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CO₂-Assisted Grinding for Energy and Emissions Reduction
THE CHALLENGE
The mining industry faces a major business and sustainability challenge: the energy-intensive process of grinding ore to extract valuable minerals is consuming up to 4% of global electricity and nearly half of a mine’s on-site energy—driving up operational costs and carbon emissions. Traditional solutions like larger ball...
Published: 7/10/2025
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Inventor(s): Wencai Zhang, Xu Wang
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Technology Classifications > Environment/Green Tech, Technology Classifications > Energy
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Fractal Textured High Efficiency Solar Absorber Coatings
THE CHALLENGE
A major business challenge in advancing solar thermal technologies lies in developing cost-effective, durable coatings that can withstand extreme heat while maximizing efficiency. Current solar absorber materials—like traditional black oxides or multi-layer coatings—often fall short due to high infrared heat loss, poor durability...
Published: 7/3/2025
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Inventor(s): Ranga Pitchumani, Sibin Purayil
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Technology Classifications > Energy, Technology Classifications > Chemicals/Materials
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Sustainable Microwave-Assisted LIB Leaching
THE CHALLENGE
The growing use of lithium-ion batteries has intensified the need to efficiently extract valuable metals from spent batteries, yet existing recycling methods face major challenges. Traditional techniques such as pyrometallurgy require high energy inputs and often produce significant emissions, while conventional hydrometallurgical processes,...
Published: 6/25/2025
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Inventor(s): Wencai Zhang, Shiyu Li
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Technology Classifications > Energy, Technology Classifications > Environment/Green Tech
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All Temp. Rechargeable Solid State Lithium Batteries
THE CHALLENGE
The challenge in advancing lithium metal batteries lies in developing solid electrolytes that not only perform reliably but also meet market demands for safety, durability, and scalability. Current materials—such as liquid electrolytes and polymer gels—either pose serious safety risks like leakage and flammability or degrade...
Published: 6/25/2025
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Inventor(s): Louis Madsen, Feng Lin, Deyang Yu
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Technology Classifications > Energy
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Carbon Fiber with Uniform Pore Size
THE CHALLENGE
Carbon fibers are used in a wide range of industries and applications including composites, catalysis, sensing, energy conversions and storage and membrane filtration. One approach to make carbon fibers utilizes electrospinning of block copolymers. However, due to challenges associated with the technique, it can be difficult to produce...
Published: 6/30/2025
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Inventor(s): Guoliang Liu, Zhengping Zhou
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Technology Classifications > Chemicals/Materials, Technology Classifications > Engineering, Technology Classifications > Energy, Technology Classifications > Electronics
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Railroad Energy-Harvesting Tie for Powering and Charging Railway Applications
The proposed novel railroad energy-harvesting tie is capable of powering various trackside electrical and electronics equipment, including establishing remote charging stations for drones. The energy harvester tie (ETH) uses an electromagnetic generator that is coupled with an efficient motion transmission to convert the movement (kinetic energy) of...
Published: 4/4/2025
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Inventor(s): Yu Pan, Lei Zuo, Mehdi Ahmadian
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Technology Classifications > Engineering, Technology Classifications > Electronics, Technology Classifications > Energy
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Battery Electrode and Materials Recycling by Rapid High-temperature Heating
THE CHALLENGE
Recycling end-of-life Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) for second use applications is an effective strategy to secure the supply chain of battery materials. Current commercial LIB recycling methods, including hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical processes, primarily aim to recover the valuable metals such as Li, Co, Ni, and Mn from...
Published: 6/25/2025
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Inventor(s): Feng Lin, Lei Tao, Liangbing Hu, Xizheng Wang, Tangyuan Li
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Technology Classifications > Energy, Technology Classifications > Electronics
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Solid-infused Surfaces for Efficient Condensation
THE CHALLENGE
Thermoelectric power plants are significant water consumers, with estimates of up to 49% of total U.S. water use being attributed to them. As water resources become more precious due to climate change and population growth, steam condensation in power generation must adapt and become more efficient. Efficiency improvements to power plant...
Published: 6/26/2025
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Inventor(s): Ranga Pitchumani, Ryan Stoddard
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Technology Classifications > Chemicals/Materials, Technology Classifications > Energy
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Recovering Critical Elements from Acid Mine Drainage
THE CHALLENGE
The demand for certain elements, such as Manganese (Mn), Cobalt (Co), and Nickel (Ni), has surged in recent years due to the rapid growth of battery production for electric vehicles and utility-scale energy storage. The United States government has deemed Co, Ni, and Mn critical elements, primarily because of the country’s high...
Published: 6/26/2025
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Inventor(s): Wencai Zhang, Qi Li, Rick Honaker
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Technology Classifications > Energy, Technology Classifications > Mining and Recycling, Technology Classifications, Technology Classifications > Chemicals/Materials
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Molecular Cage for the Capture of Large Cations
THE CHALLENGE
Cesium-137 is a radioactive isotope which is a common fission product of nuclear reactors around the world. After nuclear accidents, Cs is easily spread throughout the environment via the air and is extremely difficult to remove from the environment due to water-solubility. High levels of exposure to Cs-137 can lead to death, while lower...
Published: 6/26/2025
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Inventor(s): Amanda Morris, Stefan Ilic, Ann May, Pavel Usov, Hannah Cornell, Bradley Gibbons
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Technology Classifications > Chemicals/Materials, Technology Classifications > Energy
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