New Material Could Power Buildings from Daily Vibrations

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This Week’s Top 5 News Articles

🔋 New Material Could Power Buildings from Daily Traffic Vibrations

👚 Microwave Radiation Aims to Recover Propylene from Plastic Waste

♻️ Game-Changing Technology Allows Reuse of Plastic Without Quality Loss

🧱 Cement Giants Invest $75 Million in Cutting Carbon Emissions by 90%

🚘 New Mercedes Plant Achieves 96% Battery Material Recovery for EVs

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New Material Could Power Buildings from Daily Traffic Vibrations LINK

• Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) developed a lead-free material that generates electricity from pressure or vibrations, using the piezoelectric effect. This makes it environmentally safer than existing piezoelectric materials.

• The material, made from chalcogenide perovskite, could be used in various applications, such as under highways or in buildings, to convert mechanical energy into electricity, offering potential for green energy solutions.

• The RPI team plans to use AI to explore stronger piezoelectric compounds, aiming to scale up the technology for significant contributions to sustainable energy production.

Microwave Radiation Aims to Recover Propylene from Plastic Waste LINK

• Researchers at West Virginia University are developing microwave technology to recover propylene from polypropylene, one of the most common plastics with a low recovery rate of just 1%. This innovation could significantly improve recycling rates for polypropylene.

• The microwave process enables precise heating of a catalyst to convert polypropylene back into propylene at lower temperatures (300°C vs. 600-700°C in traditional methods), offering a more energy-efficient and cost-effective alternative to conventional recycling methods like pyrolysis.

• This technology could significantly reduce plastic waste and improve the sustainability of products made from polypropylene, which is found in everything from packaging to automotive parts.

Game-Changing Technology Allows Reuse of Plastic Without Quality Loss LINK 

• ETH Zurich researchers have developed a chemical recycling process to break down plastics, like polyethylene and polypropylene, into their fundamental building blocks, allowing for high-quality recycling without deterioration.

• The process uses hydrogen gas and ruthenium as a catalyst in a steel tank, avoiding harmful byproducts like methane, and yields liquid fuels or lubricants, giving plastics a second life as products like petrol or jet fuel.

• Their method includes a precise stirring technique to ensure even mixing, optimizing the recycling process for scalability and paving the way for more efficient plastic recycling in the future.

Cement Giants Invest $75 Million in Cutting Carbon Emissions by 90% LINK 

• Major cement producers Holcim and CRH have invested $75 million in Sublime Systems, a startup developing a low-carbon, fully electrified cement-making process that could reduce carbon emissions by 90%.

• Sublime’s green cement, set to be produced in its first commercial plant by 2026, aims to offer a sustainable alternative to traditional cement production, which is responsible for about 8% of global carbon emissions.

• The investment, alongside Sublime’s partnership with Holcim, aims to scale up green cement production, with potential widespread use across the global cement industry to meet sustainability goals.

New Mercedes Plant Achieves 96% Battery Material Recovery for EVs LINK

• Mercedes-Benz has opened Europe's first in-house battery recycling plant in Kuppenheim, Germany, capable of recovering over 96% of battery materials like lithium, nickel, and cobalt for future EV production.

• The plant uses an energy-efficient hydrometallurgical process to handle all recycling stages, including recovering valuable metals from the "black mass" of battery electrodes. It operates with net carbon neutrality, supported by a rooftop solar system.

• Partnering with Primobius, Mercedes aims to scale up production from an initial 2,500 tonnes annually, with the potential to produce over 50,000 battery modules for new electric models.

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