Papers

An anthropocene-framed transdisciplinary dialog at the chemistry-energy nexus

Researchers analyzed key molecules at the chemistry-energy nexus, including carbon dioxide, hydrogen, methane, ammonia, and synthetic polymers, within the planetary boundary framework. The study suggests that the energy transition will require major shifts in how these molecules are produced and used, with implications for reducing plastic pollution and other environmental impacts tied to the chemical industry.

A brief review on models for birds exposed to chemicals

Not relevant to microplastics — this review covers pharmacokinetic and toxicological models used to assess the risks of pesticides and other chemicals to birds.

Elasto-plastic behavior of amorphous materials: a brief review

This materials science review discusses how disordered (amorphous) materials like metallic and silicate glasses deform plastically at the atomic scale, focusing on localized shear band formation. The term 'plasticity' here refers to material deformation behavior, not environmental plastic particles.

Mixing enthalpies of fluorinated precursors for textile industry in ionic liquids

Researchers applied the COSMO-SAC modelling approach to screen ionic liquids as solvents for removing PFAS fluorinated precursors from textiles, calculating infinite dilution activity coefficients to identify ionic liquids capable of dissolving two representative fluorinated precursors likely present in textile waste.

New Methodology to Evaluate the Rolling Contact Fatigue Performance of Bearing Steels With Surface Dents: Application to 32CrMoV13 (Nitrided) and M50 Steels

This engineering study developed a method to evaluate how surface dents affect rolling contact fatigue in bearing steels, using indentation testing and two-disk fatigue experiments to compare different steel alloys. This is an industrial engineering study with no relevance to environmental microplastics.

Impact of Ionic Liquids on the (bio)degradability of Poly(butylene succinate)/Poly(lactic acid) blends

Researchers tested the effects of ionic liquids as additives on the (bio)degradability of poly(butylene succinate)/poly(lactic acid) blends, which are bio-based polymer alternatives to conventional plastics. The findings contribute to understanding how to tune the degradation behavior of these promising sustainable materials.

Recent developments in ocean and coastal management