environmental-chemistry

Plants produce flavonoids-bioactive compounds with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and osteoprotective properties-through complex modification pathways.

For its contribution to Sustainable Chemistry, Without – then operating under the name Without by Ashaya – was recognised by the International Sustainable Chemistry Collaborative Centre (ISC3) as Start-up of the Month in May 2023. Since then, the Indian company has evolved significantly and expanded...

Nature Communications, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77447-7 Using Hi-C metagenomics, this study maps how plasmids associate with bacterial hosts across wastewater treatment. They find that plasmid host range narrows from influent to effluent, and a few bacterial families act as persistent plasmid reservoir.

Biologists studying how bacteria break down a new generation of plant-based bioplastics -- long-chain aliphatic polyesters -- have discovered an enzyme that can dismantle both plastic and antibiotics. The post Scientists Discover Soil Bacteria Enzyme that Breaks Down Both Plastic and Antibiotics appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News .

Black liquor, the alkaline effluent of kraft pulping, is one of the largest underutilized sources of technical lignin globally. This chemically valuable aromatic biopolymer is predominantly incinerated for energy recovery, foregoing the considerable chemical value embedded in lignin’s aromatic backbone and reactive functional groups. Conventional lignin isolation via acid precipitation is constra…

Nature Sustainability, Published online: 28 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41893-026-01928-2 Resource recovery from alcohol-laden wastewater remains challenging due to intrinsic limitations of current treatment technologies. This study introduces a membrane-free electrochemical system that safely and efficiently upcycles alcohol wastewater into valuable chemicals and hydrogen.

Nature Sustainability, Published online: 25 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41893-026-01922-8 Directly converting captured carbon dioxide into fuels and chemicals could make carbon capture more efficient by avoiding energy-intensive solvent regeneration. This Review discusses the reaction pathways, key challenges and strategies for achieving high carbon conversion.

A metal surface that becomes more active as it changes could help green hydrogen electrolyzers run harder and longer. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed an electrode that combines five metals in a high-entropy antiperovskite structure. Supported on porous nickel foam, the material helped an anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyzer sustain industrially [...]

The wide-ranging applications of MOFs from materials science, to space-craft technology, and bioengineering

A giant cloud hidden near the heart of the Milky Way has just revealed a surprising chemical mystery. What scientists found inside could change how they see these distant regions of space.

Nature Communications, Published online: 05 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77247-z Toxic arsenic, antimony and selenium in groundwater are mineralized inside lattice-modified iron nanoparticles with a 98-fold greater stability during long-term aging in groundwater, offering an economic in-situ remediation strategy.

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a fundamental advance that could potentially make metal recovery cleaner, simpler and more energy efficient.

Lignocellulosic biomass remains underutilized in anaerobic digestion (AD) due to its recalcitrant structure and limited microbial accessibility. This study investigated the combined effect of dilute-acid pretreatment and Fe3O4 nanoparticle supplementation on biogas production from wheat straw co-digested with cow dung. Wheat straw was pretreated with 1%–4% H2SO4, resulting in notable compositiona…

Nature Communications, Published online: 04 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77253-1 A redox cascade strategy converts waste chloride into reactive chlorine species during electrocatalytic treatment, achieving complete mineralization of toxic chlorinated pollutants.