In an earlier feature, we explored why energy benchmarking has remained such a persistent challenge under the EU Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), particularly for complex, multi-product pulp and paper mills. Now, we follow up with an in-depth interview with the lead contributor behind the methodology to unpack the thinking that shaped it—from its origins in EU BAT negotiations, to the practical decisions around subprocess definition, residual heat accounting, and real-world testing with operating mills.

In this conversation with Olof Åkesson, former Senior Technical Officer at Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, we discuss what it takes to design a calculation method that can be trusted by regulators and industry alike, how policy ambitions collide with measurement realities on site, and what must happen next for the approach to gain acceptance across Europe. You can also read more here.

The following interview is presented unedited to preserve the original responses and provide a clear, practitioner-level view of how this benchmarking framework was developed, refined, and positioned for future adoption.

Acknowledgment from Olof Åkesson: Special thanks to Elin Svensson, CIT Renergy, and her colleagues, for valuable help in developing the calculation method.

What motivated your team to develop a standardised calculation method for benchmarking energy performance across pulp and paper mills, and how did you identify the key barriers to cross-site comparison?

In 2013, I participated as a representative for Sweden in the EU’s technical working group to develop BAT conclusions for pulp and paper production. I have long seen energy use in general and industrial energy use in particular as a key issue for a sustainable society. For Sweden, the pulp and paper industry is of particular importance, as it accounts for almost half of industrial energy use. My view has also been that in order to evaluate how efficient an industry’s energy use is, calculating key figures is necessary to be able to compare these with other, similar operations.

As a basis for the BAT conclusions, data was collected from European industries, regarding, for example, emissions to air and water and use of raw materials and resources, including use of water and energy. Based on this data, BAT conclusions could be formulated, in the form of intervals within which an industry using best technology should be able to stay within. However, this did not prove possible in terms of energy use. The most important reason for this was that there was no standardized method for calculating energy use. How would the system boundaries be set? How would the allocation of energy use be made for industries with multiple product manufacturing? etc. It was far too unclear what the different data represented and for that reason it was not possible to evaluate the different data against each other and not possible to draw any conclusions about which energy use corresponded to the best available technology.

With this experience, I concluded that by the next time the BAT conclusions were to be revised, a calculation method must have been developed in good time that could be accepted and used by all EU Member States.

Could you walk us through how you broke down the production process into standardised subprocesses (e.g. pulp production, purchased pulp dissolution, drying, paper production) and why those were chosen?

The idea has been to divide production into as large a process section as possible. In principle, we have started from the points where a process begins and extend as far as possible to the point where the process flow divides. Everything that happens in between is included in the key figure. For example, the first step in a kraft pulp mill is covered by the wood intake and ends where the finished pump pulp is produced and stored in the pulp towers. After the pulp towers, there are different branches: some pulp can go on to be dried and sold as market pulp, other pulp can go to the company’s own paper machines. In order to obtain a comparable process step when calculating key figures, the calculation for pulp production must therefore end at the pulp towers. Similarly, the calculation of the key figure for paper production begins at the pulp tower and ends after the finished paper comes out of the paper machines. The drying process for market pulp is calculated separately, as is the dissolution of purchased pulp. This division makes it possible to compare, for example, pulp production at integrated mills with non-integrated mills; paper production at integrated mills with non-integrated mills, etc. This in turn provides a significantly larger number of comparable processes than if only entire mills were compared.

The calculation method also means that no distinction is made between different paths that mills may have taken to reach the same product. For example, a pulp with high brightness can be produced by cooking the pulp to a low kappa number and then only a lighter bleaching process is needed. Another mill may choose to stop cooking earlier and instead perform a more intensive bleaching. In the first case, energy consumption in the cooking plant is higher, in the second case in the bleaching plant. It would be misleading to compare energy consumption in the cooking plant and bleaching plant separately. With our method, where the different process steps are included in the same key figures, this is avoided.

How does your method incorporate the recovery of residual heat (e.g. surplus heat used in district heating or greenhouses) and why is that important for fair benchmarking?

In the calculation method, the mill is credited with the secondary heat that is delivered from the mill to other users. That is, the amount of secondary heat that is delivered externally is subtracted from the mill’s own heat consumption. More specifically, it is deducted from the process step where the secondary heat is extracted, which is usually from pulp production.

In this context, it should also be mentioned that when calculating key figures for fuel use, the mill is credited in the same way with such residual products that are delivered externally and that can be used for energy extraction. Examples of this are the sale of wood chips and tall oil.

If primary heat (steam, hot water) is supplied externally, e.g. to a nearby sawmill, the fuel consumption needed to produce this steam is deducted from the fuel consumption for the mill’s own heat needs.

All of this is important to take into account in order to fairly include how the mill is integrated with the rest of society through the use of residual flows and residual energy. Energy efficiency for an industry is therefore a broader concept than just its own energy consumption.

When you tested the method with actual mills, what kinds of variations in input data or operational practices surprised you, and how did you account for those in the model?

I probably can’t answer this question fully. In the first stage, we entered fictitious data. The main purpose was to see if the calculation process worked in purely computer terms.

Test calculations with real data were mainly done by the mills themselves. We then received feedback from the mills, which was consistently that the calculation method worked and gave reasonable results. However, we also received some comments that led us to make changes. One such change was that fuel used to produce steam for a condensing turbine was excluded from the fuel key figure, since this fuel consumption has no connection to the mill’s steam requirement. Another change was that we divided the key figure for electricity consumption into two separate ones. One included all electricity consumption, the other excluded electricity for the production of heat in steam boilers. This was to ensure that the varying operation of electric boilers depending on electricity prices would not misleadingly affect the electricity key figure for the operation of the pulp and paper production itself.

Another point of view we received was that the actual measurement of steam and electricity was not always designed to be able to allocate the consumption to the different process sections for which the key figures were to be calculated. This was not something we could take into account in the method itself, but was an observandum as a source of error. In order to get the best possible calculation results, the measurement points may need to be adjusted, but when this is not possible or reasonable, assessments of the distribution must be made by the mill itself based on the knowledge it has about the plant.

From a policy and industrial perspective, how do you see this method aiding compliance with the EU Industrial Emissions Directive and motivating energy-efficiency improvements?

In my opinion, the use of key performance indicators is the only reasonable method to assess and ensure that industry meets the objectives and requirements of the IED. With a fair and transparent calculation method, it should also provide motivation for industry to take action to demonstrate its improvement in energy efficiency with calculated key performance indicators.

What challenges remain in scaling this method beyond the Swedish industry, for example, dealing with differing feedstocks, mill configurations, or data availability in other countries?

Different types of wood (softwood and hardwood of different types) are not something that affects the calculation methodology itself. Regardless of which type of wood is used, the energy flows are the same. The differences in energy consumption that the type of wood may give are something that must be taken into account when evaluating the calculations. The calculation file provides space to specify this, as well as a number of additional production conditions, as metadata.

Within the calculation methodology developed so far, there are methods for calculating key figures for all the production variants that exist in Sweden, which is 12. The vast majority of mills in Europe should be able to fit into one of these variants. However, it is possible that there are some additional combinations. For such, it will be possible to create new variants to fit these.

Looking ahead, are you planning to apply or adapt the methodology for other energy-intensive sectors, and what steps will you take to embed the method into regular industry benchmarking systems?

I have now retired from my work at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, and personally do not actively participate in the continued work on developing and introducing the calculation method. What I know is underway is to work on the calculation procedure itself technically. Instead of 12 separate calculation variants, the intention is to create a common calculation method for all types of pulp and paper mills where the different variants of production composition are embedded as options in the common calculation method.

The big challenge ahead is to get the calculation accepted by the industry and other EU member states. This requires that more mills use it, try it out, test it and hopefully find that the method is up to the task. An important player is CEPI, the European forest industry’s cooperation organization. If CEPI supports the calculation method, it is a big step forward.

Although the method was originally developed to be used within the framework of IED, it can of course be used in many other contexts; energy surveys, sustainability reports, permit processes, etc. Whether this will happen depends on the ambitions of both authorities and companies.

The more calculations that are made with this standardized method, the better the basis for using the results and taking into account different production conditions. It is then possible to see what significance, for example, the type of wood, the brightness of the pulp, the basis weight of the paper, etc., have on the amount of energy consumption.

Hassan Ahmed

Hassan graduated with a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Chester (UK). He currently works as a design engineering consultant for one of the largest engineering firms in the world along with being an associate member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).

The post Standardising Energy Benchmarking in the Pulp and Paper Industry | An Interview with Olof Åkesson (Swedish Environmental Protection Agency) appeared first on Engineeringness.

You can see the full research paper here:

Ma, Y., You, Y., Wang, L., Yang, G., Qin, S., Su, Y., ... & Lei, W. (2025). Thin Film ANF/BN Composite Membranes for Efficient Organic Solvent Nanofiltration. Journal of Membrane Science, 124540.

Other representative articles from our group in related research areas:

Yang, G., Wang, L., Ma, Y., Yang, T., Han, Q., Chen, J., ... & Liu, D. (2025). Light-Induced Ion Transport and Energy Harvesting through Aramid Nanofiber-Functionalized Indium Selenide Nanochannels. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 13(38), 15839-15846.

Wang, L., Liu, D., Jiang, L., Ma, Y., Yang, G., Qian, Y., & Lei, W. (2022). Advanced 2D–2D heterostructures of transition metal dichalcogenides and nitrogen-rich nitrides for solar water generation. Nano Energy, 98, 107192.

Wang, Z., Zhang, P., Zhang, J., Tang, K., Cao, J., Yang, Z., Qin, S., Razal, J. M., Lei, W., Liu, D. (2024) Dendrite-Free Zinc Deposition Enabled by Mxene/Nylon Scaffold and Polydopamine Solid-Electrolyte Interphase for Flexible Zinc-Ion Batteries. Energy Storage Mater, 67, 103298.

Laghaei, M., Ghasemian, M., Lei, W., Kong, L., & Chao, Q. (2023). A review of boron nitride-based photocatalysts for carbon dioxide reduction. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 11(23), 11925-11963.

The interview also draws on the broader expertise of the RMIT team working across nanofluidics, photothermal materials, and BN scale-up, offering insight into how fundamental materials design translates into industrially relevant separation technologies. The primary research article discussed here—Thin Film ANF/BN Composite Membranes for Efficient Organic Solvent Nanofiltration—is available in the Journal of Membrane Science, alongside several related publications from the group.

The following interview is presented unedited to preserve the authors’ original responses and provide an unfiltered view of how the BN–ANF membranes were conceived, fabricated, characterised, and benchmarked, as well as how the team is addressing scale-up and real-world integration challenges.

What motivated your team to choose boron nitride nanofibers (BNNF) as the foundation for ultrathin separation membranes, and how did you identify their suitability for rapid chemical recovery?

Our motivation to explore boron nitride nanofibers (BNNF) originates from more than a decade of work in BN materials led jointly by Prof. Weiwei Lei and Prof. Dan Liu, who serve as the co-leaders of our research program. Prof. Lei pioneered scalable ball-milling strategies that convert bulk BN into high-quality two-dimensional nanosheets, establishing BN as a robust platform for chemically stable membranes. In parallel, Prof. Dan’s expertise in interfacial chemistry and hybrid material design helped define BN’s potential for mixed-dimensional assemblies and solvent-resistant functional materials.

However, despite BN’s exceptional thermal and chemical durability, conventional BN nanosheets are hydrophobic and brittle, preventing their integration into large-area, water-processable membranes. Earlier studies from our group revealed BN’s promise for ultrafast molecular transport, but its fragility limited engineering translation.

This is where Mr. Yuxi Ma, now in the final year of his PhD and representing the new generation of core researchers in our team, made a decisive contribution. Building on the dual-PI foundation, he conceptualised and executed the mixed-dimensional BN–ANF strategy that overcame BN’s long-standing bottlenecks.

Could you walk us through your synthesis and membrane-fabrication process for producing the ultrathin BNNF filters; from nanofiber preparation and alignment to layering, stabilisation, and performance optimisation?

Our fabrication process for the ultrathin BN–ANF composite membranes integrates our long-term expertise in BN exfoliation with a highly controlled aqueous assembly workflow developed in our laboratory. The synthesis involves four key stages: nanofiber/nanosheet preparation, dispersion engineering, thin-film formation, and structural stabilisation.

1. Preparation of BN nanosheets and ANFs

We first produce few-layer boron nitride nanosheets (BNNS) through an optimised ball-milling exfoliation route. This process not only reduces the BN particle size but also introduces mild surface functionalisation that enhances hydrophilicity—crucial for uniform dispersion.

In parallel, aramid nanofibers (ANFs) are generated by dissolving Kevlar fibers in a DMSO/KOH system, yielding highly stable and negatively charged nanofibers with excellent mechanical strength.

2. Dispersion and interface engineering

The BNNS and ANFs are then co-dispersed in a controlled ratio. This step, designed and executed by Yuxi Ma, ensures strong interfacial interactions: ANFs form a flexible 1D scaffold while BNNS contribute rigidity, solvent resistance, and controlled pore structure. Achieving homogeneous mixing is a critical aspect of the process, enabling defect-suppressed thin-film formation.

3. Thin-film formation and layering

The composite dispersion is filtered through a microporous support membrane under vacuum. During filtration, the ANFs self-assemble into an interconnected fibrous network while BNNS align horizontally within the matrix. This produces an ultrathin mixed-dimensional film with controllable thickness (typically ~1.1–1.3 μm), smooth surface morphology, and consistent pore distribution.

A large part of the membrane’s reproducibility and defect suppression came from Yuxi’s systematic optimisation of dispersion rheology, fibre–nanosheet ratio, and filtration kinetics. These steps formed the methodological backbone that allowed the ultrathin BN–ANF layers to be assembled with sub-micron precision.

4. Stabilisation and structural optimisation

Post-treatment steps—including solvent exchange, mild thermal consolidation, and pressure preconditioning—are applied to stabilise the composite. These steps enhance mechanical robustness, reduce internal defects, and ensure structural integrity during solvent cycling.

Yuxi further implemented pressure-cycling tests and solvent-resistance optimisation, enabling the membranes to withstand pressures up to 10 bar and maintain performance over extended operation.

5. Performance optimisation and validation

Final optimisation involved tuning the BNNS content, adjusting film thickness, and engineering surface charge. The resulting membranes show:

• ethanol fluxes up to 164 L·m⁻²·h⁻¹ at 4 bar,
• high rejection of Evans Blue (92–96%),
• stable performance during long-term ethanol cycling,
• reversible deformation and excellent structural recovery.

This workflow transforms BN-based materials—previously limited by brittleness—into a mechanically reinforced, high-performance membrane platform suitable for organic-solvent nanofiltration and chemical-recovery applications.

Your study highlights exceptionally fast permeation rates and selective separation. How did you evaluate the membrane’s filtration efficiency, chemical compatibility, and mechanical robustness, and how did it compare with conventional polymer or ceramic filters?

To evaluate the membrane’s filtration performance, we used a stainless-steel stirred dead-end cell (STERLITECH)—essentially the industry’s standard small-area testing platform. It allows us to apply controlled pressure, measure permeance and rejection precisely, and isolate the intrinsic behaviour of our BN–ANF nanochannels from module-level effects.

1. Filtration efficiency — permeance and selectivity

Using the dead-end cell, we quantified solvent flux and solute rejection under 1–10 bar:

• 104 L·m⁻²·h⁻¹ at 1 bar (ethanol)
• 164 L·m⁻²·h⁻¹ at 4 bar

with Evans Blue dye rejection maintaining 92%-96%, indicating minimal pore expansion under pressure.

Multi-solvent evaluations (methanol, ethanol, acetone) further confirmed stable transport behaviour across solvents with different polarities and viscosities.

2. Chemical compatibility — solvent resistance & pore stability

Through solvent cycling and structural characterisation (SEM, FTIR, XRD):

• no swelling
• no pore deformation
• no delamination
• stable pore structure after long-term exposure

Compared with polymer membranes that swell or plasticize, BN–ANF remains structurally stable due to BN rigidity and ANF hydrogen-bond reinforcement.

3. Mechanical reliability — pressure cycling & tensile strength

We assessed mechanical robustness via:

• pressure cycling up to 10 bar, showing full recovery of flux and rejection
• tensile testing, confirming enhanced strength vs. BN-only films
• excellent resistance against compaction, a major weakness in 2D membranes

When benchmarked against conventional nanofiltration technologies, our hybrid BN–ANF membranes show a distinctly different performance profile. Compared with standard polymer NF membranes, they deliver significantly higher permeance in a wide range of organic solvents, exhibit negligible swelling, maintain structural integrity under pressure, and preserve rejection performance across varying operating conditions. Against ceramic membranes, our system offers comparable chemical robustness but at only about one-fiftieth to one-hundredth of the thickness. This ultrathin architecture results in much lower hydraulic resistance and higher energy efficiency, while the mechanical flexibility of the BN–ANF network makes integration into industrial modules far easier than rigid ceramic systems.

Since BNNF membranes maintain stability in harsh organic solvents, what characterisation techniques did you use to assess solvent resistance, swelling behaviour, and pore-structure retention, especially under repeated cycling?

To rigorously evaluate the solvent resistance and structural stability of the BN–ANF membranes, we combined long-term solvent cycling with multi-modal structural characterisation. Our goal was to determine whether the hybrid nanochannels maintain their architecture under harsh organic solvents and repeated operational stress.

1. Solvent cycling tests

The membranes were continuously exposed to methanol, ethanol and acetone under pressure-driven permeation for extended periods. Throughout these cycles, we monitored flux, rejection and mechanical appearance. The BN–ANF membranes showed:
• no flux decay,

• no colour change or surface deterioration,

• and full recovery after each solvent cycle.

This directly indicates resistance to solvent-induced softening or polymer relaxation — a common failure mode in polymer NF membranes.

2. Swelling behaviour — dimensional and morphological stability

We quantified swelling through a combination of:

• thickness measurements before and after solvent exposure,

• contact-angle and surface-energy analysis,

• and SEM imaging to capture nanoscale deformation.

Across all solvents, the thickness variation remained negligible and the surface morphology was unchanged, confirming the rigidity imparted by BN nanofibers and the hydrogen-bonding network of ANFs.

3. Pore-structure retention — verifying nanochannel integrity through mechanical response

Although direct pore-scale measurements (e.g., XRD or BET) are not applicable for these ultrathin composite films, we assessed pore-structure stability indirectly but reliably through mechanical response under pressure and performance recovery:

• Pressure-cycling tests (1–10 bar) showed that after each cycle, both the solvent flux and solute rejection returned to their original values. This behaviour indicates elastic deformation rather than permanent pore collapse or compaction.

• SEM imaging before and after cycling confirmed that the membrane surface and cross-section morphology remained intact, with no visible cracks, delamination, or densification.

• Stable flux–rejection profiles across solvents further demonstrated that the nanochannel size and connectivity are not altered by solvent penetration or mechanical loading.

The combined mechanical and performance data provide strong evidence that the BN–ANF hybrid network maintains reversible deformation, meaning that the nanochannels retain their structural integrity during operation. The rigid BN nanofibers prevent collapse, while the ANF hydrogen-bonding framework enables elastic recovery—together ensuring that the pore network remains robust under real-world operating conditions.

4. Overall stability profile

Compared with polymer membranes, which often swell or plasticize, our hybrid membranes maintained:

• fully retained pore architecture,

• stable nanochannels after cycling,

• and unchanged separation performance.

This level of stability is typically associated with ceramic membranes — but achieved here in a flexible, ultrathin organic–inorganic hybrid system.

Your ultrathin filters significantly reduce energy and solvent usage in chemical recycling. Could you elaborate on the process-intensification or sustainability metrics your team used to quantify these improvements?

Our current study focuses primarily on the materials and transport mechanisms of the BN–ANF membrane platform, so we have not yet carried out a full life-cycle or carbon-footprint assessment. However, several intrinsic performance metrics strongly suggest downstream process-intensification benefits. The exceptionally high solvent permeance—over an order of magnitude higher than typical polymer nanofiltration membranes—indicates that the same separation can be achieved at substantially lower pressures. Lower hydraulic resistance directly correlates with reduced pumping energy and decreased operational cost.

Mechanical robustness under pressure cycling and solvent exposure further enables long-duration processing without membrane replacement, a key contributor to sustainable chemical-recovery workflows. The absence of swelling or compaction in aggressive organic solvents also means that solvent losses, cleaning requirements, and downtime are significantly reduced.

Beyond the BN–ANF system itself, our broader team is actively developing complementary platforms—such as Lifeng’s photothermal 2D–2D heterostructures for solar-driven water purification and Guoliang’s nanofluidic energy-harvesting membranes—that strengthen our capacity to quantify energy efficiency and water–solvent recovery at a system level. These insights will inform the next stage of sustainability modelling once the BN–ANF platform enters module-scale validation.

Translating these ultrathin BNNF membranes to industry requires scaling the fabrication method. What challenges do you foresee in large-area membrane production, uniformity control, and integration into existing chemical-recovery systems, and how is your team addressing them?

Scaling an ultrathin, mixed-dimensional membrane to industrial formats presents three main challenges: continuous manufacturing, uniformity control, and module integration. Our current laboratory workflow—vacuum-assisted filtration—is highly precise but inherently batch-based. Industrial deployment will require translation to roll-to-roll casting, slot-die coating, or shear-induced alignment methods, all of which must maintain nanoscale control over fibre dispersion and BN–ANF interfacial organisation.

Uniformity is another key bottleneck. Because the selective layer is only ~1 μm thick, small variations in rheology, solid loading, or drying dynamics can introduce defects. Achieving industrial standards will require tighter control over slurry stability, in-line thickness monitoring, and optimised fibre alignment to ensure consistent pore topology across large areas.

Integration into solvent-recovery modules also demands understanding how the membrane behaves under fluctuating solvent compositions, high flow rates, and cyclic mechanical loading. To address these challenges, Yuxi Ma is currently undertaking a research placement at CSIRO, where he leads the scale-up stream of the project — evaluating industrial coating methods, mapping process windows for uniform large-area films, and establishing the technical criteria required for module integration. His work forms the critical bridge between laboratory innovation and industrial translation.

Our team’s experience with other scalable membrane-like technologies also informs the scale-up strategy. Lifeng’s photothermal 2D heterostructures and Guoliang’s clay-based nanofluidic devices have already been adapted to centimetre- to decimetre-scale prototypes, while our collaborators in flexible zinc-ion batteries have developed roll-compatible interfacial layers. These complementary experiences provide an engineering foundation for transitioning the BN–ANF platform toward pre-commercial production.

Looking ahead, what next steps do you and your collaborators plan, such as tuning fiber morphology, adapting the membranes for pharmaceutical or battery-solvent recycling, or developing multi-layered or hybrid BN-based separation systems?

Looking ahead, our next steps focus on deepening the scientific understanding of BN–ANF nanochannels while expanding their applicability across high-value chemical sectors. On the materials side, we will continue refining aramid nanofiber (ANF) morphology—modulating fibre diameter, hydrogen-bonding strength, and surface functionality—to achieve sharper molecular cut-offs, enhanced antifouling resistance, and long-term stability in strongly polar or reactive solvents. Multi-layer, gradient, and hybrid BN architectures are also being explored to meet the demands of pharmaceutical purification, lithium/battery-solvent recycling, and harsh industrial separations.

A parallel research direction is to integrate insights from our team’s broader work on nanoscale transport. Guoliang’s studies on light-induced ion transport and nanofluidic energy harvesting provide powerful models for understanding selective ion dynamics in confined channels. Lifeng’s work on 2D–2D heterostructures for photothermal water generation offers a complementary understanding of heat–mass coupling, interfacial evaporation, and solar-driven fluid transport. Milad’s ongoing work on BN industrialisation—including the development of scalable shear-alignment protocols and a Linkage-supported BN processing program—is directly accelerating the translation of our BN–ANF membranes into industrially relevant forms and module formats. Together, these studies create a conceptual and technological framework linking pore topology, hydration dynamics, scalable assembly, and selective transport—knowledge that will guide the design of the next generation of BN-based membranes.

From a translational perspective, we are developing scalable routes such as shear-alignment and roll-to-roll deposition, coupled with early IP development for industrial integration. Partnerships with CSIRO and international collaborators will support testing in solvent-processing workflows and pilot-scale separation modules.

As our research program continues to expand across membrane science, nanofluidics, photothermal materials, and electrolyte engineering, we warmly welcome PhD students and visiting researchers who are excited to shape the next generation of membrane and energy-water technologies.

Hassan Ahmed

Hassan graduated with a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Chester (UK). He currently works as a design engineering consultant for one of the largest engineering firms in the world along with being an associate member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).

The post Ultrathin Boron Nitride–Aramid Nanofiber Membranes Unlock High-Flux Organic Solvent Nanofiltration | An Interview with RMIT’s Prof. Weiwei Lei and Prof. Dan Liu appeared first on Engineeringness.

In modern engineering manufacturing, where tolerances are tightening and material diversity is expanding, this cutting method has become a precision benchmark.

Industry data shows that non-thermal cutting processes can reduce secondary finishing operations by more than 30 percent in precision-focused manufacturing environments.

That efficiency matters as engineers increasingly work with composites, hardened alloys, and multi-material assemblies that are poorly heat-resistant.

Material precision is not just about hitting nominal dimensions.

It is about edge integrity, repeatability, structural stability, and predictable performance once parts move into assembly or service.

This article explores how advanced waterjet cutting works, why it delivers such high precision, how it compares to alternative cutting technologies, and where it fits best in modern engineering manufacturing workflows.

What Is Advanced Waterjet Cutting and Why Does It Matter for Precision Manufacturing?

Advanced waterjet cutting is a machining method that removes material through controlled erosion using a focused stream of pressurized water, with or without abrasive media.

It matters for precision manufacturing because it cuts without introducing heat, mechanical stress, or microstructural changes to the material.

Unlike thermal or mechanical cutting methods, waterjet cutting preserves the original material properties.

That preservation directly translates into tighter dimensional accuracy and improved consistency across production runs.

For engineers, this means fewer unpredictable variables.

Parts come off the table closer to the final specification, which reduces rework, scrap rates, and downstream inspection failures.

As manufacturing shifts toward complex geometries and mixed materials, waterjet cutting provides a stable, predictable process window that supports precision rather than fighting against it.

How Does Waterjet Cutting Work at an Engineering Level?

The waterjet cutting process is a controlled material removal technique that converts hydraulic energy into a high-velocity cutting stream capable of eroding solid materials.

In engineering manufacturing, the process is valued for its predictable physics and scalable precision.

Water is pressurized up to 90,000 psi and directed through a precision orifice, creating a coherent jet with extreme kinetic energy.

For harder materials, abrasive particles such as garnet are introduced into the stream, enabling efficient cutting of metals, ceramics, and composites.

The cutting action occurs through micro-scale erosion rather than melting or shearing.

That distinction is critical because it eliminates thermal gradients and residual stresses.

The main stages of the waterjet cutting process include five distinct steps.

1. Pressurizing water to ultra-high levels using an intensifier or direct-drive pump
2. Forming a focused jet through a diamond, sapphire, orifice
3. Introducing abrasive media when cutting dense or complex materials
4. Guiding the jet along programmed toolpaths using CNC control
5. Dissipating energy safely in a catcher tank after material separation

Each stage contributes directly to the final dimensional accuracy of the cut part.

What Makes Waterjet Cutting a High-Precision Manufacturing Technology?

Advanced waterjet cutting is a manufacturing technology that achieves precision through controlled erosion, stable energy delivery, and digital motion control.

Its ability to maintain accuracy across thickness variations and material types sets it apart in engineering applications.

Because the process is cold, the cut geometry remains true to the programmed path.

There is no thermal expansion, no warping, and no recast layer along the edge.

Modern systems integrate CNC motion platforms, taper compensation software, and closed-loop pressure control.

Together, these elements allow engineers to hold tight tolerances even on thick or layered materials.

Precision in waterjet cutting is not accidental.

It is engineered through system stability, software intelligence, and material-specific parameter control.

Cold Cutting and Its Impact on Dimensional Accuracy

Cold cutting is a material removal approach that avoids heat generation entirely during the cutting process.

In waterjet cutting, cold cutting preserves the material’s original mechanical and chemical properties.

When heat is introduced, materials expand, soften, or harden unevenly.

Waterjet cutting avoids these effects, which allows parts to remain dimensionally stable throughout and after cutting.

This stability is essential in aerospace alloys, hardened steels, and laminated composites.

Dimensional accuracy remains consistent from the first cut to the last.

For engineers, cold cutting simplifies tolerance planning and reduces the need for post-processing corrections.

Kerf Width Control and Edge Finish Consistency

Kerf width control is the ability to maintain a consistent cut width along the entire toolpath.

In waterjet cutting, kerf control directly influences part accuracy and edge quality.

Advanced systems regulate pressure, abrasive flow rate, and traverse speed to stabilize the cutting stream.

This stability minimizes kerf variation, even when cutting complex geometries or variable thicknesses.

Consistent edge finish reduces the need for secondary grinding or machining.

It also improves fit-up accuracy during assembly.

Precision edge control is one reason advanced waterjets are often selected for tight-tolerance engineering components.

What Are the Main Types of Waterjet Cutting Systems Used in Engineering Manufacturing?

Waterjet cutting systems fall into two primary categories based on how the cutting energy is applied.

Each type serves different precision and material requirements within engineering manufacturing.

The choice between systems depends on material hardness, thickness, and surface finish expectations.

Understanding the differences helps engineers select the right tool for the job.

Pure Waterjet Cutting Systems

Pure waterjet cutting systems use only pressurized water without abrasive additives.

They are primarily used for softer materials that require precision without excessive cutting force.

Typical applications include polymers, rubber, foam, textiles, and certain food-grade materials.

The cutting action is clean, precise, and free from contamination.

Pure waterjet systems excel in applications where edge integrity and material cleanliness are critical.

They also offer lower operating costs compared to abrasive systems.

Abrasive Waterjet Cutting Systems

Abrasive waterjet cutting systems introduce hard mineral particles into the water stream to cut dense materials.

These machines are the backbone of precision engineering manufacturing.

They can cut steel, aluminum, titanium, glass, stone, ceramics, and composites.

The abrasive particles perform the erosion while water acts as the energy carrier.

Modern abrasive systems, such as precision waterjet cutting machines, combine CNC motion control with stable pressure delivery to maintain accuracy across complex parts.

These systems enable engineers to achieve tight tolerances without sacrificing material integrity.

What Materials Benefit Most from Precision Waterjet Cutting?

Waterjet cutting supports a wide range of engineering materials with minimal process-induced distortion.

Some material groups are more sensitive to heat or mechanical stress than others.

The six material categories that gain the most precision advantages include:

1. Metals such as steel, aluminum, and titanium, where thermal distortion must be avoided
2. Composites like carbon fiber and fiberglass that delaminate under heat
3. Ceramics and glass that crack under mechanical cutting forces
4. Laminated materials with dissimilar layers and expansion rates
5. Stone and engineered surfaces requiring clean, chip-free edges
6. Plastics that melt or deform under laser or plasma cutting

This versatility makes waterjet cutting a universal precision tool.

What Are the Key Advantages of Advanced Waterjet Cutting for Material Precision?

Advanced waterjet cutting delivers several precision-related advantages that directly impact manufacturing quality.

These advantages extend beyond dimensional accuracy alone.

There are exactly seven primary benefits.

1. Preserves material properties by eliminating heat input
2. Maintains tight tolerances across varying thicknesses
3. Produces clean edges with minimal secondary finishing
4. Cuts virtually any material without a tool change
5. Supports complex geometries and internal features
6. Reduces fixturing stress due to low cutting forces
7. Enables consistent results in low-volume and high-mix production

Each benefit contributes to predictable, repeatable manufacturing outcomes.

What Are the Limitations of Waterjet Cutting in Precision Engineering Applications?

Waterjet cutting is exact, but it is not without limitations.

Understanding these constraints helps engineers apply the technology appropriately.

There are precisely five notable limitations.

1. Increases operating costs due to abrasive consumption
2. Limits cutting speed compared to some thermal methods
3. Requires careful control to prevent taper on thick materials
4. Generates slurry waste that must be managed
5. May struggle with excellent micro-scale features

Despite these drawbacks, many precision applications still favor waterjet cutting for its ability to maintain material integrity.

How Does Waterjet Cutting Compare to Laser and Plasma Cutting for Precision Manufacturing?

Waterjet cutting, laser cutting, and plasma cutting differ fundamentally in how they remove material.

Waterjet cutting provides superior material preservation, while laser and plasma excel in speed for thin metals.

Laser cutting introduces heat, which can affect microstructure and tolerances.

Plasma cutting introduces even more thermal distortion and wider kerfs.

Waterjet cutting avoids both issues but operates at slower speeds and higher consumable costs.

The trade-off is improved accuracy, edge quality, and material flexibility.

A comparison table would typically evaluate heat input, material range, tolerances, edge finish, and operating cost to clarify these differences.

What Engineering Applications Rely on Waterjet Cutting for High Precision?

Waterjet cutting supports a broad range of engineering applications where accuracy and material integrity are critical.

Its adoption spans multiple industries.

There are precisely six major application areas.

1. Aerospace component manufacturing
2. Automotive prototyping and low-volume production
3. Architectural and structural fabrication
4. Electronics and enclosure manufacturing
5. Medical device component cutting
6. Research and experimental engineering projects

In laboratory and research environments, precision surface preparation and component fabrication are often paired with advanced cleaning methods such as industrial laser cleaning machines to maintain contamination-free surfaces before assembly or testing.

What Are the Most Important Parameters That Influence Waterjet Cutting Precision?

Precision in waterjet cutting depends on controlling multiple interrelated parameters.

Each parameter affects kerf quality, accuracy, and repeatability.

The seven most critical parameters include:

1. Water pressure stability
2. Abrasive type and grain size
3. Abrasive flow rate
4. Cutting speed and acceleration
5. Nozzle condition and alignment
6. Stand-off distance
7. CNC motion accuracy

Fine-tuning these variables allows engineers to optimize precision for each material.

What Tolerances Can Advanced Waterjet Cutting Achieve?

Advanced waterjet cutting can achieve tolerances as tight as ±0.05 mm for thin materials under controlled conditions.

Tolerance capability decreases gradually as material thickness increases.

For thin materials up to 1 mm, tolerances typically range from ±0.1 mm to ±0.2 mm.

For medium thickness materials between 1 mm and 5 mm, tolerances range from ±0.2 mm to ±0.5 mm.

For materials over 5 mm thick, tolerances are usually ±0.5 mm to ±1.0 mm, or approximately ±0.020 to ±0.040 inches.

How to Use Waterjet Cutting to Maximize Material Precision

Maximizing precision with waterjet cutting involves a structured process from design through execution.

There are precisely five main steps involved.

1. Material selection and characterization
2. Design optimization for waterjet behavior
3. Parameter calibration and testing
4. Controlled cutting execution
5. Post-cut inspection and verification

Each step builds on the previous one to ensure predictable outcomes.

Material Preparation and Design Optimization

Material preparation is the process of selecting and configuring raw stock for accurate cutting.

Design optimization ensures features align with waterjet capabilities.

Engineers must account for kerf width, taper compensation, and minimum feature sizes.

Proper nesting reduces distortion and improves efficiency.

Good preparation directly improves final dimensional accuracy.

Machine Setup and Parameter Calibration

Machine setup is the process of configuring pressure, abrasive flow, and motion parameters.

Calibration ensures the system delivers consistent energy throughout the cut.

Trial cuts and test coupons help validate settings before production.

This step is critical for achieving repeatable precision.

How Much Does Precision Waterjet Cutting Cost in Engineering Manufacturing?

Precision waterjet cutting typically costs between 250 per hour in the United States.

Pricing varies based on material, thickness, and complexity.

There are precisely six cost factors.

1. Machine time
2. Abrasive consumption
3. Material type
4. Thickness and cutting speed
5. Programming complexity
6. Post-processing requirements

Understanding these factors helps engineers balance cost and precision.

What Should Engineers Look for in a High-Precision Waterjet Cutting System?

A high-precision waterjet system is defined by stability, control, and long-term accuracy.

Engineers should evaluate systems beyond headline pressure ratings.

Key indicators include motion accuracy, software compensation features, pump reliability, and service support.

Precision is sustained through consistency, not peak performance alone.

Conclusion: Why Waterjet Cutting Is a Precision Benchmark in Engineering Manufacturing

Advanced waterjet cutting has earned its role as a precision benchmark by combining material versatility with predictable accuracy.

Its cold cutting nature preserves material properties while enabling complex geometries and tight tolerances.

As engineering manufacturing continues to demand higher precision across a broader range of materials, waterjet technology remains a reliable solution.

When applied correctly, it delivers accuracy, consistency, and confidence from design to final part.

Hassan Ahmed

Hassan graduated with a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Chester (UK). He currently works as a design engineering consultant for one of the largest engineering firms in the world along with being an associate member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).

The post How Advanced Waterjet Cutting Improves Material Precision in Engineering Manufacturing appeared first on Engineeringness.

Now, we sat down with Professor Yiguang Ju (Princeton University / PPPL) to explore the origins of this concept, the role of vacancies and plasma chemistry in enabling ammonia formation at ambient conditions, and the broader implications for distributed, renewable-powered ammonia production. In this interview, he walks us through the experimental challenges, the diagnostic techniques that validated the HIC structure, and the technological hurdles that must be overcome to scale this approach toward practical reactors.

You can view the full research this interview pertains to here:

Zhang, Z., Kondratowicz, C., Smith, J., Kucheryavy, P., Ouyang, J., Xu, Y., Desmet, E., Kurdziel, S., Tang, E., Adeleke, M., Lele, A. D., Martirez, J. M., Chi, M., Ju, Y., & He, H. (2025). Plasma-Assisted Surface Nitridation of Proton Intercalatable WO 3 for Efficient Electrocatalytic Ammonia Synthesis. ACS Energy Letters, 10(7), 3349–3358. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenergylett.5c01034

The following interview is presented unedited to preserve his original responses and provide an unfiltered look into how the team combined plasma physics, catalysis, and advanced microscopy to uncover a catalyst structure that may accelerate progress toward carbon-neutral ammonia synthesis.

Acknowledgments from the team: The collaborative effort of this study is supported by the US National Science Foundation (Award#: 2428523). HH would also like to acknowledge the support of Rutgers Research Council. YJ would like to acknowledge the support from the DOE Plasma-Enhanced H₂ Production (PEHPr) Energy Earthshot Research Center (EERC) at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory under contract DEAC0209CH11466 for plasma reactors and DOE FES DE-SC0025371 grant for diagnostics. Microscopy was partially conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Science, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, and in part at the Analytical Instrumentation Facility (AIF) at NCSU, which is supported by the State of North Carolina and the National Science Foundation (award number ECCS-2025064). Participation of Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, a national laboratory operated by Princeton University for the U.S. Department of Energy under Prime Contract No. DE-AC02-09CH11466, is made possible via the Strategic Partnership Projects program.

What inspired your team to combine plasma activation with tungsten oxide/oxynitride catalysts, and how did you arrive at that heterogeneous interfacial complexion (HIC) structure as a promising design?

Non-thermal plasma enables new reaction pathways through plasma-generated radical species and excited molecules, thereby lowering the synthesis temperature of ammonia and improving energy efficiency. Moreover, plasma-assisted ammonia synthesis offers a promising solution for large-scale, long-duration renewable electricity storage and decarbonization, presenting an exciting opportunity for our team. We developed the concept of plasma activation with tungsten oxide for ammonia synthesis based on two hypotheses. First, tungsten oxide can suppress the hydrogen evolution reaction during water electrolysis by promoting the formation of surface-bound hydrogen atoms instead of H₂, thereby increasing faradaic efficiency. Second, tungsten oxide can form tungsten nitride or oxynitride under nitrogen plasma, potentially reducing the energy barrier for nitrogen adsorption and dissociation. Unexpectedly, we discovered the formation of a heterogeneous interfacial complexion (HIC) on the tungsten oxide surface. Using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, we observed an amorphous tungsten nitride/oxynitride HIC structure—a surprising and fortunate finding.

The new method reduces catalyst fabrication time from about two days to 15 minutes; what process steps are eliminated or accelerated, and how is catalyst quality still maintained?

The synthesis of tungsten oxide nanostructures via the conventional hydrothermal method is typically slow due to the temperature limitation of water. By introducing microwave interaction with a carbon support, the surface temperature can be elevated, significantly accelerating the process and dramatically reducing the synthesis time.

How does the production rate or yield of ammonia achieved with the plasma-activated HIC catalyst compare quantitatively to those of standard thermal Haber-Bosch or other plasma-catalytic systems under similar conditions?

The ammonia production with plasma can be done at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. However, the Haber-Bosch process is high temperature and high pressure (200-300 atm). Therefore, the current plasma assisted ammonia synthesis rate is still far lower than Haber-Bosch. However, if we can design an efficient plasma-responsive catalysis using the HIC structure, plasma assisted ammonia synthesis has the potential to be more efficient for distributed ammonia synthesis with renewable electricity.

What are the primary energy and operational cost trade-offs when using this low-temperature plasma method, particularly considering electrode configuration, plasma power input, and catalyst stability?

The advantages of the low temperature plasma synthesis method are room temperature, atmospheric pressure, and small-scale distribution production. It can also be run intermittently to adjust peaks of renewable electricity. Since the HIC structure can be regenerated by plasma, it has a higher stability compared to conventional nitride catalysts. The electrode scale-up remains a big challenge because of the plasma instability at atmospheric pressure. Novel plasma sources such as the pulsed ferroelectric discharge need to be developed.

How have you characterised the role of nitrogen vacancies and active hydrogen sites on this catalyst in promoting ammonia formation, and what diagnostics (spectroscopy, microscopy) were crucial in verifying them?

The nitrogen and oxygen vacancy can be characterized by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy by examining the charge numbers of tungsten, oxygen, and nitrogen atoms. In addition, high resolution TEM can also see the vacancy formation. In situ XPS and high resolution TEM are critical to verifying them.

In scaling towards practical, distributed ammonia production, what challenges do you foresee in reactor design, gas handling, and durability of the catalyst under continuous plasma exposure?

The biggest challenges for practical production in commercial scale are hydrogen transport across the electrode and the plasma stability and chemistry control.

Looking forward, what are your next steps in refining this technology? For example, altering catalyst compositions, optimizing plasma parameters, integrating renewable electricity, or deploying pilot reactors?

We aim to address the above three major challenges. One is to design a new plasma responsive catalyst which can enhance the formation of HIC. The second is to design an electrode membrane which can transport H atom more efficiently. The third is to develop a novel plasma source which can control plasma chemistry and plasma-surface interaction.

Hassan Ahmed

Hassan graduated with a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Chester (UK). He currently works as a design engineering consultant for one of the largest engineering firms in the world along with being an associate member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).

The post Plasma-Activated Tungsten Oxide Catalysts Unlock Faster, Low-Temperature Ammonia Synthesis | An Interview with Princeton’s Dr. Yiguang Ju appeared first on Engineeringness.

Now, we sit down with members of the team: Cody Ritt, Michelle Quien, Zitang Wei, Michael Strano and their team behind this breakthrough to take a deeper look at their conceptual leap from conventional polymer films to a true 2D architecture; their synthesis strategy under strictly dry, oxygen-free conditions; and the challenges they faced in validating gas impermeability at the nanoscale. They walk us through the mechanics of their bulge tests, the unexpected microstructural behaviors they observed, and the technological implications—from extending perovskite lifetimes to enabling transformative barrier solutions for energy, packaging, and infrastructure.

You can read more about the discovery in the official MIT News release.
The research paper this interview pertains to can be found here:

Ritt, C. L., Quien, M., Wei, Z., Gress, H., Dronadula, M. T., Altmisdort, K., Nguyen, H. G. T., Zangmeister, C. D., Tu, Y.-M., Garimella, S. S., Amirabadi, S., Gadaloff, M., Hu, W., Aluru, N. R., Ekinci, K. L., Bunch, J. S., & Strano, M. S. (2025). A molecularly impermeable polymer from two-dimensional polyaramids. Nature, 647(8089), 383–389. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09674-9

The following interview is presented unedited to preserve the researchers’ original insights into molecular stacking, defect tolerance, long-term stability, and the future of scalable 2D polymer manufacturing.

Acknowledgment from the team: This work was primarily supported as part of the Center for Enhanced Nanofluidic Transport–Phase 2 (CENT²), an Energy frontier Research Center funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences under grant no. DE-SC0019112. Resonator work performed by H.G. and K.L.E. was supported by the US NSF (grant nos. CMMI-2001403 and CMMI-2337507). K.A. was supported by funding from the Distinguished Summer Research Fellowship (DSRF) and the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) at Boston University. The authors acknowledge the use of the parallel computing resource Lonestar6 provided by the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin. Synthetic work was carried out in part under auspices of the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (ISN), and material characterization was carried out in part through the use of MIT.nano’s facilities. Gas adsorption measurements were performed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Certain commercial equipment, instruments or materials are identified in this paper to foster understanding. Such identification does not imply recommendation or endorsement by NIST, nor does it imply that the materials or equipment identified are necessarily the best available for the purpose. We thank J. Qin and S. Eppley for their assistance with deflection measurements for gas-pressurized bulges, D. Lloyd and S. Yang for their help fabricating and preparing the etched substrates used for gas permeation measurements and D. Lundberg for his intellectual contributions.

What inspired the transition from traditional barrier films to a 2D-polyaramid polymer film, and how did your role help shape the conceptual leap toward using hydrogen-bonded molecular sheets?

A lot of traditional barriers are inorganic in nature, such as glasses, metals, or ceramics, with the best of them being inorganic 2D materials like graphene. Despite their advantageous barrier properties, forming these various inorganics into protective coatings often requires high-temperature physical and chemical vapor deposition techniques that are expensive and energy intensive. The processability and formability of conventional polymers is much more favorable, but the dynamic nature of their entangled polymer chains (imagine spaghetti) always results in some amount of open pockets for gas to move through, referred to as “free volume.” Recent work in our group led to the development of a new solution-phase 2D polyaramid that we believed could stack densely like graphene sheets to eliminate these open pockets of space. We thought this in part due to the hydrogen bonds available on the 2D sheets, which leads to favorable interactions between adjacent sheets when stacked.

Could you walk through the key steps in your polymer synthesis and film‐formation (monomer choice, self-assembly, layer stacking), and what parameters (e.g. solvent, monomer concentration, deposition technique) were most critical to achieving the impermeable film?

We synthesized 2DPA-1 via an irreversible polycondensation reaction between two trifunctional monomers—melamine and trimesoyl chloride—under ambient pressure and room temperature in a glovebox. Maintaining strictly moisture- and oxygen-free conditions was essential because trimesoyl chloride is highly hygroscopic. The particle size of 2DPA-1 was tuned by controlling reaction time, which proved critical for forming uniform thin films. For film fabrication, we employed a spin-coating process: first depositing a polystyrene (PS) underlayer, followed by spin-coating the 2DPA-1 dispersion. During deposition, interlayer hydrogen bonding facilitated the assembly of platelets into continuous, smooth films. To achieve impermeability, we dispersed 2DPA-1 in trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), which effectively disrupts hydrogen bonding and delaminates the platelets. This step ensures proper platelet exfoliation for uniform stacking. Optimal film quality required a controlled platelet size and a concentration of 5 mg/mL, yielding a smooth and continuous film approximately 35 nm thick.

Your work reports effectively zero permeability to gases like nitrogen after extended periods. How did your team design and validate the permeability tests (e.g. micro-bubble inflation, long‐term stability), and what were the biggest challenges in proving the barrier performance?

With these nanometer-thin films, researchers have had to be creative with how to characterize them because it isn’t always straightforward to make large, macro-scale samples. The bulge test we used for this study originated from the blister test, which uses the same premise of a film suspended over a well so that researchers can measure their mechanical properties (such as the elastic modulus or yield strength). The blister test then inspired a series of studies on the molecular impermeability of graphene to various gases, which is what we used as the basis for our experiments.

Some of the biggest challenges were in identifying and isolating the effect of each factor at play. For example, one of the pivotal studies on graphene’s molecular impermeability identifies that gases can escape through the silicon wafer instead of the film. In our samples, we identified that the trapping of gas is likely affected by the way in which the film adheres to the silicon wafer, complicating how we make the samples and how we analyze the data. We also found there to be fluctuations in the heights of our bulges that complicated our analysis, and serendipitously we were able to correlate with the movement of gas molecules trapped inside the bulges.

How does the microstructure of your 2D polymer film; stacked disks with hydrogen bonds and near-void-free packing, compare with more conventional polymer films in terms of gas‐transport pathways and defect tolerance?

The microstructure of this material is entirely different from conventional polymer films. In conventional polymer films, you generally have two phases: a “crystallite” and “amorphous” phase. The crystallite phase is a region in the polymer where the polymer chains stack tightly next to one another, leaving no room for gas transport. By contrast, the amorphous phase is where the polymer chains are randomly entangled amongst each other, leading randomly dispersed open pockets for gas transport. The 2D nature of our polyaramid films allows them to stack tightly next to each other to eliminate these open spaces, behaving like a crystallite.

Given that you’ve demonstrated a 60-nanometre coating extends perovskite lifetime by weeks, how do you envision scaling this technology for real‐world applications (solar cells, packaging, infrastructure), and what manufacturing or integration hurdles remain?

Our work demonstrates that ultrathin 2DPA-1 coatings can significantly enhance the stability of air- and moisture-sensitive semiconductors, offering a transformative approach for solar cell encapsulation. Unlike conventional polymeric encapsulants that require micrometer- to millimeter-scale thickness, a 60 nm 2DPA-1 layer provides outstanding protection, enabling more cost-effective and sustainable solutions. The simplicity of deposition methods—such as spin coating, blade coating, or drop casting—makes large-scale implementation feasible and compatible with existing fabrication workflows. However, key challenges remain, including reliance on acidic solvents like TFA and ensuring compatibility with industrial processing standards. We are actively developing alternative fabrication routes and integration strategies to overcome these hurdles and meet scalability requirements for solar cells, packaging, and other infrastructure applications.

From your perspective, what are the durability and ageing concerns for this film in practical use, such as UV exposure, abrasion, thermal cycling and what testing or modifications are underway to address these?

One of the biggest concerns for this class of materials, polyaramids, is how susceptible they are to water and humidity; in fact, this is a known concern with polymers like Kevlar. When you look at the molecular structure, you’ll notice that there’s a lot of opportunities for water to hydrogen bond to our material, which then could interrupt how individual molecules stack together and degrade the mechanical and gas barrier properties. Fortunately, we have noted a distinct lack of property degradation, from 2DPA-1 powders submerged in water for years to films that demonstrate nitrogen impermeability for years.

Regarding other properties, we know that our films are highly chemical stable, only dissolving when exposed to trifluoroacetic acid and dimethyl sulfoxide. We also know from TGA (thermogravimetric analysis) that 2DPA-1 powders will begin to degrade around 250C. We’re invested in future studies to better understand more facets of the performance of 2DPA-1 films; in particular, we have ongoing studies into how to control their thermal stability.

Looking ahead, what next research directions do you anticipate? Are you exploring thicker coatings, alternate monomers, even lower cost processing, or new applications in wearable electronics or food/medicinal packaging?

That’s the exciting thing about this material. There are so many different avenues to explore, all of which we are interested in pursuing. I think our first and foremost interest is to investigate the extent of the molecular impermeability with these films. Can they be leveraged to achieve large-scale hydrogen barriers? That could be a game-changer for a renewables driven economy, so we’re looking into a number of different routes to try and make that possible.

Hassan Ahmed

Hassan graduated with a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Chester (UK). He currently works as a design engineering consultant for one of the largest engineering firms in the world along with being an associate member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).

The post Inside the 2D Polyaramid Breakthrough Set to Redefine Molecular Barrier Films | An Interview with MITs Cody Ritt And Team appeared first on Engineeringness.

Xu, Z., Munyaneza, N. E., Zhang, Q., Sun, M., Posada, C., Venturo, P., Rorrer, N. A., Miscall, J., Sumpter, B. G., & Liu, G. (2023). Chemical upcycling of polyethylene, polypropylene, and mixtures to high-value surfactants. Science, 381(6658), 666–671. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adh0993

Munyaneza, N. E., Ji, R., DiMarco, A., Miscall, J., Stanley, L., Rorrer, N., Qiao, R., & Liu, G. (2024). Chain-length-controllable upcycling of polyolefins to sulfate detergents. Nature Sustainability, 7(12), 1681–1690. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-024-01464-x

This interview delves deeper into their two-step chemical strategy, the surprising versatility of PE and PP (#2, #4, and #5 plastics), and the real-world challenges of commercialising a high-tech chemical process through a newly formed startup. It also sheds light on how these soap products compare to conventional detergents and what this innovation could mean for global plastic waste management and circular-economy solutions.

The following interview is presented unedited to preserve the clarity of their scientific explanations and offer readers a direct look at how the team is taking plastic recycling far beyond traditional mechanical methods—toward a future where waste becomes a resource for entirely new industries.

What inspired your team to explore turning plastic waste into soap, and what was the key breakthrough that made this innovation possible?

We are always inspired to help solving the plastic problem. We realized that the chemical structure of polyethylene is similar to surfactants (e.g. soap) to some extent. The breakthrough was breaking the long polyethylene chains to short segments of similar length to soap molecules.

Can you explain the chemical process involved in converting plastic waste into usable soap molecules, and how it differs from traditional recycling methods and does the plastic that is recycled have to be prepared before the chemical process, if so how?

The chemical process that converts polyethylene (PE) waste into usable soap molecules include two steps. In the first step, it breaks the long PE chains into short segments of carbon atoms linked together, which are non-polar. The second step converts these short carbon segments into actual surfactants with a polar end group. This process differs from traditional recycling in that it does not require extensive pretreatment for the plastic waste and yet it produces high-value materials for use in another industry.

What types of plastics are most suitable for this transformation, and are there limitations in the scope of plastics that can be used?

The two most suitable plastics are polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). This covers the recycling numbers of #2, #4, and #5. 

How does this technology compare to existing recycling methods in terms of efficiency, scalability, and environmental impact?

We have found this process to be highly scalable. In our lab, we have scaled it up by ~100 times and now we can produce large quantities of soap and detergent. The process produces no gas emissions, and thus leaves little environmental impact. Besides the main product that can be used to make surfactants, the solid residues are useful for recovery metals, and metallurgical processes. 

What are the potential challenges in commercializing this process, and how does your team plan to address them to make it widely accessible?

The primary challenge in commercialization lies in the investment of capital equipment. This is a hard-core high-tech chemical process and require skilled chemists and engineers. We are working on a commercialization process and have recently spun-off a startup to do so. Investments are welcome.

How does the soap produced from plastic waste compare in quality and safety to conventional soaps, and what applications do you envision for this product?

The soap or surfactant in general produced from plastic waste have the same chemical structure to existing ones. There will be no differences in quality and safety. The only difference is that it is not from petroleum sources directly but the materials have been used before. We envision the product can be used industrially for cleaning and other purposes.

What are the next steps for your research, and how do you see this innovation contributing to global plastic waste management efforts?

We would like to expand the research other areas of surfactants and broaden the scope of application field. We’d also like to scale it up for pre-pilot or pilot-scale production.  We have spun-off a startup and with investment, we will be able to do so.

Hassan Ahmed

Hassan graduated with a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Chester (UK). He currently works as a design engineering consultant for one of the largest engineering firms in the world along with being an associate member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).

The post Inside the Chemical Upcycling Breakthrough Turning Plastic Waste into High-Value Soap | An Interview with Professor Liu of Virginia Tech appeared first on Engineeringness.

To expand on these findings, we spoke with the lead researcher behind the study, Prof. Hans Hallen, to understand how resonance Raman was adapted for fossil tissues, the rigorous contamination-control protocols implemented, and the spectral clues that revealed not only the presence of haemoglobin but also the early chemical pathways that shape fossil preservation. The discussion also touches on validation using modern ostrich bone, the role of sediments and mineral interactions in molecular survival, and the prospects of applying this technique to other ancient biomolecules. you can see the research paper this interview was based on here:

Long, B. J. N., Zheng, W., Schweitzer, M., & Hallen, H. D. (2025). Resonance Raman confirms partial haemoglobin preservation in dinosaur remains. Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 481(2321). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2025.0175

The following interview is presented unedited to preserve the researcher’s original responses and provide an unfiltered view of how resonance Raman imaging can uncover molecular stories hidden within fossilized bone.

Can you explain how resonance Raman spectroscopy was adapted or tuned specifically to detect haemoglobin signatures in fossilized bone, and what wavelength(s) or resonance conditions were most critical?

Resonance Raman always requires tuning to an absorption of the molecules of interest, in our case haemoglobin. We had to be careful since the strong Soret band absorption is also present in haeme without protein attached, and many organisms have bare haeme, so the haemoglobin is needed to show endonogenicity. We therefore use an iron related absorption near our 532 nm laser.

What characteristics of the Raman spectra (e.g. vibrational bands, peak ratios) gave you confidence that the signals originated from haemoglobin, rather than modern contaminants or other organic materials?

The resonance itself indicates that haemoglobin or its remnants are present. Additional confidence arises from the haeme and connector molecule lines, although they are more useful for identifying changes.

What sample preparation and imaging protocols did you employ to ensure that you preserved any original molecules while minimising the risk of introducing contamination during analysis?

We did the preparation in a dedicated lab and did minimal processing to remove the minerals while leaving the organic matter unchanged.

When mapping the fossil cross-sections, how did the spatial distribution of haemoglobin signals correlate with bone microstructure (e.g. vascular canals, secondary osteons), and what does that suggest about the molecule’s preservation?

Once we removed the minerals, we are left with vessel-like structures. We mapped some of these areas, but the hints at mechanisms came from both the changes of the spectra and their relation to the light and dark regions we invariably see along the vessel-like structures.

What control experiments or comparisons; such as modern bone or artificially aged samples, did you conduct to validate the method’s sensitivity and specificity?

We used modern ostrich aged under different conditions as a control. While deoxygenated storage preserved the original, an oxidizing storage showed the beginnings of very similar processes – – all of them, showing that they begin very early in the fossilization process.

From a preservation standpoint, what insights does this finding offer about the mechanisms (e.g. mineral binding, environmental conditions) that enable biomolecular survival over tens of millions of years?

First, the processes start early so ‘you’ need to be in the correct sediment. Probably the bone and sediment both reduce the flow of reactive species to the organic matter. Once there, some regions seem to ‘use up’ the oxygen and hydroxides to form goethite still attached to the Hb! This helps to preserve other parts of the molecule. In regions where oxygen gets in, the carbon double bonds near the outer part of the ring are the most easy to oxidize and we observe the vibrations associated with them go away as expected. I still think it is amazing how long they last.

Looking forward, how might resonance Raman imaging be applied to other fossilized biomolecules (e.g. collagen, melanin), and are there plans to extend this approach to other specimens or museum collections?

The molecule needs an absorption that is very ‘telling’ in that it helps show that the molecules are endogenous, is not commonly found on other molecules so we retain specificity, and enhances a Raman signal that tells us something important. Our excitation wavelength for Hb did all these things. The key is to find other important molecules with such good absorption lines. Collagen is likely to be hard since it is everywhere and doesn’t really have unique bonds. Electron microscopy has been used for it before and seems to do a good job. I should add that it is always best to have a few methods that point to the same conclusions. We also had antibody work in our paper and the related literature has others. We want to continue this work with more types of dinosaurs and sediments along with a more detailed study of such influences in the early stages. The main problem with museum collections are the binders that they use to hold the fossils together. They tend to fluoresce, which gives unwanted background. You really want to know the history of the sample. They may not last long if the sediment was protecting them from reactive atom diffusion.

Hassan Ahmed

Hassan graduated with a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Chester (UK). He currently works as a design engineering consultant for one of the largest engineering firms in the world along with being an associate member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).

The post Inside the Resonance Raman Breakthrough Revealing Haemoglobin in Dinosaur Fossils | An Interview with Prof. Hans Hallen (NC State University) appeared first on Engineeringness.

Now, we sat down with Christophe Valahu and the team behind the work to unpack their experimental strategy; how they used a single trapped ion, GKP-type states, and quantum-error-correction protocols to realise this concept in the lab. They walk us through the challenges of maintaining coherence, suppressing back-action, and controlling decoherence; the performance regimes where their method excels; and the broader implications for precision metrology, dark-matter detection, and molecular ion spectroscopy. You can view the research paper this interview pertains to here:

Valahu, C. H., Stafford, M. P., Huang, Z., Matsos, V. G., Millican, M. J., Chalermpusitarak, T., Menicucci, N. C., Combes, J., Baragiola, B. Q., & Tan, T. R. (2025). Quantum-enhanced multiparameter sensing in a single mode. Science Advances, 11(39). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adw9757

The following interview is presented unedited to preserve the researchers’ original responses and to give you a clear, unfiltered view of how they adapted stabiliser-based measurements, reshaped uncertainty within a defined range, and pushed trapped-ion sensing into a new operational regime.

Your approach claims to “reshape quantum uncertainty” without violating Heisenberg’s principle. Could you walk us through how you designed the new trade-off between measuring position and momentum that allows finer precision in small signals?

The Heisenberg uncertainty principle is a fundamental limit that cannot be surpassed. It restricts how precisely we can estimate position and momentum at the same time. However, we are still allowed to move and reshape the uncertainty, as long as the total uncertainty remains constant. This concept, theoretically proposed in 2017 by Duivenvoorden, Terhal and Weigand for position and momentum sensing, is central to our approach. The key idea is to measure small changes in position and momentum around a reference point while sacrificing the absolute knowledge of that reference. In doing so, we reduce the uncertainty of simultaneously estimating position and momentum within a small range, at the expense of increasing uncertainty in global information, maintaining the overall uncertainty.

How did you implement this method experimentally; what system (e.g. trapped ion, oscillator) state preparation (grid states or similar) and measurement protocols were essential to proving the concept?

We implemented this method experimentally with a single trapped ion. The first challenge was to efficiently prepare the sensing state in the ion’s mechanical motion. We used quantum control protocols that were previously developed for error-correcting codes. These involve applying modulated laser interactions that couple the ion’s internal and external degrees of freedom. The modulation sequence is optimised numerically and is made robust to experimental imperfections. We prepare Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) type states, which are well studied in bosonic quantum error-correction. The second challenge was implementing the measurement protocol, which leveraged stabiliser measurements from quantum error-correction with GKP logical qubits.

What were the key technical challenges in maintaining coherence, minimizing measurement back-action, and avoiding decoherence when performing simultaneous or nearly simultaneous position and momentum readouts?

The main challenge of this experiment was minimising the decoherence effects in the ion’s motion during the sensing protocol, particularly due to instabilities in the trapping field caused by electronic noise. We addressed this by improving the experimental setup to reduce hardware noise and by using quantum control to make the operations more robust. Our numerical optimisation routine gave us flexibility, allowing faster and more robust operations. Another challenge was heating of the ion’s motion during measurements. Reading out the state of the trapped ion involves scattering photons and collecting these on a detector. However, the scattered photons impart small momentum kicks which scramble information encoded in the ion’s motion. To mitigate this, we randomized the ion’s initial state and only kept measurement outcomes without photon scattering, sacrificing some data in the process.

In which regimes or parameter spaces (e.g. small displacements, weak forces) does your method outperform conventional approaches, and where does it still fall short?

Our sensing schemes unambiguously measures small shifts in position and momentum within a defined range. One can think of this as an increase in sensitivity at the cost of a reduced dynamic range. Consequently, this scheme is particularly well suited for measuring weak forces that cause small displacements on the ion’s motion.

How generalizable is the technique to other quantum platforms (e.g. solid-state qubits, optomechanical systems)? What modifications or constraints might you foresee?

Our experimental demonstration adapted quantum control techniques that were developed for bosonic quantum error-correction, which have been demonstrated in platforms such as cavity quantum electrodynamics and photonics. Therefore, this sensing scheme can in principle be adapted to other platforms capable of preparing GKP-like states and performing the required measurements. Replicating this experiment on different platforms would be valuable, as they offer distinct advantages and challenges.

What are the potential applications you expect this enhanced measurement precision to unlock; such as gravitational sensors, inertial navigation, or probing new physics, and what are the next steps toward integrating your method into those systems?

This sensing technique is particularly well suited for applications where one needs to measure small forces or displacements without knowing if they are aligned with position or momentum. It reduces the uncertainty in both, making it ideal for such scenarios. Trapped ions have been proposed as platforms to search for dark matter. Alternatively, this sensing scheme could also enhance sympathetic spectroscopy of molecular ions with challenging transitions.

Looking ahead, what are the biggest obstacles remaining; whether in scaling, stability, noise suppression, or system integration, and what plans do you have to address them in your ongoing research?

A key challenge with trapped ions is performing repeated measurements without decohering information encoded in the ion’s motion due to scattered photons. A solution developed by researchers in NIST, which we plan to implement on our experiment, addresses this issue. Another challenge is increasing the coherence time of the ion’s motion, which requires careful design of the stabilisation electronics. Improving the coherence time would enhance the sensitivity of our sensor.

Hassan Ahmed

Hassan graduated with a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Chester (UK). He currently works as a design engineering consultant for one of the largest engineering firms in the world along with being an associate member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).

The post Inside the Quantum Sensing Breakthrough Reshaping Heisenberg’s Limit | An Interview with Dr. Christophe Valahu, The University of Sydney appeared first on Engineeringness.

In this extended conversation, Professor Jonathan Richardson from the University of California walks us through the optical and thermomechanical constraints that motivated the development of FROSTI, the non-imaging thermal actuator system designed to correct higher-order wavefront distortions with unprecedented precision. We also discuss how this technology could reduce LIGO’s quantum noise floor, expand its astrophysical reach, and lay the groundwork for Cosmic Explorer’s future 40 km facilities—ushering in an era of precision gravitational-wave science in which millions of black hole and neutron star mergers may be observed across cosmic time.

To learn more about Design details of the new technology see below:

Rosauer, T., Cao, H. T., Bhattacharya, M., Carney, P., Johnson, L., Levin, S., Liang, C., Ma, X., Martin Gutierrez, L., Padilla, M., Tao, L., Wilkin, A., Brooks, A., & Richardson, J. W. (2025). Demonstration of a next-generation wavefront actuator for gravitational-wave detection. Optica, 12(10), 1569. https://doi.org/10.1364/OPTICA.567608

To learn more about the Astrophysical details of the technology see below:

Tao, L., Bhattacharya, M., Carney, P., Gutierrez, L. M., Johnson, L., Levin, S., Liang, C., Ma, X., Padilla, M., Rosauer, T., Wilkin, A., & Richardson, J. W. (2025). Expanding the Quantum-Limited Gravitational-Wave Detection Horizon. Physical Review Letters, 134(5), 051401. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.051401

The following interview is presented unedited to preserve the technical clarity and intent of the original responses, offering an unfiltered view into how the team combined optical physics, thermal engineering, and non-imaging design principles to prototype a new class of adaptive optics for gravitational-wave detectors.

Acknowledgment by Prof. Jonathan Richardson: This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Award Nos. PHY-2110348 and PHY-2409496. Additional support was provided by LIGO Laboratory under Advanced Detector Technology Research (ADTR) Initiative No. LIGO-M2200050. LIGO was constructed by the California Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology with funding from the NSF, and is operated by LIGO Laboratory under cooperative agreement PHY-1764464. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

How did your background in physics and optics guide the decision to apply segmented adaptive optics to gravitational-wave detectors, and what gaps or constraints in current instruments motivated this innovation?

To see farther into the distant universe, tomorrow’s gravitational-wave detectors will require an incredible amount of laser power—1.5 megawatts, almost five times higher than what LIGO can reach today. They will also require highly “squeezed” quantum states of light, where quantum correlations are introduced between individual photons to suppress fluctuations of the detector’s readout signal. The problem is that, under the limits of today’s technology, high levels of laser power and high levels of squeezing are almost mutually exclusive. Squeezed quantum states of light are extremely susceptible to aberrations in the optical system, which create loss. As the laser power is raised higher, the optics absorb more and more power, causing them to distort which reduces the achievable squeezing. The new adaptive optical technology we have developed is designed to enable both of these at once, by precisely reshaping the surfaces of LIGO’s main mirrors in a contactless way. It does this by collecting thermal radiation from an internal heater source and reshaping it into a complex heating pattern that is projected onto the mirrors’ surfaces.

The system you propose more precisely corrects wavefront error in the core LIGO optics. How do those improvements translate into better strain sensitivity or angular localization for gravitational-wave detectors?

We assessed the transformative astrophysical impact of this technology in a preceding paper (https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.051401). In simulated projections for LIGO A+, we found that our initial concept of this technology can reduce the quantum noise floor of the LIGO detectors by up to 20% from 200 Hz to 5 kHz, corresponding to an additional 4 Mpc in the sky-averaged detection range for binary neutron star mergers. In the longer term, this work lays the foundation for one of the key technology improvements essential to fully utilize the scientific potential of the existing 4 km LIGO facilities, to observe black hole merger events to much earlier times in the history of the Universe (past a redshift of 5), and opens an R&Dpathway towards a next-generation 40 km gravitational-wave observatory in the U.S., Cosmic Explorer.

Could you describe in detail the hardware architecture: wavefront actuator design and how you manage real-time feedback under astronomical conditions?

LIGO already has some ability to correct the surfaces of its main 40 kg mirrors with devices known as “ring heaters.” These can change the overall radius of curvature, or the focal length, of the mirrors. However, the surface deformation caused by the laser beam heating is not purely a focal length change. It also includes more complex-shaped, higher-order deformations which become limiting as we increase the laser power. Our new technology is designed to zero this residual higher-order error. It achieves this by projecting a complex heating profile onto the front surface of the mirrors, which is produced using highly stable thermal radiation sources packaged inside a non-imaging reflector. It is the first prototype for an entirely new type of approach leveraging non-imaging optical principles, which has never been used in gravitational wave detection before. FROSTI is the acronym we coined for this instrument, which stands for FROnt Surface Type Irradiator. Although the name “FROSTI” may seem strange for a device that adds heat to LIGO’s mirrors, it does so in a way that restores the mirrors to their ideal cold optical state. The FROSTI actuators will initially be used open-loop in the LIGO detectors, due to the long thermal time scale of their 40 kg optics (over 10 hours), but we are actively researching the potential for closed-loop control in next-generation detectors.

The proposal considers retrofitting existing detectors. What are the main practical challenges (alignment, vibration isolation, calibration) in integrating your adaptive module into legacy observatories?

One of the key technical challenges is that the intensity of this heating profile must be extremely stable, since fluctuations in the incident heating power will buffet the mirrors and create displacements mimicking gravitational waves. We overcome this challenge by using highly stable thermal radiation sources, rather than lasers, to produce the heating pattern. Another is that the total weight of the units must be kept very small, as they will be retrofitted onto the existing suspension cage framing of LIGO’s mirrors. Although this first prototype is 25 kg, a production design known as “FROSTI Lite” is under development within LIGO which reduces the mass to only 6 kg, by removing all excess material from the non-imaging reflectors.

How do you anticipate the performance benefits of this system will evolve as gravitational-wave sources become more common and require better electromagnetic follow-ups or localization?

The breakthrough in adaptive optical technology reported in our latest paper will help to expand the world’s gravitational-wave view of the Universe by a factor of ten in the next decade. A future upgrade of the LIGO detectors, known as A# (pronounced A-sharp), is envisioned to be a pathfinder that will demonstrate the next-generation technologies essential for Cosmic Explorer, including FROSTI. The FROSTI technology we develop for LIGO A# can be scaled up for the larger 400 kg mirrors of Cosmic Explorer, so we expect the technology of Cosmic Explorer to look very similar to that first deployed in LIGO A#. This is key to enabling the transition of gravitational-wave astronomy from an initial discovery era, which began in 2015 when LIGO detected the first gravitational waves from two coalescing black holes, to an era of precision science in which millions of black hole and neutron star mergers are observed across cosmic time with high fidelity. These observations will drive transformative discoveries about the nature of the Universe and our place within it.

Looking ahead, what are your plans for prototyping, demonstrations, or collaborations with gravitational-wave observatories, and what metrics will you use to validate the system’s real-world impact?

The technology reported in this paper is highly scalable, in that the same technique can be used to design devices that produce even more complex optical corrections. The first prototype is a proof of concept that produces a relatively simple correction, in terms of the technology’s ultimate capabilities. This correction is beneficial for LIGO but it still does not zero the optical distortions precisely enough for LIGO A# and Cosmic Explorer, at least for the main input mirrors. We are continuing to prototype designs capable of handling even more complex optical aberrations, guided by finite element simulations of the optics’ residual wavefront errors under a given heating pattern. These simulations will then be experimentally confirmed through full-scale prototypes built and tested following the same procedures as described in our recent paper (https://doi.org/10.1364/OPTICA.567608).

Hassan Ahmed

Hassan graduated with a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Chester (UK). He currently works as a design engineering consultant for one of the largest engineering firms in the world along with being an associate member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).

The post Inside the Adaptive Optics Breakthrough Aiming to Boost LIGO’s Sensitivity and Power the Next Generation of Gravitational-Wave Observatories | An Interview with Prof. Jonathan Richardson appeared first on Engineeringness.

Now, we sat down with the team behind the work to unpack the engineering decisions that made this possible; from encapsulating magnetic nanoparticles with DNA carrier strands, to identifying clinically tolerable magnetic field conditions, to demonstrating controlled pore-forming protein synthesis for model payload release. We discussed the challenges of balancing thermal activation with biological stability, the considerations for biocompatibility and circulation, and the roadmap toward in-vitro disease models, membrane functionalisation, and translational delivery strategies.

The following interview is presented unedited to preserve the team’s original insights into how they integrated molecular programming, magnetothermal control, and synthetic-cell engineering to create a platform with the potential to reshape targeted therapeutics.

Could you describe how you engineered the synthetic cell membranes to be responsive to magnetic fields, and what materials or molecular constructs (e.g. magnetic nanoparticles) are embedded in or attached to the vesicles?

The membranes themselves are unmodified; they comprise solely lipid components. Instead, the magnetic nanoparticles are encapsulated inside the synthetic cells, free in solution. A “carrier” DNA strand is attached to the surface of the magnetic nanoparticles and a DNA promoter sequence hybridised onto the carrier strand. In an alternating magnetic field, the magnetic nanoparticles act as heating mediators. The localised temperature increase, termed magnetic hyperthermia, denatures the double stranded DNA on the surface of the magnetic nanoparticles and releases the DNA promoter sequence. Now free in solution, the DNA promoter sequence hybridises to an otherwise inactive gene of interest, switching “on” the expression of a target protein inside the synthetic cells. The protein machinery required for protein synthesis is encapsulated inside the synthetic cells (alongside the magnetic nanoparticles and inactive gene of interest) and critically, the design takes advantage of the polymerase enzyme requiring a double stranded DNA promoter sequence for transcription.

What specific drug payloads have you successfully encapsulated and released using magnetic field activation, and how precise is the spatial and temporal control of release?

This work details a compelling proof of concept, as such, we have released fluorescent dyes as “model” payloads by synthesising a pore-forming protein only in the presence of an alternating magnetic field.

How did you determine the optimal magnetic field strengths, frequencies, and durations to trigger release without compromising the integrity of the synthetic cell or harming surrounding tissues?

We chose the magnetic field strength and frequency to be within the clinically tolerable limit. We optimised the timeframe being cautious not to denature the protein machinery encapsulated inside the synthetic cells. The latter relied on trial and error, tracking the fluorescence intensity of synthesised fluorescent protein.

What in vitro (or in vivo, if performed) models have you tested so far, and what did these experiments reveal about targeting efficiency, off-target effects, and cellular uptake?

Our next steps are to explore in-vitro cellular models, building off this proof of concept.

Could you discuss the biocompatibility and stability of the synthetic cells; especially in circulation, both before and after activation?

Synthetic cells akin with those presented in this paper have been administered in-vivo, proving biocompatible and stable^1–3. In our case, future work will focus on investigating the specific biocompatibility our of system, incorporating strategies such as PEGylation, known to prolong circulation times.

1.   Chen, Z. et al. Synthetic beta cells for fusion-mediated dynamic insulin secretion. Nat. Chem. Biol. 14, 86–93 (2018).

2.   Chen, G. et al. Implanted synthetic cells trigger tissue angiogenesis through de novo production of recombinant growth factors. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 119, e2207525119 (2022).

3.   Krinsky, N. et al. Synthetic Cells Synthesize Therapeutic Proteins inside Tumors. Adv. Healthc. Mater. 7, 1701163 (2018).

How do you envision integrating this technology into existing drug delivery frameworks (e.g. injectable carriers, implantable reservoirs), and what are the key engineering and regulatory challenges to overcome?

Previous in-vivo studies use injection as the route of administration^1–3. Future work in ascertaining the best route of administration and its associated regulatory challenges is outside of our expertise and will rely on a suitable collaboration.

1.     Chen, Z. et al. Synthetic beta cells for fusion-mediated dynamic insulin secretion. Nat. Chem. Biol. 14, 86–93 (2018).

2.   Chen, G. et al. Implanted synthetic cells trigger tissue angiogenesis through de novo production of recombinant growth factors. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 119, e2207525119 (2022).

3.   Krinsky, N. et al. Synthetic Cells Synthesize Therapeutic Proteins inside Tumors. Adv. Healthc. Mater. 7, 1701163 (2018).

Looking ahead, what are your team’s priorities in advancing this platform; such as refining control mechanisms, testing in disease models, or scaling manufacturing for translational research?

To advance this platform, three main objectives have been set: access relevant biologics by replacing the gene of interest and the encapsulated small molecule; functionalise the lipid membrane with targeting groups, to improve biodistribution, and “stealth” polymers such as PEG, to improve stability and prevent protein corona; in-vitro testing in a relevant disease model with and without an alternating magnetic field. Realising these goals will help us to assess the potential of these magnetically controllable synthetic cells in targeted drug delivery.

Hassan Ahmed

Hassan graduated with a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Chester (UK). He currently works as a design engineering consultant for one of the largest engineering firms in the world along with being an associate member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).

The post UCL Booth Lab Develops Magnetically Activated Synthetic Cells for Precision Gene Expression and Drug Delivery appeared first on Engineeringness.