Plastic bottles turned into Parkinson’s medication

Edinburgh researchers develop an alternative to fossil-based raw materials in pharmaceutical manufacturing

18-Mar-2026 - A drug to treat Parkinson’s disease can be made from waste plastic bottles using a pioneering method, a study shows. The approach harnesses the power of bacteria to transform post-consumer plastic into L-DOPA, a frontline medication for the neurological disorder. It is the first time a natural, ...

Neste launches world's largest chemical plastic recycling plant

€111 million investment for high-quality feedstock for the plastics and chemicals industry

17-Mar-2026 - Neste has successfully commissioned its new upgrading facility for liquefied waste plastic (LWP) at its Porvoo refinery in Finland. This EUR 111 million investment marks a major milestone in the scale-up of chemical recycling, enabling the production of high-quality feedstock for the plastics and ...

Breadcrumbs replace fossil hydrogen in chemical production

A one-pot microbial formula, which uses live microbes, eliminates the need for fossil fuels in hydrogenation

04-Mar-2026 - The humble breadcrumb could hold the key to cutting out fossil fuels from one of the chemical industry’s most widely used reactions, according to a new study. Scientists have found a one-pot microbial formula that uses waste bread to replace fossil fuel-derived hydrogen in hydrogenation – a ...

From trash to climate tech

Rubber gloves find new life as carbon capturers materials

03-Mar-2026 - Every year, over 100 billion nitrile rubber gloves are produced. They are made from synthetic polymers—a material chemically related to plastic and derived from crude oil. The vast majority is used in the healthcare sector, and most are discarded after single use. This creates a massive amount of ...

From litter to power: Turning cigarette butts into high-performance supercapacitors

Conversion of cigarette butts into carbon electrodes with exceptional long-term stability

05-Feb-2026 - By converting this hazardous waste into advanced nanoporous carbon electrodes, the researchers demonstrate that cigarette butts can serve as an unexpected yet highly effective resource for supercapacitors. The resulting devices exhibit high energy and power densities alongside exceptional ...

Scientists optimized wastewater use for green hydrogen production through artificial intelligence

30-Jan-2026 - Scientists from the Departments of Inorganic Chemistry and Chemical Engineering of the University of Malaga participate in an international collaboration which has optimized, through artificial intelligence, the process of producing bio-hydrogen from wastewater. It is a consortium involving ...

Turning garden and crop waste into plastics

New manufacturing processes for bioplastics

08-Jan-2026 - Turning green waste, hay and algae into fully biodegradable plastics for use in medical products, car components, insulation and packaging is the goal of a new Junior Research Group at the University of Oldenburg. Led by chemist Dr Melanie Walther, the team will combine eco-friendly and ...

Turning diaper waste into new value: BASF, Essity and TU Wien pioneer circular solutions

Breakthrough gasification pilot project proves recyclability of diaper waste and other absorbent hygiene products

12-Dec-2025 - BASF, manufacturer of superabsorbent polymers (SAP), and Essity, a hygiene and health company, joined forces together with the Technical University of Wien to revolutionize recycling of absorbent hygiene products (AHP). The groundbreaking gasification pilot project proves that used diapers and ...

Lignin becomes valuable amides

Researchers achieve sustainable breakthrough

04-Dec-2025 - An international research team from the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis (LIKAT) and several Chinese universities, led by Prof. Jagadeesh Rajenahally and Prof. Matthias Beller, has developed a novel, environmentally friendly process for producing high-quality amides from the plant substance lignin ...

Clean biogas - universally measurable

03-Dec-2025 - Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have developed a new analysis method that detects even the smallest amounts of critical impurities in biogas. Even small biogas plants can use the method without major investment - this promotes the energy transition. The market for biogas is ...