By mmillikin Researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have successfully produced renewable methane from a biomass-based synthesis gas mixture in their pilot plant for methanation using a new honeycomb catalyst. The quality of this synthetic natural gas (SNG) is comparable to that of fossil natural gas and can be used as fuel in…
By [email protected] (Bengt Halvorson) Algae-based biodiesel has been hyped in the past as a renewable fuel that can be produced here in the U.S., lowering greenhouse-gas emissions without displacing food crops or taxing water supplies. And yet it still hasn’t arrived in any significant way. There’s no single factor to blame for that, rather a…
By mmillikin The US Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory is launching a four-year, $3.2-million project to develop software that will bring the power of exascale computers to the computational study and design of catalytic materials. Ames Laboratory scientist Mark Gordon, also the Francis M. Craig Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Iowa State University, will lead…
By mmillikin SEAT, a member of the Volkswagen Group, will introduce the first SUV powered by compressed natural at the Paris Motor Show. The new Arona TGI marks the fourth vehicle in SEAT’s line-up to benefit from the cleaner, cheaper fuel, joining the Leon, Ibiza and Mii. The Arona TGI has been designed, developed and…
Scientists know that upward currents of warm air assist birds in flight. To understand how birds find and navigate these thermal plumes, researchers used reinforcement learning to train gliders to autonomously navigate atmospheric thermals. The research highlights the role of vertical wind accelerations and roll-wise torques as viable biological cues for soaring birds. The findings…
By Robin Lancaster Kent bio crosses finish line Read Full Article Here For more great articles: reNEWS – Renewable Energy News
By mmillikin Researchers at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) have developed a method that can significantly increase the yield of sugars from plants, improving the production of renewable fuels, chemicals, and materials. Producing fuels and chemicals from biomass (wood, grasses, etc.) involves breaking down (deconstructing), plants to produce single carbohydrates, mostly in the form…
Researchers have identified two main challenges for renewable biofuel production from cheap sources. First, lowering the cost of developing microbial cell factories, and second, establishing more efficient methods for hydrolysis of biomass to sugars for fermentation. Read Full Article Here For more great articles: Renewable Energy News — ScienceDaily
By mmillikin Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have identified two main challenges for renewable biofuel production from cheap sources: lowering the cost of developing microbial cell factories; and establishing more efficient methods for hydrolysis of biomass to sugars for fermentation. In a paper published in the journal Nature Energy, the researchers investigated the…
Researchers found that using bio-sequestration to capture carbon produced by US coal-fired plants even after carbon capture and storage would require using 62 percent of the nation’s arable land for that process, or 89 percent of all US land with average forest cover. In comparison, offsetting the amount of carbon produced by manufacturing solar panels…
By [email protected] Scientists have found a way to make batteries from paper and spit. But don’t expect the batteries to power your electric vehicle or take the place of your lithium-ion home storage system. Instead, the biodegradable, paper-based batteries devised by a team at Binghamton State University of New York are designed for disposable, one-time…
A new study used semi-artificial photosynthesis to explore new ways to produce and store solar energy. They used natural sunlight to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen using a mixture of biological components and human-made technologies. Read Full Article Here For more great articles: Solar Energy News — ScienceDaily
By mmillikin Aemetis will be implementing the Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation ZEBREX zeolite membrane dehydration system at the 60 million gallon per year Aemetis fuel ethanol plant in Keyes, California. The Aemetis plant upgrade is the first ZEBREX system installation in North America and is the largest implementation of the ZEBREX system worldwide. With ZEBREX, ethanol…
By Kelly Pickerel Renewable energy sources (biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) accounted for nearly 20% of net domestic electrical generation during the first half of 2018 — narrowly surpassing that provided by nuclear power, according to a SUN DAY Campaign analysis of just-released data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Each accounted for almost…
By National Wind Watch Wind turbines in Denmark produced 1,657GWh in the two summer months, according to transmission system operator (TSO) Energinet – down from 2,167GWh in the same period last year. But output from coal, gas, solar PV and biomass combined was still lower than wind production in June and July, according to the…