cellulose

While we've seen quite a few filtration systems for making polluted water drinkable, many are quite complex, or utilize costly materials. By contrast, an experimental new setup simply requires users to inject dirty water through a layer of cellulose.

We may soon be finishing off a box of cereal and then eating the bag it came in. Researchers have turned to bacteria-produced cellulose to create a single-use packaging material that is sustainable, biodegradable and, what’s more, edible.

While we use around five trillion plastic bags every year, disposable alternatives aren't that much better. A group of scientists, however, want us to rethink the humble paper bag, making it super strong, durable and a handy source of biofuel.

Swedish e-mobility company Cake is looking cut back or cut out the plastic used in the manufacture of its electric motorcycles, and has partnered with PaperShell to evaluate the use of its natural fiber composite instead.

Along with its use in clothing, silk also shows promise for use in products ranging from surgical sutures to seed coverings. Scientists have recently devised a method of making the material stronger, by altering the diet of silkworms.

As a seedling matures into a tree, its trunk and branches become stiffer and stronger. Scientists have now replicated this effect in a photosynthesis-assisted 3D-printing ink, made partially from spinach.

By converting liquid salt water – or tainted water – into steam, it's possible to obtain pure, clean drinking water. Doing so could soon be cheaper and easier than ever, thanks to a newly developed material.

One-fifth the weight of steel but five times the strength, plant-based cellulose nanofiber (CNF) offers carmakers the opportunity to build strong, lightweight cars while sustainably removing as much as 2,000 kg of carbon from the car's life cycle.

​Wood is an established and versatile construction material, used to build everything from high-rises and airports to apartment buildings. It also, however, is not immune to catching fire. A new coating could help keep that from happening, and it's actually made from wood.

Aerogels are among the best thermal insulators, but their cloudy appearance doesn't work for windows, one of the worst offenders for letting heat escape a building. Now, researchers at Colorado University Boulder have found a way to make them transparent, recycling a beer by-product in the process.

Forget taxes on imports. If a new scientific development lives up to expectations, the real job creator for the US could lie in harnessing lignin waste. Scientists have found a way to make high quality carbon fiber from it, which could turn industrial discards into a major money spinner.​​​​

Engineers at MIT have developed a way to use plant cellulose as a feedstock for 3D printers, providing another renewable, biodegradable alternative to popular petroleum-based polymers like ABS currently being used. It could also be cheaper, stronger, and offer antimicrobial properties.