In Ireland, new research from NUI Galway and the University of Limerick has for the first time quantified the volume of plastic from European countries (EU, UK, Switzerland and Norway) that contributes to ocean littering from exported recycling. While European countries have developed world-leading waste management infrastructure, 46% of European separated plastic waste is exported […]
In India, the Hindu reports that researchers in the Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad are using machine learning techniques to understand the factors and impediments to incorporating biofuels into the fuel sector in India, and found production cost to be the main hinderance to acceptance and use of biofuels. The model developed by the IITH team […]
In Germany, a group of researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has discovered that the multicellular species Phormidium lacuna can be genetically modified by natural transformation and could thus produce substances such as ethanol or hydrogen. The technique established by the researchers to modify multicellular cyanobacteria by introducing genetic information opens up a […]
In Ohio, in a process supported by the University of Dayton Research Institute, ASTM International has approved the use of a synthetic oil derived from municipal waste in the manufacture of jet fuel at petroleum refineries. The co-processing of “syncrude” with petroleum at the refinery level is the second new specification for jet fuel approved […]
In Illinois, in a recent study published in Frontiers in Plant Science, where researchers from the University of Illinois and the University of Oxford worked with maize and the bioenergy crop Miscanthus to find that the decline in the efficiency of leaves at the bottom of the canopy was not due to their age but […]
In Australia, chemical engineers from UNSW Sydney have developed new technology that helps convert harmful carbon dioxide emissions into chemical building blocks to make useful industrial products like fuel and plastics. And if adopted on a large scale, the process could give the world breathing space as it transitions towards a green economy. The researchers, […]
In Colorado, an analysis from NREL researchers suggests hydrogen has the greatest potential among technologies for seasonal energy storage in the future. They developed a multi-model approach that considers both the estimated cost and value of storage technologies in determining cost-competitiveness. They analyzed 80 scenarios involving hydrogen, pumped hydro, and compressed air in making their […]
In Poland, scientists working at the Department for Functional Nanomaterials at the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences designed and synthesized a functional ternary Pt/Re/SnO2/C catalyst as an anode material in a direct ethanol fuel cell. It was possible by synthesizing platinum, rhenium and tin oxide nanoparticles of a spherical shape […]
In New York state, Cornell-led collaboration is turning DNA from organic matter—such as onions, fish and algae—into biodegradable gels and plastics. The resulting materials could be used to create everyday plastic objects, unusually strong adhesives, multifunctional composites and more effective methods for drug delivery, without harming the environment the way petrochemical-based materials do. The team’s […]
In Japan, in a new study published in Energy & Fuels, researchers led by the Tokyo University of Science developed a novel technique for cellulose degradation. This technique was based on a type of laser called the infrared-free electron laser (IR-FEL), whose wavelength is tunable in the range of 3 to 20 μm. This new […]
