Category: ANSTO

Sunlight gives biodiesel by-product a second life as hydrogen and valuable chemicals

Sunlight gives biodiesel by-product a second life as hydrogen and valuable chemicals

  • Sunlight can covert glycerol, a low value product of biodiesel production into hydrogen and higher value chemicals
  • A photocatalyst based on zinc indium sulfide, modified with very small amounts of nickel and cobalt, increased the hydrogen evolution rate and the production of glyceraldehyde and dihydroxyacetone
  • The research team used X-ray absorption spectroscopy and infrared microspectroscopy at the Australian Synchrotron to observe the catalytic reactions in real time

Australian researchers and international collaborators have demonstrated a solar-driven approach to convert glycerol, a low-value by-product of biodiesel production, into hydrogen and higher-value chemicals. Using advanced techniques at Australian Synchrotron, they revealed how the catalyst changes while it was working.

The study, led by researchers at the University of New South Wales, investigated a process known as photoreforming, in which light energy is used to drive chemical reactions to simultaneously produce hydrogen and transform organic feedstocks into useful products. The research was published in Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energy.

Glycerol is produced in large quantities by the growing biodiesel industry, with approximately 100 kilograms generated for every tonne of biodiesel. Crude glycerol can be worth as little as US$0.11 per kilogram.  Chemicals can be produced from it, such as glyceraldehyde and dihydroxyacetone, which have applications in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, valued at approximately US$75 and US$150 per kilogram, respectively.

Dr Denny Gunawan from UNSW said the opportunity was to use sunlight not only to produce hydrogen, but also to extract greater value from an existing industrial by-product.

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Image: Experimental setup at the X-ray absorption spectroscopy beamline at the Australian Synchrotron

Compound with the potential to treat drug-resistant HIV identified

Compound with the potential to treat drug-resistant HIV identified

  • A new compound has showed strong anti-viral activity against HIV, including some drug-resistant variants
  • The HIV virus that causes AIDS remains a major global health challenge
  • The team used MX2 beamline to determine how the compound IC-2i bound to the HIV protein shell

A large international team has developed a new compound that showed strong anti-viral activity against HIV, including some drug-resistant variants.

Despite major advances in HIV treatment, lifelong therapy is still required because the virus cannot be completely eradicated, creating a need for safer and more effective drugs that can overcome drug resistance.

In research reported in the journal MedComm earlier this year, investigators combined and refined useful parts of previously studied HIV inhibitors to create smaller, more stable compounds that bind an additional, less mutation-prone region of the HIV capsid, or protein shell.

The HIV-1 capsid (CA) has been validated as an antiviral target that plays critical roles in both the early and late stages of the viral life cycle.

To understand why the new compound IC-2i was effective, they used the Microfocus crystallography (MX2) beamline at the Australian Synchrotron. MX2 can reveal the structure of biological molecules at atomic resolution.

Using MX2, the team determined how IC-2i bound to the HIV capsid. The data revealed the interactions that help the drug bind to its target and provided insights into how future HIV medicines could be designed to address resistance.

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Image: 2D view of binding mode for IC-2i and distance between residues, water and ligand. Water were shown in light blue round without hydrogen

Credit: Reprinted under Creative Commons license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

ANSTO scientists help refine estimates of global methane emissions

ANSTO scientists help refine estimates of global methane emissions

A groundbreaking international study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres has provided new insights into global fossil methane emissions, using innovative multi-isotopic atmospheric measurements.  

Principal Accelerator Scientist Dr Andrew Smith, a co-author who has investigated methane emissions for over two decades with A/Prof Vasilii Petrenko and others, contributed significantly to this collaborative research, which has improved the accuracy of greenhouse gas emission estimates and support more effective global climate mitigation efforts. 
 

The study, led by Dr Ryo Fujita of the Imperial College London and the Japanese Meteorological Research Institute in Tsukuba, used advanced isotopic analysis, including radiocarbon and stable isotopes of carbon and hydrogen, to accurately distinguish between different methane emission sources. This research is the first research to integrate multiple isotopic datasets to precisely quantify global methane emissions from fossil fuels, biogenic, geologic, and biomass burning sources across the historical timeframe from 1750 to 2015. 

One key finding of the study was that global fossil methane emissions are about 130 teragrams per year for the period 2003–2012, which closely matches the Global Carbon Project estimates, a network of scientists and institutions investigating greenhouse gases. To put this into perspective, a teragram is one trillion grams, approximately equivalent to the mass of water in 400 Olympic-sized swimming pools.  
 

Importantly, the study contradicts earlier claims of significantly underestimated fossil methane emissions, bringing clarity to previously conflicting scientific assessments. 

Dr. Smith highlighted the importance of multi-isotopic measurements for resolving uncertainties in methane emission inventories. “This study demonstrates that combining multiple isotopic constraints significantly reduces uncertainties in methane emission estimates. Such precise data are crucial for effective climate policy and mitigation strategies,” he said. 

ANSTO’s Centre for Accelerator Science, a world leader in extracting and accurately measuring radiocarbon from minuscule carbon samples.  This intricate process requires the identification and counting of individual atoms through accelerator mass spectrometry.  

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