Chemicals

This technology enables post-consumer Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste to be transformed into a reusable material platform that delivers high-performance adhesives, reprocessable vitrimer materials, and fiber-reinforced composites.

The method disclosed here enable continuous uniform, structured, amorphous carbon material formation with embedded monitoring capability. It changes traditional method of using a closed pressurized unit for production in batch.  

Increasing use of copper (Cu) in high-performance materials in electronics, combined with geopolitical challenges in Cu production from mining, puts a lot of emphasis on the separation and recovery of Cu from LIBs black mass feedstock. 

We created a catalytic process that achieves 95+% dechlorination of PVC at 150 °C and delivers a yield of 5% H2 in just one hour. Our process does not require H2 co-feed, or solvents. Further, separation of dechlorinated PVC and LMPs is facile.

A commercially available and noble metal-free molten salt system was developed.

To meet the growing need for cost-effective industrial chemicals, Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed a method to enable a cellulose-degrading microorganism to produce 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDO), a valuable precursor for plastics, fuels, and other materials.

Efficient fueling for magnetically confined fusion power systems requires continuous recirculation of cryogenic fuel material.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed a neutral-ligand–based solvent extraction process for efficient rare earth element (REE) separation.

This invention describes a thermally stable and scalable organocatalyst for the chemical deconstruction of waste plastics, including polyesters, polycarbonates (PC), polyurethanes (PU), and polyamides (PA).

The invention teaches a method for separating uranium and the transuranic actinides neptunium, plutonium, and americium from nitric acid solutions by co-crystallization upon lowering the temperature from 60 C to 20 C or lower.