• HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
Thursday, March 4, 2021
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Biology

Synthesizing valuable chemicals from contaminated soil

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
January 29, 2021
in Biology
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Researchers of Mainz University use electrolysis to produce dichloro and dibromo compounds in a safer and more environmentally friendly manner; results published in Science

IMAGE

Credit: photo/©: Eric Lichtenscheidt

Scientists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and ETH Zurich have developed a process to produce commodity chemicals in a much less hazardous way than was previously possible. Such commodity chemicals represent the starting point for many mass-produced products in the chemical industry, such as plastics, dyes, and fertilizers, and are usually synthesized with the help of chlorine gas or bromine, both of which are extremely toxic and highly corrosive. In the current issue of Science, the researchers report that they have been able to utilize electrolysis, i.e., the application of an electric current, to obtain chemicals known as dichloro and dibromo compounds, which can then be used to synthesize commodity chemicals. “Chlorine gas and bromine are difficult to handle, especially for small laboratories, as they require strict safety procedures,” said Professor Siegfried Waldvogel, spokesperson for JGU’s cutting-edge SusInnoScience research initiative, which helped develop the new process. “Our method largely eliminates the need for safety measures because it does not require the use of chlorine gas or bromine. It also makes it easy to regulate the reaction in which the desired chemicals are synthesized by controlling the supply of electric current.”

According to Professor Siegfried Waldvogel, electrolysis can be used to obtain dichloro and dibromo compounds for example from solvents that would ordinarily be used to produce PVC. “This is even much simpler than synthesizing dichloro and dibromo products from chlorine gas or bromine, respectively.” The research team, he claims, has demonstrated that the novel process functions as intended for more than 60 different substrates. “The process can be used for molecules of different sizes and is thus broadly applicable. It is also easy to scale up, and we have already been able to employ it to transform larger quantities in the multi-gram range,” Waldvogel added. The chemist is particularly enthusiastic about the discovery that electrolysis can also be used to separate chlorine atoms from molecules of certain insecticides that have been banned, yielding the desired dichloro products. “There is virtually no natural degradation of such insecticides,” he pointed out. “They persist in the environment for extremely long periods and have now even been detected in the Arctic. Our process could help in eliminating such toxic substances and actually exploit them to our benefit in future.”

###

Media Contact
Professor Dr. Siegfried R. Waldvogel
[email protected]

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abf2974

Tags: Biomedical/Environmental/Chemical EngineeringChemistry/Physics/Materials SciencesEcology/EnvironmentGeology/SoilIndustrial Engineering/ChemistryPollution/Remediation
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

IMAGE

Air pollution fell sharply during lockdown

March 4, 2021
IMAGE

Gender assumptions harm progress on climate adaption and resilience

March 3, 2021

MDI Biological Laboratory receives funding to address arsenic threat

March 3, 2021

High end of climate sensitivity in new climate models seen as less plausible

March 3, 2021

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

POPULAR NEWS

  • IMAGE

    Terahertz accelerates beyond 5G towards 6G

    665 shares
    Share 266 Tweet 166
  • People living with HIV face premature heart disease and barriers to care

    83 shares
    Share 33 Tweet 21
  • Global analysis suggests COVID-19 is seasonal

    38 shares
    Share 15 Tweet 10
  • HIV: an innovative therapeutic breakthrough to optimize the immune system

    36 shares
    Share 14 Tweet 9

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Tags

Cell BiologyTechnology/Engineering/Computer SciencePublic HealthEcology/EnvironmentInfectious/Emerging DiseasescancerBiologyMedicine/HealthClimate ChangeGeneticsMaterialsChemistry/Physics/Materials Sciences

Recent Posts

  • Research contributes to understanding of hypersonic flow
  • New microcomb could help discover exoplanets and detect diseases
  • Purdue Research Foundation partners with IdentifySensors Biologics for COVID-19 technology
  • Air pollution fell sharply during lockdown
  • Contact Us

© 2019 Bioengineer.org - Biotechnology news by Science Magazine - Scienmag.

No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

© 2019 Bioengineer.org - Biotechnology news by Science Magazine - Scienmag.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In