These incredible properties have captured the attention of scientists and industry specialists around the world, all seeking to harness graphene’s potential for applications in electronics, energy, composites and coatings, biomedicine, and other industries.

Derived from graphite, the same graphite used in pencils and many other common use products, graphene is, ironically, one of the most expensive materials on the planet. This is because the process of chemically peeling off, or exfoliating, a single layer of graphene from graphite ore is cost-prohibitive on an industrial scale.

However, US Forest Service Scientist Dr. Zhiyong Cai and his research team have developed a more cost-effective way to produce graphene from lignin rather than graphite. Considered a low-value byproduct of the paper making industry, lignin makes the cell walls of plants rigid and woody but is also an abundant source of renewable carbon. 

Cai’s team has been working on lignin research since 2010, when the group first received funding through a Biomass Research and Development Initiative grant and the research has led to the filing of two patents.

A Forest Service pilot project has produced a small quantity of graphene that will be shared with university and industry collaborators for further testing. Cai and his team are now working to further characterize lignin-graphene properties, including electronic/thermal conductivity, and streamlining the lignin-to-graphene conversion process. They will also thoroughly analyze the safety of lignin-to-graphene production.

The availability of large quantities of graphene will have a huge impact upon the development of lighter and stronger structural materials for the automotive, aerospace, and building industries, among others.

A new book titled Graphene by Les Johnson and Joseph E. Neany sums up the state of graphene applications today: “Just about all of the economic superpowers across the globe have some sort of focus on graphene…Whoever cracks that code first is really going to have a major economic leg up across the global market for graphene itself.”

Though remarkably thin, soil makes up a layer of the Earth’s crust that’s vital to human survival. The soil is a living, breathing thing that, like the body’s skin, requires care and attention lest we lose its many benefits.

Ensuring that the Earth’s skin of soil can meet the food, fiber and fuel needs of a world expected to support more than 9 billion people by 2050 is a central focus of USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

The agency’s approach is both multi-faceted and cross-cutting. It includes a number of unique research efforts aimed at maintaining and improving the Earth’s “soil and air.”

ARS scientists focus on producing better measurements, computer modeling and cropping systems to minimize the escape of carbon (a greenhouse gas) from soil. Increasing carbon in soil helps retain moisture and makes water and nutrients more readily available to growing plants. 

ARS’s research efforts provide a better understanding of extreme weather events like heavy rainfall using strip tillage, cover crops and other management practices that help maintain soil health and protect soils from erosion.

ARS scientists are also studying nutrients, both inorganic (such as fertilizers) and organic (such as manure or compost). This effort includes mobile systems such as MAPHEX, which concentrates dairy manure into dried forms that are easier to transport and use. Reducing nutrient losses can save money, increase yield, and help maintain a healthy environment.

Read more: Thin Skin