Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Zeolite-Assisted Pyrolysis of Polystyrene: Material Selection and Mechanistic Insights.

Polystyrene (PS) presents a significant environmental challenge due to its durability and resistance to degradation. A major issue in addressing this challenge is optimizing the pyrolysis process to selectively convert PS into valuable products, such as styrene, while minimizing unwanted byproducts. Existing studies on PS pyrolysis have primarily focused on general reaction yields and kinetics, with limited molecular-level insight into how zeolites can enhance product selectivity.

The effect of forest composition on outdoor recreation.

Climate change will shift the composition of northern Minnesota forests from boreal to temperate by the end of the century. This shift in forest composition will likely affect outdoor recreation, a valuable ecosystem service and a key economic driver for the region. In this context, the objective of our paper is to empirically examine the relationship between forest composition and recreation.

Understanding Rapid PET Degradation via Reactive Molecular Dynamics Simulation and Kinetic Modeling.

As the demand for PET plastic products continues to grow, developing effective processes to reduce their pollution is of critical importance. Pyrolysis, a promising technology to produce lighter and recyclable components from wasted plastic products, has therefore received considerable attention. In this work, the rapid pyrolysis of PET was studied by using reactive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.

Techno-economic and life cycle analysis of circular phosphorus systems in agriculture.

Fertilizer runoff is a global nuisance that disrupts biogeochemical cycles of nitrogen and phosphorus. We perform techno-economic and life cycle analyses of selected approaches for enabling a circular economy of phosphorus. We consider four schemes: capturing P with ion-exchange resins followed by precipitation, interception by wetland and recovery in char after biomass pyrolysis, removal by bioreactor and recovery in char after bioreactor substrate pyrolysis, and using legacy phosphorus accumulated in a saturated wetland to grow crops by wetlaculture.