A major byproduct in the papermaking industry is lignosulfonate, a sulfonated carbon waste material, which is typically combusted on site, releasing CO2 into the atmosphere after sulfur has been captured for reuse. Now researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a method to use this cheap and abundant paper biomass to build a rechargeable lithium-sulfur battery. Such a battery could be used to power big data centers as well as provide a cheaper energy-storage option for microgrids and the traditional electric grid. Click Read More below for additional information.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 2.1% in December after falling 1.4% in November. In December, the index equaled 115.7 (2015=100) compared with 113.3 in November. “While 2023 ended on a better note, truck tonnage remained in a recession as it continued to fall on a year-over-year basis,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “With that said, for-hire contract freight, which is what comprises our index, in December was 2.6% above the trough in April. For the entire year, tonnage contracted 1.7% from 2022 levels. This makes 2023 the worst annual reading since 2020 when the index fell 4% from 2019, and the only year since 2020 that tonnage contracted.” Compared with December 2022, the SA index fell 0.5%, which was the tenth straight year-over-year decrease, albeit the smallest over that period. In November, the index was down 1.6% from a year earlier.

Oil prices were set on Friday to post their first weekly decline in three weeks following a sell-off in global stock markets after news of planned U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminium raised fears of a trade war. U.S. crude is on track for a 4.5 percent drop this week, its first weekly decline in three, having given up much of the gains in recent weeks when sentiment was boosted by a fall in inventories at the Cushing delivery point for WTI. Click Read More below for additional information.