Dive Brief:

• Michael Wong, a chemical engineer from Rice University, has discovered that palladium-gold nanoparticles are excellent at cleaning up pollutants in water. A nanoparticle is a small particle that acts as an entire unit and as a bridge between materials and molecular structures. 
• Wong also found that the nanoparticles transformed a by-product from the production of biodiesel waste into useful chemicals.
• Acting as a catalyst, the palladium-gold nanoparticles fast-track the reaction process, resulting in a more efficient timeline.

Dive Insight:

Perhaps this process could be applied to biomass, potentially converting by-products from trash, wood residue and other organic and plant matter into a chemical commodity.