Pub Date : 2025-12-09DOI: 10.1038/s44286-025-00321-8
Anthony P. Straub
Lithium purification demands precise separations that discriminate between ions. Membranes that leverage uphill ion transport and selective partitioning offer an unconventional route to extraordinary selectivity.
{"title":"Ion transport against the gradient","authors":"Anthony P. Straub","doi":"10.1038/s44286-025-00321-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-025-00321-8","url":null,"abstract":"Lithium purification demands precise separations that discriminate between ions. Membranes that leverage uphill ion transport and selective partitioning offer an unconventional route to extraordinary selectivity.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"2 12","pages":"728-729"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145772765","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-08DOI: 10.1038/s44286-025-00320-9
Ning Yan
The tenth Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis and fourth International Symposium on Single-Atom Catalysis convened more than 1,000 global participants in Singapore, spotlighting atomic-scale design, electrified processes and cross-disciplinary innovations for sustainable fuels, chemicals and materials.
{"title":"Catalyzing sustainability in the Asia-Pacific","authors":"Ning Yan","doi":"10.1038/s44286-025-00320-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-025-00320-9","url":null,"abstract":"The tenth Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis and fourth International Symposium on Single-Atom Catalysis convened more than 1,000 global participants in Singapore, spotlighting atomic-scale design, electrified processes and cross-disciplinary innovations for sustainable fuels, chemicals and materials.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"2 12","pages":"733-735"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145772779","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-05DOI: 10.1038/s44286-025-00314-7
Yanfei Zhu
Ding Ma is a professor at the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering at Peking University, China. One of his research focuses is the development of catalytic systems for C1 transformation processes, such as the Fischer–Tropsch process based on syngas conversion. Nature Chemical Engineering spoke to him about potential strategies to redesign this energy-intensive process into a low-carbon pathway to advance sustainable chemical manufacturing.
丁马，北京大学化学与分子工程学院教授。他的研究重点之一是C1转化过程的催化系统的开发，例如基于合成气转化的费托过程。《自然化学工程》（Nature Chemical Engineering）向他介绍了将这一能源密集型过程重新设计为低碳途径以推进可持续化学制造的潜在策略。
{"title":"Low-carbon strategies for Fischer–Tropsch processes","authors":"Yanfei Zhu","doi":"10.1038/s44286-025-00314-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-025-00314-7","url":null,"abstract":"Ding Ma is a professor at the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering at Peking University, China. One of his research focuses is the development of catalytic systems for C1 transformation processes, such as the Fischer–Tropsch process based on syngas conversion. Nature Chemical Engineering spoke to him about potential strategies to redesign this energy-intensive process into a low-carbon pathway to advance sustainable chemical manufacturing.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"2 12","pages":"716-718"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145772764","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-05DOI: 10.1038/s44286-025-00329-0
Thomas Dursch
{"title":"Taylor and Couette go with the Kolmogorov flow","authors":"Thomas Dursch","doi":"10.1038/s44286-025-00329-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-025-00329-0","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"3 1","pages":"6-6"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146049439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-03DOI: 10.1038/s44286-025-00312-9
Lisby Santiago-Pagán, Harsh Patel, David Kitto, Alexander Bentley, Jovan Kamcev
Efficient separation of lithium (Li+) and magnesium (Mg2+) is critical for enhancing sustainable lithium extraction from natural brines, which is vital for battery production and renewable energy technologies. Here we present a method for highly selective Li+/Mg2+ separation driven by concentration gradients across negatively charged membranes with high charge densities. In contrast to typical electric field-driven transport in negatively charged membranes, where divalent cations generally permeate faster than monovalent cations, Li+ ions in our system permeate the membrane at substantially higher rates than Mg2+ ions. This unexpected selectivity stems from the selective ion partitioning properties of the membrane and the uphill transport of Mg2+ ions against their external concentration gradient. We demonstrate the efficacy of this separation approach through bench-scale dialysis experiments using a model Atacama brine solution, achieving efficient separation of monovalent and divalent cations. The high separation efficiency observed in this study suggests a promising approach for monovalent/divalent ion separations, offering higher selectivity compared to current technologies. This study reports highly selective Li+Mg2+ separation via concentration gradient-driven transport using negatively charged membranes with high charge content. The separation mechanism involves selective partitioning of Li+ ions into the membrane and uphill transport of Mg2+ ions. Bench-scale diffusion dialysis experiments with model brine solutions demonstrate effective monovalent/divalent ion separation.
{"title":"Selective partitioning and uphill transport enable effective Li/Mg ion separation by negatively charged membranes","authors":"Lisby Santiago-Pagán, Harsh Patel, David Kitto, Alexander Bentley, Jovan Kamcev","doi":"10.1038/s44286-025-00312-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-025-00312-9","url":null,"abstract":"Efficient separation of lithium (Li+) and magnesium (Mg2+) is critical for enhancing sustainable lithium extraction from natural brines, which is vital for battery production and renewable energy technologies. Here we present a method for highly selective Li+/Mg2+ separation driven by concentration gradients across negatively charged membranes with high charge densities. In contrast to typical electric field-driven transport in negatively charged membranes, where divalent cations generally permeate faster than monovalent cations, Li+ ions in our system permeate the membrane at substantially higher rates than Mg2+ ions. This unexpected selectivity stems from the selective ion partitioning properties of the membrane and the uphill transport of Mg2+ ions against their external concentration gradient. We demonstrate the efficacy of this separation approach through bench-scale dialysis experiments using a model Atacama brine solution, achieving efficient separation of monovalent and divalent cations. The high separation efficiency observed in this study suggests a promising approach for monovalent/divalent ion separations, offering higher selectivity compared to current technologies. This study reports highly selective Li+Mg2+ separation via concentration gradient-driven transport using negatively charged membranes with high charge content. The separation mechanism involves selective partitioning of Li+ ions into the membrane and uphill transport of Mg2+ ions. Bench-scale diffusion dialysis experiments with model brine solutions demonstrate effective monovalent/divalent ion separation.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"2 12","pages":"747-759"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145772819","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-27DOI: 10.1038/s44286-025-00308-5
Dongha Kim, Shijie Liu, Tevin Devasagayam, Rui Kai Miao, Jiheon Kim, Hyeon Seok Lee, Yuxuan Gao, Kevin Golovin, Todd Scheidt, David Sinton
Direct air capture of CO2 is needed to mitigate past emissions and those of persistent and difficult-to-abate sources. Current liquid-sorbent-based direct air capture relies on large-scale air handling and coupled sorbent–solid chemical loops, but the complexity and cost of this approach are barriers to scaling. Here we report a departure from established capture mechanisms in which ultraconcentrated KOH solutions (>9 M) achieve rapid CO2-to-carbonate crystallization at the air interface. On the basis of this finding, we develop a carbonate crystallizer that leverages evaporation to concentrate KOH on a wicking substrate, enabling the stable, passive capture of atmospheric CO2 directly into a solid form. This approach achieves a capture flux over sixfold that of conventional systems, with regeneration demonstrated via a subsequent electrochemical step. A module with 100 such crystallizers achieved an average capture flux over threefold that of conventional contactors, with sustained operation over seven cycles and 25 days. This passive, single-chemical-loop approach has the potential to reduce capital and levelized costs by approximately 42% and 32%, respectively, compared with conventional liquid-based direct air capture systems. This work introduces a passive method for capturing CO2 directly in the solid form using a carbonate crystallizer. This system harnesses wind-driven evaporation to enable rapid CO2 capture and carbonate crystallization. This method provides a simplified and scalable alternative to conventional air contactors, which require substantial capital investments.
{"title":"Passive direct air capture via evaporative carbonate crystallization","authors":"Dongha Kim, Shijie Liu, Tevin Devasagayam, Rui Kai Miao, Jiheon Kim, Hyeon Seok Lee, Yuxuan Gao, Kevin Golovin, Todd Scheidt, David Sinton","doi":"10.1038/s44286-025-00308-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-025-00308-5","url":null,"abstract":"Direct air capture of CO2 is needed to mitigate past emissions and those of persistent and difficult-to-abate sources. Current liquid-sorbent-based direct air capture relies on large-scale air handling and coupled sorbent–solid chemical loops, but the complexity and cost of this approach are barriers to scaling. Here we report a departure from established capture mechanisms in which ultraconcentrated KOH solutions (>9 M) achieve rapid CO2-to-carbonate crystallization at the air interface. On the basis of this finding, we develop a carbonate crystallizer that leverages evaporation to concentrate KOH on a wicking substrate, enabling the stable, passive capture of atmospheric CO2 directly into a solid form. This approach achieves a capture flux over sixfold that of conventional systems, with regeneration demonstrated via a subsequent electrochemical step. A module with 100 such crystallizers achieved an average capture flux over threefold that of conventional contactors, with sustained operation over seven cycles and 25 days. This passive, single-chemical-loop approach has the potential to reduce capital and levelized costs by approximately 42% and 32%, respectively, compared with conventional liquid-based direct air capture systems. This work introduces a passive method for capturing CO2 directly in the solid form using a carbonate crystallizer. This system harnesses wind-driven evaporation to enable rapid CO2 capture and carbonate crystallization. This method provides a simplified and scalable alternative to conventional air contactors, which require substantial capital investments.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"2 12","pages":"736-746"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145772826","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-20DOI: 10.1038/s44286-025-00305-8
iAutoEvoLab is an industrial-grade automation platform for the growth-coupled, continuous evolution of proteins in yeast. Its high throughput, efficiency and effectiveness were demonstrated by the evolution of a DNA-binding protein (LmrA), a lactate sensor (LldR) and a RNA polymerase–capping enzyme fusion protein.
{"title":"iAutoEvoLab as an all-in-one laboratory for programmable protein evolution","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s44286-025-00305-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-025-00305-8","url":null,"abstract":"iAutoEvoLab is an industrial-grade automation platform for the growth-coupled, continuous evolution of proteins in yeast. Its high throughput, efficiency and effectiveness were demonstrated by the evolution of a DNA-binding protein (LmrA), a lactate sensor (LldR) and a RNA polymerase–capping enzyme fusion protein.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"2 11","pages":"670-671"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145561827","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-19DOI: 10.1038/s44286-025-00309-4
Yanfei Zhu
{"title":"Layered protection for pure-water electrolysis","authors":"Yanfei Zhu","doi":"10.1038/s44286-025-00309-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-025-00309-4","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"2 11","pages":"667-667"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145561836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-19DOI: 10.1038/s44286-025-00316-5
Mo Qiao
{"title":"Wastewater is a double threat","authors":"Mo Qiao","doi":"10.1038/s44286-025-00316-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-025-00316-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"2 11","pages":"669-669"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145561833","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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