p o l l u t a n t s

Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is a chemical that is very often used in some shampoos, soaps, toothpaste, and detergents as a foaming agent and its ability to remove oils. Many studies have shown that SLS not only can irritate human skin and eyes, but it can harm aquatic animals when it is washed down the drain as household waste water.

Development of a novel electrochemical sensor based on electropolymerized molecularly imprinted polymer for selective detection of sodium lauryl sulfate in environmental waters and cosmetic products. Motia et al. 2018.

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Paint Waste Sludge (PWS) is actually one of the highest sources of pollution created by the automobile industry. Previously, there has been no way to safely neutralize this waste, but a recent paper mixed it with clay to be used as a raw material for bricks and tiles.

Manufacturing of sustainable ceramics with improved mechanical properties from hazardous car paint waste to prevent environment pollution. Mymrin et al. 2019.

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When a landfill is filled to the brim, it is covered with plastic, gravel, dirt, and planted with grass. The space can then be treated like a park. However, the trash is still decomposing underneath, which produces gases associated with climate change. Scientists measured how much gas was able to escape from these landfill parks (in bare soil and grass grown for 6, 15, and 24 months). Their results showed that the gases were able to escape at much higher rates after the grass became more mature.

Long-term effects of grass roots on gas permeability in unsaturated simulated landfill covers. J.J. Ni and C.W.W. Ng. 2019.