Algae blooms make a pond’s surface shine in mesmerizing green hues. But if the microorganisms responsible are cyanobacteria, they can also release toxins that harm humans and wildlife alike. So, a team reporting in ACS ES&T Water has designed a “set it and forget it” system for distributing algaecide using specialized buoys tethered at the site of a bloom. In tests, the buoys removed nearly all cyanobacteria without the need for frequent reapplication.

Ghost forests serve as powerful, visible warnings of climate change. Encroaching ocean waters are poisoning salt-intolerant trees, leaving behind eerie skeletal remains. Researchers from the University of Delaware are wading through these surreal landscapes along the mid-Atlantic coastline to determine the environmental impact of this climate-driven phenomenon. The researchers will present their results at ACS Spring 2026.

Biodiesel is a renewable fuel and could offer a sustainable, carbon-neutral alternative to petroleum products. Yet production costs remain a hurdle to its widespread use. Now, researchers have developed an inexpensive way to make biodiesel from materials found along the banks of their Louisiana bayou: algae and oyster shells. The researchers will present their results at ACS Spring 2026.

The state of Kentucky produces 95% of the world’s bourbon, and all that bourbon leaves behind an enormous amount of waste grain, called stillage. Now, researchers at the University of Kentucky have developed a process to transform that stillage into electrodes. With the bourbon byproduct-electrodes, they created supercapacitors that could store more energy than similarly sized commercial devices. The researchers will present their results at ACS Spring 2026.