these valuable health-promoting compounds. The findings illuminate the environmental and hormonal factors that influence catechin production, which is crucial for both the economic value and the health benefits of tea.
Catechins, the key active components in tea, are renowned for their protective effects against conditions like diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. However, their biosynthesis is highly sensitive to environmental factors, particularly phosphate (Pi) availability, which is often scarce in the soils where tea is grown. This deficiency can adversely affect tea quality by disrupting the accumulation of secondary metabolites. Given these challenges, there is an urgent need to understand the molecular mechanisms governing catechin production under varying nutrient conditions.
Conducted by scientists at the Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences and published (DOI: 10.1093/hr/uhae178) in Horticulture Research on June 27, 2024, the study explores the complex interplay between phosphate signaling and jasmonate (JA) pathways in tea plants. Researchers identified two key transcription factors, CsPHR1 and CsPHR2 (PHOSPHATE STARVATION RESPONSE, PHR), involved in phosphate signaling, and CsJAZ3 (JAZ, JAZMONATE ZIM DOMAIN), a repressor in the jasmonate pathway. Together, these elements regulate catechin biosynthesis in response to nutrient levels and hormonal signals, providing new insights into the genetic control of tea quality.
The research demonstrates that phosphate deficiency activates critical genes in catechin biosynthesis through CsPHR1 and CsPHR2, boosting the expression of CsANR1 (anthocyanidin reductase, ANR)and CsMYB5c (Myeloblastosis, MYB), which are pivotal in catechin production. Additionally, CsSPX1, a phosphate pathway repressor, was found to inhibit the action of CsPHR1 and CsPHR2, fine-tuning the response to phosphate availability. The study further reveals that CsJAZ3 interacts with CsPHR1 and CsPHR2, linking jasmonate signaling with phosphate regulation. This interaction is essential for balancing the plant’s adaptive response to nutrient stress and hormonal changes, thereby influencing catechin content and overall tea quality.
Dr. Gaojie Hong, the lead author, commented, “Our study unveils a complex regulatory network where phosphate and jasmonate pathways intersect to control catechin biosynthesis in tea plants. These insights not only deepen our understanding of tea metabolism but also offer potential strategies for enhancing tea quality through precise genetic and environmental management.”
The identification of the CsPHRs-CsJAZ3 regulatory module opens up significant opportunities for the tea industry. By strategically manipulating these pathways, it is possible to boost catechin levels, enhancing both the quality and health benefits of tea. These findings can inform the development of optimized cultivation practices that improve nutrient efficiency, minimize environmental stress, and elevate the economic and nutritional value of tea, making it a more sustainable crop for the future.
This research was supported by the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. LQ23C020003 and LR22C020003, the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 32272553, the Major Science and Technology Special Project of Variety Breeding of Zhejiang Province (2021C02067-7 and 2021C02064-6), and the State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-products (2021DG700024-KF202102).
Horticulture Researchis an open access journal of Nanjing Agricultural University and ranked number two in the Horticulture category of the Journal Citation Reports ™ from Clarivate, 2023. The journal is committed to publishing original research articles, reviews, perspectives, comments, correspondence articles and letters to the editor related to all major horticultural plants and disciplines, including biotechnology, breeding, cellular and molecular biology, evolution, genetics, inter-species interactions, physiology, and the origination and domestication of crops.
CsPHRs-CsJAZ3 incorporates phosphate signaling and jasmonate pathway to regulate catechin biosynthesis in Camellia sinensis
Friday, July 05, 2024
Realism and Ipse Dixit
by Kim Petersen / July 4th, 2024
In a 3 July interview, judge Andrew Napolitano asked the University of Chicago political scientist, John Mearsheimer: “Why would the United States be putting missiles in the Philippines but to be provocative toward China?”
Mearsheimer: “I don’t think that the United States is trying to be provocative. I think what the United States is interested to do, doing is improving its deterrence capability in East Asia. The fact is that if you put the United States up against China in East Asia, and if you include the United States’ allies with the United States, right, you are up against a very formidable adversary. China is effectively a giant aircraft carrier. It has thousands and thousands of missiles, and the United States feels that it is at something of a disadvantage, and for that reason it is increasing its missile capability and other capabilities in Asia as well.”
If China were to put missiles in Cuba and Mexico, then that is not provocative? The US should have no problem because China is only improving its deterrence, yes? What is good for the goose is also good for the gander, no?
And why does Mearsheimer resort to using US government propaganda by referring to China as an “adversary”? Does China call the US an adversary? Is China looking for confrontation with the US?
If China is “effectively a giant aircraft carrier,” then is not the US also effectively a giant aircraft carrier? It is obvious that Mearsheimer is taking a page from the US propaganda booklet on the threat of China, in this case a militaristic threat. Mearsheimer, however, avoids referring to China as a “threat.”
The question raised by Mearsheimer and left unanswered is whether China is a militaristic adversary? China, for its part, publicly eschews militarism and seeks peaceful relations.
Mearsheimer: “We pushed the Russians and the Chinese closer together which makes no sense at all.”
Even if there were no United States, it is extremely rational for Russia and China to form a friendly and close relationship. They are neighbors. They are well suited to be trade partners. It is a win-win relationship that China and Russia seek from trading partners. No push was needed from the US, although US belligerence assuredly was another point in favor of a deepening Russia-China rapprochement.
Mearsheimer: I am one of a number of people who would defend Taiwan if China attacked it because I think Taiwan is of great strategic importance.
Isn’t the US aircraft carrier known as Israel considered of great strategic importance because of its location amid the Middle Eastern oil patch? Yet Mearsheimer says there is no geopolitical benefit from US support of Israel. In fact, the professor says Israel is an albatross around the US neck. What, then, is the great strategic importance Mearsheimer sees in Taiwan? It hardly seems sufficient to just state that his view is realist. In Mearsheimer’s mind moralism does not factor in.
The US has signed on to the One China Policy. Ergo, realistically, Taiwan is de jure a province of one China.
*****
When coming across analysis expressed by personalities, whether they be professors, news anchors, or lay persons consider how these persons support their views. Ipse Dixit refers to the logical fallacy of making unsubstantiated assertions. It is arguably more difficult to substantiate one’s arguments in an interview, but to merely state that something is realist is hardly compelling, especially when that realism seems rooted in opinion. Question everything.
Kim Petersen is an independent writer. He can be emailed at: kimohp at gmail.com. Read other articles by Kim.
The Problems with Purism and Reformism (not reforms)
by Ted Glick / July 5th, 2024
Over 20 years ago I wrote one of these columns examining the issue of “purism” versus “pragmatism” when it comes to organizing for systemic and desperately needed change in this world. I wrote about two essential ingredients that are sometimes in conflict.
One essential is conscious political organization motivated by principles and a genuine desire and plan for improving the lives of the disenfranchised and downtrodden, ending militarism and war, and stopping and reversing environmental devastation. But this alone won’t bring about change.
As a once-great revolutionary once said, “the masses make history.” It is only when large numbers of people identify with a movement for fundamental change and support it, verbally or actively, that we have any hope of winning political power and transforming society. In the USA that means not tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, or even millions, but tens of millions of people.
Is this possible? Yes. One big example is the 15 million votes independent socialist Bernie Sanders got in 2016. Another is the NY Times report that 16-25 million people all over the country took demonstrative action in the spring of 2021 after George Floyd was murdered.
We need to go about our organizing work in a way which doesn’t undercut either, which avoids the temptation to be so committed to being principled that one becomes purist and narrow, on the one hand, or to be so committed to being with and interacting with “the masses” that problematic positions are taken and political relationships are built that end up deflecting energies into reformist and dead-end approaches to change. We need reforms, yes, but our broader objective must be to build upon successful struggles for major reforms in a way that leads to truly revolutionary, justice-grounded, social and economic transformation.
Purism versus reformism—the twin dangers of serious efforts to bring about the kind of change that is so, so needed today.
What can be done to lessen these dangers, to increase the possibilities that more of us will keep our eyes, minds and hearts on the prize?
One is the building of independent and progressive organizations that are truly democratic in the fullest sense of the term. As difficult as the process of democracy sometimes is, it is also a way to keep the group as a whole and the individuals within it centered on the stated objectives. Democratic process, sooner or later, frustrates individual power plays on the part of any person in leadership who lets power go to his/her/their head and who becomes either purist or reformist as a result. These things have happened much too much historically, but in this third decade of the 21st century, there is a growing consciousness of this danger increasingly expressed in how more and more of us are going about our organization-building.
Another necessity is an explicit commitment to the testing out of theories and ideas in practice and a process of constant evaluation based upon input from the people the ideas are being tried out on. If an independent candidate is running for office, for example, and has what they think is a great platform but the vote totals are very low, perhaps the problem is that the issues being addressed, or the way they’re being expressed, don’t connect with peoples’ understandings. Since just about any issue can be addressed from a progressive standpoint, a much better approach is to identify what the issues are to speak about because of day-to-day listening to and communicating with working-class people and people of the global majority.
The same with forms of direct action. It may feel good and righteous to some to stand up to the police during an action, but if that is done in a way which makes it easier for the government and the corporate-dominated press to call us violent, that will not generate sympathy for our cause among the wider public. Expressing our sense of urgency and anger is a good thing, if done wisely. Expressing it without political consideration of an action’s impacts is not a good thing.
Ultimately, our ability as a movement to navigate between the dangers of purism and reformism comes down to how each of us live our lives. Do we live in such a way that, on a day to day basis, we are in touch with working class people, regular folks, those in need of change? Do those of us who are white ensure that, in some way, we have regular communication and interaction with people of color so that we are constantly reminded about racism and its pernicious effects? Do we make time for meditation, allow our conscience to make itself heard over the daily demands on our time and energies? Do we interact with others in a way which prioritizes listening and objective consideration? Do we struggle to keep from responding defensively when others make constructive, or not so constructive, criticisms of us?
In the words of the late Rev. Paul Mayer, “What history is calling for is nothing less than the creation of a new human being. We must literally reinvent ourselves through the alchemy of the Spirit or perish. We are being divinely summoned to climb another rung on the evolutionary ladder, to another level of human consciousness.”
Ted Glick works with Beyond Extreme Energy and is president of 350NJ-Rockland. Past writings and other information, including about Burglar for Peace and 21st Century Revolution, two books published by him in 2020 and 2021, can be found at https://tedglick.com. He can be followed on Twitter at twitter.com/jtglick. Read other articles by Ted.
Energy scientists unravel the mystery of gold’s glow
EPFL researchers have developed the first comprehensive model of the quantum-mechanical effects behind photoluminescence in thin gold films; a discovery that could drive the development of solar fuels and batteries.
ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FÉDÉRALE DE LAUSANNE
Luminescence, or the emission of photons by a substance exposed to light, has been known to occur in semiconductor materials like silicon for hundreds of years. The nanoscale behavior of electrons as they absorb and then re-emit light can tell researchers a great deal about the properties of semiconductors, which is why they are often used as probes to characterize electronic processes, like those occurring inside solar cells.
In 1969, scientists discovered that all metals luminesce to some degree, but the intervening years failed to yield a clear understanding of how this occurs. Renewed interest in this light emission, driven by nanoscale temperature mapping and photochemistry applications, has reignited the debate surrounding its origins. But the answer was still unclear – until now.
“We developed very high-quality metal gold films, which put us in a unique position to elucidate this process without the confounding factors of previous experiments,” says Giulia Tagliabue, head of the Laboratory of Nanoscience for Energy Technologies (LNET) in the School of Engineering.
In a recent study published in Light: Science and Applications, Tagliabue and the LNET team focused laser beams at the extremely thin – between 13 and 113 nanometers – gold films, and then analyzed the resulting faint glow. The data generated from their precise experiments was so detailed – and so unexpected – that they collaborated with theoreticians at the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, the University of Southern Denmark, and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (USA) to rework and apply quantum mechanical modelling methods.
The researchers’ comprehensive approach allowed them to settle the debate surrounding the type of luminescence emanating from the films – photoluminescence – which is defined by the specific way electrons and their oppositely charged counterparts (holes) behave in response to light. It also allowed them to produce the first complete, fully quantitative model of this phenomenon in gold, which can be applied to any metal.
Unexpected quantum effects
Tagliabue explains that, using a thin film of monocrystalline gold produced with a novel synthesis technique, the team studied the photoluminescence process as they made the metal thinner and thinner. “We observed certain quantum mechanical effects emerging in films of up to about 40 nanometers, which was unexpected, because normally for a metal, you don’t see such effects until you go well below 10 nm,” she says.
These observations provided key spatial information about exactly where the photoluminescence process occurred in the gold, which is a prerequisite for the metal’s use as a probe. Another unexpected outcome of the study was the discovery that the gold’s photoluminescent (Stokes) signal could be used to probe the material’s own surface temperature – a boon for scientists working at the nanoscale.
“For many chemical reactions on the surface of metals, there is a big debate about why and under what conditions these reactions occur. Temperature is a key parameter, but measuring temperature at the nanoscale is extremely difficult, because a thermometer can influence your measurement. So, it’s a huge advantage to be able to probe a material using the material itself as the probe,” Tagliabue says.
A gold standard for solar fuel development
The researchers believe their findings will allow metals to be used to obtain unprecedentedly detailed insights into chemical reactions, especially those involved in energy research. Metals like gold and copper – the LNET’s next research target – can trigger certain key reactions, like the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) back into carbon-based products like solar fuels, which store solar energy in chemical bonds.
“To combat climate change, we are going to need technologies to convert CO2 into other useful chemicals one way or another,” says LNET postdoc Alan Bowman, the study’s first author.
“Using metals is one way to do that, but if we don’t have a good understanding of how these reactions happen on their surfaces, then we can’t optimize them. Luminescence offers a new way to understand what is happening in these metals.”
Quantum-mechanical effects in photoluminescence from thin crystalline gold films
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
19-Apr-2024
Thursday, April 18, 2024
21ST CENTURY ALCHEMY
Gold may be key element for cleaner drinking water
UCF researchers are using gold to develop a novel method to remove toxins from drinking water
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA
IMAGE:
UCF RESEARCHERS WOO HYOUNG LEE AND YANG YANG ARE LEADING A PROJECT TO USE GOLD TO DEVELOP A NOVEL METHOD TO RID DRINKING WATER OF HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS.
ORLANDO, April 18, 2024 – Gold may be a coveted precious metal, but it could also be the key to cleaner drinking water.
A team of UCF researchers is exploring the use of the metal to develop a novel method to rid drinking water of harmful algal blooms, or HABs, which occur when colonies of algae grow out of control and produce toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, birds and other living creatures.
Their project is supported through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) program, which recently awarded $1.2 million to 16 collegiate teams across the United States.
UCF received $75,000 for their two-year project that aims to develop a gold-decorated nickel metal-organic framework (MOF) that removes microcystins — toxins produced by harmful algae blooms — from the water. MOFs are porous clusters of metal polymers that are used in many practical applications.
“MOFs have been used as a catalyst for many research areas such as hydrogen storage, carbon capture, electrocatalysis, biological imaging and sensing, semiconductors and drug delivery systems,” Lee says. “In this project, we’re using the gold-decorated nickel MOF as a photocatalyst to remove water pollutants.”
The gold will be coated in an MOF, which will help it react to the sunlight. That reaction, known as photocatalysis, will result in the oxidation of the microcystins, removing them from the water.
Microcystins are the most common cyanotoxins linked to harmful algal blooms in freshwater environments, notably in regions such as Florida with abundant lakes. They’re known to cause liver damage, kidney failure, gastroenteritis and allergic reactions in humans. With the UCF team’s novel solution, water treatment facilities can produce cleaner, safer drinking water.
"Clean drinking water isn't just a necessity, it's a fundamental right, especially for Floridians who rely on our abundant lakes and waterways,” Lee says. “By leveraging the innovative nanotechnology for water treatment, we're not only removing toxins but also safeguarding the health and well-being of our communities, ensuring a brighter, healthier future for all.”
This is Lee’s second consecutive year receiving the P3 award. In 2023, his team was selected for their work on a biosensor that could detect microcystins early in their formation for faster eradication.
This is the 20th anniversary of the P3 program. Projects funded this year will tackle critical issues such as removing PFAS from water, combating harmful algal blooms, and materials recovery and reuse, says Chris Frey, assistant administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research and Development, in a release.
“I commend these hardworking and creative students and look forward to seeing the results of their innovative projects that are addressing some of our thorniest sustainability and environmental challenges,” Frey says.
About the Researchers
Lee is an associate professor in the UCF Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering. He received his bachelor's degree in environmental engineering from Chonnam National University in 1996, his master's degree in environmental engineering from Korea University in 2001 and his doctoral degree in environmental engineering from the University of Cincinnati in 2009. Before joining UCF, he was an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education postdoctoral research fellow at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Risk Management Research Laboratory in Ohio.
Yang holds joint appointments in UCF’s NanoScience Technology Center and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, which is part of the university’s College of Engineering and Computer Science. He is a member of UCF’s Renewable Energy and Chemical Transformation Cluster. Before joining UCF in 2015, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Rice University and an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany. He received his doctoral degree in materials science from Tsinghua University in China.
Burning the aerogel that had adsorbed and reduced gold from an e-waste solution produced this 0.5 g gold nugget with a purity of around 91%, corresponding to 21 to 22 carats.
Credit: Raffaele Mezzenga/ETH Zurich
An aerogel made from old milk can extract highly pure gold nuggets from discarded computer motherboards.
Discarded electronics, known as e-waste, often contain large amounts of gold and other heavy metals. Scientists have come up with methods to recover the valuable metals, but these processes often rely on synthetic chemicals that can damage the environment.
Raffaele Mezzenga at ETH Zurich in Switzerland and his colleagues have developed a way to recover gold from e-waste by using a milk-derived aerogel.
He and his colleagues started with whey protein, a byproduct of the cheesemaking industry, and made a low-density aerogel. Making the spongelike material is cheap, he says. “The value of the gold we recover is 50 times the value we invest to transform the protein into this sponge.”
The researchers placed whey protein into an acidic solution and heated it, which unraveled the proteins from tiny balls into strands. Then they freeze-dried the solution, forming a lightweight puck with high porosity.
“You can place them on the top of a flower. And the advantage of having aerogels is that they have high surface area,” says Mohammad Peydayesh, a chemical engineer who’s also part of the research team at ETH Zurich.
The researchers tested the gel’s ability to adsorb gold from a solution also containing other metals—including copper, lead, and nickel—at the same concentration. Aerogel from old milk sucked up 93 percent of the gold
The aerogel sucked up 93 percent of the gold while removing less than 10 percent of any of the other metals. To test the protein sponge with real e-waste, the team dissolved computer motherboards in aqua regia, a mix of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid.
Gold ions from the mixture settled on the surface of the aerogel and were reduced, forming metallic gold. Each gram of aerogel snatched 190 mg of gold. Burning the aerogel freed the gold, turning it into a tiny hunk of metal.
“It was really exciting to find this nugget in the ashes,” Peydayesh recalls. The nugget was about 91% gold, which corresponds to about 21 to 22 carats.
The method already presents an improvement over activated carbon, a more typical adsorption method used to recover gold. Each gram of activated carbon only adsorbed about 60 mg of gold from an e-waste mixture, the team found. Because it takes a lot of energy to create activated carbon, recovering the same amount of gold using activated carbon had a higher environmental impact in a life cycle analysis.
The team is already eyeing other food waste proteins, such as keratin and those from the production of tofu, that could potentially help with other needs, such as the recycling of rare earth metals.
“We can simultaneously address the global waste of food and e-waste to produce something really precious,” Peydayesh says.
Wednesday, March 06, 2024
21ST CENTURY ALCHEMY
Healable cathode could unlock potential of solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries
CREDIT: DAVID BAILLOT/UC SAN DIEGO JACOBS SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
Researchers have moved one step closer to making solid-state batteries from lithium and sulfur a practical reality. A team led by engineers at the University of California San Diego developed a new cathode material for solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries that is electrically conductive and structurally healable—features that overcome the limitations of these batteries’ current cathodes.
The work was published in the journal Nature on March 6.
Solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries are a type of rechargeable battery consisting of a solid electrolyte, an anode made of lithium metal and a cathode made of sulfur. These batteries hold promise as a superior alternative to current lithium-ion batteries as they offer increased energy density and lower costs. They have the potential to store up to twice as much energy per kilogram as conventional lithium-ion batteries—in other words, they could double the range of electric vehicles without increasing the battery pack’s weight. Additionally, the use of abundant, easily sourced materials makes them an economically viable and environmentally friendlier choice.
However, the development of lithium-sulfur solid-state batteries has been historically plagued by the inherent characteristics of sulfur cathodes. Not only is sulfur a poor electron conductor, but sulfur cathodes also experience significant expansion and contraction during charging and discharging, leading to structural damage and decreased contact with the solid electrolyte. These issues collectively diminish the cathode’s ability to transfer charge, compromising the overall performance and longevity of the solid-state battery.
To overcome these challenges, a team led by researchers at the UC San Diego Sustainable Power and Energy Center developed a new cathode material: a crystal composed of sulfur and iodine. By inserting iodine molecules into the crystalline sulfur structure, the researchers drastically increased the cathode material’s electrical conductivity by 11 orders of magnitude, making it 100 billion times more conductive than crystals made of sulfur alone.
“We are very excited about the discovery of this new material,” said study co-senior author Ping Liu, a professor of nanoengineering and director of the Sustainable Power and Energy Center at UC San Diego. “The drastic increase in electrical conductivity in sulfur is a surprise and scientifically very interesting.”
Moreover, the new crystal material possesses a low melting point of 65 degrees Celsius (149 degrees Fahrenheit), which is lower than the temperature of a hot mug of coffee. This means that the cathode can be easily re-melted after the battery is charged to repair the damaged interfaces from cycling. This is an important feature to address the cumulative damage that occurs at the solid-solid interface between the cathode and electrolyte during repeated charging and discharging.
“This sulfur-iodide cathode presents a unique concept for managing some of the main impediments to commercialization of Li-S batteries,” said study co-senior author Shyue Ping Ong, a professor of nanoengineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. “Iodine disrupts the intermolecular bonds holding sulfur molecules together by just the right amount to lower its melting point to the Goldilocks zone—above room temperature yet low enough for the cathode to be periodically re-healed via melting.”
“The low melting point of our new cathode material makes repairing the interfaces possible, a long sought-after solution for these batteries,” said study co-first author Jianbin Zhou, a former nanoengineering postdoctoral researcher from Liu’s research group. “This new material is an enabling solution for future high energy density solid-state batteries".
To validate the effectiveness of the new cathode material, the researchers constructed a test battery and subjected it to repeated charge and discharge cycles. The battery remained stable for over 400 cycles while retaining 87 percent of its capacity.
“This discovery has the potential to solve one of the biggest challenges to the introduction of solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries by dramatically increasing the useful life of a battery,” said study co-author Christopher Brooks, chief scientist at Honda Research Institute USA, Inc. “The ability for a battery to self-heal simply by raising the temperature could significantly extend the total battery life cycle, creating a potential pathway toward real-world application of solid-state batteries.”
The team is working to further advance the solid-state lithium-sulfur battery technology by improving cell engineering designs and scaling up the cell format.
“While much remains to be done to deliver a viable solid state battery, our work is a significant step,” said Liu. “This work was made possible thanks to great collaborations between our teams at UC San Diego and our research partners at national labs, academia and industry.”
Paper title: “Healable and Conductive Sulfur Iodide for Solid-State Li-S Batteries.” Co-authors include Jianbin Zhou*, Manas Likhit Holedevi Chandrappa*, Shen Wang, Haodong Liu, Sicen Yu, Gayea Hyun, John Holoubek, Junghwa Hong, Yuxuan Xiao, Charles Soulen and Eric E. Fullerton, UC San Diego; Sha Tan and Enyuan Hu, Brookhaven National Laboratory; Chaoshan Wu, Zheng Fan and Yan Yao, University of Houston; Howie Nguyen and Raphaele J. Clement, UC Santa Barbara; Canhui Wang and Chao Wang, Johns Hopkins University; Quin R. S. Miller, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; and Christopher J. Brooks, Honda Research Institute USA.
*These authors contributed equally to this work
This work was supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (DE-AR0000781), the U.S. DOE Office of Science (DEAC02-05-CH11231).
Disclosures: Ping Liu and Jianbin Zhou report a U.S. provisional patent application filed on February 13, 2023, Serial No. _63/484,659, based on this work.
The cathode material heals by melting from a brown powder to a deep purple-red liquid.
CREDIT
David Baillot/UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering
Transforming base materials into gold was one of the elusive goals of the alchemists of yore. Now Professor Raffaele Mezzenga from the Department of Health Sciences and Technology at ETH Zurich has accomplished something in that vein. He has not of course transformed another chemical element into gold, as the alchemists sought to do. But he has managed to recover gold from electronic waste using a byproduct of the cheesemaking process.
Electronic waste contains a variety of valuable metals, including copper, cobalt, and even significant amounts of gold. Recovering this gold from disused smartphones and computers is an attractive proposition in view of the rising demand for the precious metal. However, the recovery methods devised to date are energy-intensive and often require the use of highly toxic chemicals. Now, a group led by ETH Professor Mezzenga has come up with a very efficient, cost-effective, and above all far more sustainable method: with a sponge made from a protein matrix, the researchers have successfully extracted gold from electronic waste.
Selective gold adsorption
To manufacture the sponge, Mohammad Peydayesh, a senior scientist in Mezzenga’s Group, and his colleagues denatured whey proteins under acidic conditions and high temperatures, so that they aggregated into protein nanofibrils in a gel. The scientists then dried the gel, creating a sponge out of these protein fibrils.
To recover gold in the laboratory experiment, the team salvaged the electronic motherboards from 20 old computer motherboards and extracted the metal parts. They dissolved these parts in an acid bath so as to ionise the metals.
When they placed the protein fibre sponge in the metal ion solution, the gold ions adhered to the protein fibres. Other metal ions can also adhere to the fibres, but gold ions do so much more efficiently. The researchers demonstrated this in their paper, which they have published in the journal Advanced Materials.
As the next step, the researchers heated the sponge. This reduced the gold ions into flakes, which the scientists subsequently melted down into a gold nugget. In this way, they obtained a nugget of around 450 milligrams out of the 20 computer motherboards. The nugget was 91 percent gold (the remainder being copper), which corresponds to 22 carats.
Economically viable
The new technology is commercially viable, as Mezzenga’s calculations show: procurement costs for the source materials added to the energy costs for the entire process are 50 times lower than the value of the gold that can be recovered.
Next, the researchers want to develop the technology to ready it for the market. Although electronic waste is the most promising starting product from which they want to extract gold, there are other possible sources. These include industrial waste from microchip manufacturing or from gold-plating processes. In addition, the scientists plan to investigate whether they can manufacture the protein fibril sponges out of other protein-rich byproducts or waste products from the food industry.
“The fact I love the most is that we’re using a food industry byproduct to obtain gold from electronic waste,” Mezzenga says. In a very real sense, he observes, the method transforms two waste products into gold. “You can’t get much more sustainable than that!”
Recycling facilities collect glass and mercury from thrown away fluorescent bulbs, but discarded lighting could also supply rare-earth metals for reuse. The 17 metals referred to as rare earths aren’t all widely available and aren’t easily extracted with existing recycling methods. Now, researchers have found a simpler way to collect slightly magnetic particles that contain rare-earth metals from spent fluorescent bulbs. The team describes its proof-of-concept magnetized chromatography method in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.
Many modern technologies, such as electric vehicles and microchips, use rare earths because of their unique magnetic, electrical and optical characteristics. However, only a handful of countries have untapped deposits of these metals. Large-scale rare-earth recycling from outdated, broken devices is challenging because the metals are integrated into different components and are present only in small amounts. In discarded fluorescent lighting, mixtures of rare-earth-based phosphors, the substances that contribute to a light’s color, are found in a thin coating inside the bulb. So, Laura Kuger, Matthias Franzreb and colleagues wanted to develop a low-tech method to easily collect these phosphors by taking advantage of the elements’ weak magnetic properties.
The researchers used a wire coil to externally apply a magnetic field to a glass chromatography column filled with stacked disks of stainless-steel mesh. They then prepared a demonstration sample to pass through the column to see if it could capture the phosphors. First, the researchers obtained three different weakly magnetic rare-earth phosphors from a lamp manufacturer. Next, the team mimicked old fluorescent lamp parts by mixing the phosphor particles in a liquid solution with nonmagnetic silica oxide and strongly magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, representing glass and metal components in the bulbs, respectively. Then, when the liquid was injected and flowed through the chromatography column, the phosphors and iron oxide nanoparticles stuck to the magnetized stainless-steel mesh, while the water and silica particles flowed out the other end.
To remove the phosphors from the column, the researchers slowly reduced the strength of the external magnetic field while rinsing the column with liquid. Finally, the strongly magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles were released from the column when the magnetic field was turned off. The researchers observed that their method recovered 93% of the rare-earth phosphors from the initial mixture that mimicked lamp components. While more work is needed to separate individual rare-earth elements from the phosphors and to scale the method for industrial recycling applications, Kuger, Franzreb and colleagues say their approach is a step toward a practical way to turn old light bulbs into new technologies for a brighter and more sustainable future.
The authors acknowledge funding from the German Research Foundation.
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“Design of a Magnetic Field-Controlled Chromatography Process for Efficient and Selective Fractionation of Rare Earth Phosphors from End-of-Life Fluorescent Lamps”
Mining the treasures locked away in produced water
In an ironic twist, a treasure trove of critical minerals is dumped out with water considered too polluted and expensive to clean.
Texas A&M University researcher Dr. Hamidreza Samouei is investigating the components of produced water and says this waste byproduct of oil and gas operations contains nearly every element in the periodic table, including those of significant interest to national economies.
His goal is to treat the water using unwanted carbon dioxide (CO2) in stages to recover these valuable elements and ultimately produce fresh water for agricultural use once the processes are complete.
“Recognizing the latent value within produced water can offer tangible solutions to some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges, from CO2 emissions to the increasing scarcity of certain minerals and water itself,” said Samouei, a research assistant professor in the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering.
Samouei’s “brine mining” research was featured in a January 2024 article in the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Journal of Petroleum Technology titled “Liquid Goldmine: unlocking the Critical Mineral Potential of Produced Water using Carbon Dioxide.” He introduced the topic at the Middle East Water Week Conference and Exhibition held December 2023 in Saudi Arabia and will report his most recent discoveries at the Annual Produced Water Society Conference on February 2024 in Houston, Texas.
Why is produced water thrown away?
Water accumulates in subsurface areas where geological functions happen, like hydrocarbon reservoirs, and it dissolves and stores vast quantities of minerals and other elements. During oil and gas operations, an average of six 42-gallon barrels of this “produced” water are recovered for every one barrel of oil, and in rare cases, up to a staggering ratio of 500 to 1. It is up to 10 times saltier than seawater and contains about 6,000 times more minerals.
In 2020, the annual global quantity of produced water recovered from oil and gas operations surpassed 240 billion barrels, with Texas alone recovering 33 million barrels daily. The oilfields of the Permian Basin in Texas generate more produced water than all other U.S. shale plays combined. Treating this vast volume is cost-prohibitive, so produced water is mainly considered a waste product and injected in subsurface disposal fields for safe containment.
The hidden values in brine
Since everything in produced water has never been cataloged, Samouei’s research began with the basics. He collected produced water samples around the U.S. and created a standardized method of analyzing the water’s content. That’s when he learned it contained nearly everything listed in the periodic table of elements.
Samouei’s findings included critical minerals like lithium, rubidium, cesium, gallium and platinum group metals – substances fundamental to the current and future technologies advancing computer, energy and transportation industries. More importantly, like other brines, produced water featured less expensive but abundant quantities of sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium – used in manufacturing processes, fertilizer production and other industries.
All these minerals can be far more lucrative than the oil that comes up with produced water, so water reclamation costs could be easily offset by selling the recovered minerals.
A better treatment
Samouei explained that while desalinating produced water has been considered, the approach of first mining all the salt and minerals before treating the water had not been explored.
Much of his current research centers on developing the best flow of methods for extracting valuable minerals from brine in stages of refinement using CO2 desalination, which he says is “a groundbreaking approach to targeted mineral recovery from produced water.” The process includes a variety of filtration techniques, such as ultrafiltration and nanofiltration, and even utilizes reverse osmosis.
Commercialization potential
The research is creating a baseline for brine mining, whether using produced water or other brackish sources, but Samouei said further development would need a funding source. Government sponsors are concentrating on critical mineral mining in places such as the sea floor or even asteroids, not on something as close to home as produced water.
Samouei said he hopes to change the oil and gas industry's view of produced water, first to see it as a lucrative means of receiving money and later, perhaps in 10 years, as a source for their own mining operations.
“Produced water may not be beautiful if we look at it as a waste,” he said, “but it will be impactful to the world’s next generations if we look at it as a resource.”
Once produced water is separated from oil, the intended process involves a brine mining process to recover critical minerals and other elements before the water is cleaned for specific agriculture operations or for use in fracturing operations to recover more oil.
CREDIT
Texas A&M Engineering
JOURNAL
Journal of Petroleum Technology
ARTICLE TITLE
Liquid Goldmine: Unlocking the Critical Mineral Potential of Produced Water Using Carbon Dioxide
