PNNL

Why do ants and other small creatures have such sharp bites? According to scientists from the University of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), the answer lies in their ability to uniformly add zinc atoms to their teeth.

A team of researchers is using state-of-the-art forensic techniques to solve the riddle of the origin of uranium cubes that were used as part of the Nazi effort to develop nuclear weapons during the Second World War.

To reduce high-level radioactive waste and make nuclear reactors more economical, researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are working on ways to use real-time spectroscopic monitoring to improve the recycling of spent nuclear fuel.

PNNL has vitrified low-level radioactive waste taken from a tank at the decommissioned Hanford Site nuclear production complex in Washington state for the first time in a continuous process. The waste was turned into durable glass that immobilizes the radioactive and chemical compounds inside.

Amateur mechanics have long used sawdust to clean up oil spills in their garages. Now, scientists are looking to see if this low-tech solution can be adapted to protect the Arctic in case of an oil spill in its icy waters.

Scientists at PNNL in Richland, Washington have developed a piezoelectric self-charging tracking tag that generates electricity from the fish's own movements, allowing researchers to keep tabs on them more accurately for longer periods of time.​

In order to study how salmon are affected by swimming through hydroelectric dams, scientists have traditionally equipped them with surgically-implanted acoustic tracking tags. Now, however, a team has developed a much lighter acoustic tag, that can be injected into fish using a needle.

Migrating salmon in the Pacific Northwest are set to be helped on their journey by Sensor Fish. Developed by PNNL, these devices record and analyze the physical stressors faced by the fish on their trek and provide hydroelectric dams with data to become more fish-friendly.

The US Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has developed a smartphone attachment, that turns the phone into a 1,000x microscope. What's more, it's made from less than one dollar's worth of material.

Engineers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have created a continuous process that produces useful crude oil minutes after harvested algae is introduced. The final product of this process can be refined into aviation fuel, diesel, or gasoline.

A new, small-scale solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system that boasts a record efficiency of up to 57 percent could be used for household and neighborhood power generation.

Reversible Acid Gas Capture is an energy efficient, cost effective, water-saving process in which acid gases such as carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide found in power plant emissions can be trapped in a reusable organic liquid.