October_2021_AMP_Digital

A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | O C T O B E R 2 0 2 1 1 3 SUSTAINABILITY BRIEF EXTRACTING PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIALS Using common waste products, a research team from National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan created two com- posite piezoelectric materials. One is a new type of catalyst extracted from dis- carded rice husks and can treat indus- trial wastewater 90 times quicker than photocatalysts now in use. The scien- tists used the other material, extracted from discarded squid bones, to produce a self-sanitizing transparent film suit- able for use as a cover on mobile phone screens, elevator buttons, door han- dles, and more. The team’s catalyst material can be injected into a factory’s wastewater pipeline wherein the pressure generat- ed by the water flow helps to purify the pollution without needing any light, overcominga challenge facedby current photocatalysts. This new type of quartz composite piezoelectric material can also cope with the difficult-to-treat dyes present in wastewater produced by tex- tile factories. In addition to wastewater treatment, the researchers say, this material can be used to produce hydro- gen, which can be collected and used to generate energy. The material is also re- usable and biodegradable, providing a type of wastewater treatment which is inexpensive, convenient, effective, and environmentally friendly. The research team’s quartz composite material has already received patents in Taiwan and the United States. The second material, made by extracting chitin from squid bones, is another new composite piezoelectric material suitable for producing a trans- parent film which undergoes self-steril- ization whenever it’s touched, making it highly suitable as a screen cover for various items in public places. The chi- tin used to make this new material can also be extracted from shrimp shells, crab shells, and cuttlefish bones, and it can be further manufactured using bionic technology. Self-sterilizing films made from this new material could play a key role in fighting the spread of infectious diseases. nthu-en.site.nthu. edu.tw. PLASTICS FROM PINE SAP Researchers found a new way to source plastic from renewable resources. A team of sci- entists from Florida State University, Tallahassee, discovered a plastic ma- terial derived from pine sap, paving the way for other new sustainable materials de- velopment. The gateway discovery, according to the researchers, is a sig- nificant step in the right direction for new biobased materials. Alpha-pinene, the most abundant molecule produced from pine sap, is notoriously difficult to turn into plastics. It’s primarily found in turpentine-based cleaners and solvents. Lead researcher Mark Yaro- limek first synthetically modified the alpha-pinene to make the compound known as delta-pinene. “I put alpha-pinene through a series of chemical reactions, multiple purifications, and some trial and error, which eventually proved successful in converting it to delta-pinene,” explains Yarolimek. “Once we obtained purified liquiddelta-pinene, I converted that into the resultant plastic, poly-delta-pinene, through one final chemical reaction.” The team is also concerned with the chemical recyclability of these new materials. That may mean developing decomposition processes via a chemi- cal stimulus in the future. fsu.edu . Orion Engineered Carbons S.A., Houston, is working with RISE Research Institutes of Sweden to develop and produce renewable carbon black. The partners aim to replace traditional carbon black feedstock with pyrolysis oil from biomass oil. Orion plans to convert the biomass oil into carbon black using its small-scale furnace reactor in Germany and will then explore ways to scale up the process. orioncarbons.com . A new process converts tree sap into plastic. Courtesy of ACS Macro Lett. Mobile phone featuring a self-sanitizing cover produced from a material made by extracting chitin from squid bones. Courtesy of NTHU MSE, Taiwan.