In Tennessee, A UT-ORNL is using supercomputing to figure out ways to ease the path of turning vegetation into biofuel. A huge barrier in converting plant polymers to biofuel lies in removing other biomass polymers that subvert this chemical process. To overcome this hurdle, large-scale computational simulations are picking apart lignin, one of those inhibiting polymers, and […]
Researchers from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology came up with what could pose as one of the most interesting discoveries from plants. The researchers came up with a bio-photo-electro-chemical (BPEC) cell that can produce hydrogen, oxygen and more importantly electricity from water using sunlight with the basis of the entire cell being a simple membrane […]
Plant development research has seen some tremendous contribution from researchers with discoveries that always enhance plant growth and development. It is in this same vein that researchers from University of Adelaide (from the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology in collaboration with the School of Medicine) made a breakthrough in findings into salt […]
In the EU, ethanol’s direct greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) savings compared to fossil fuel have increased from 59% in 2014 to 64% in 2015, an increase of 8.5% against the 2014 figure, according to new industry statistics published by the European renewable ethanol association ePURE. The European renewable ethanol industry – Annual statistics report 2016*, […]
In a new process for the economical conversion of carbon dioxide into fuels such as ethanol has been developed. The proprietary noncatalytic process combines CO2 with a carbonaceous feedstock and water in the form of steam at temperatures between 1,600 to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit and low pressure, near atmospheric, in a gasifier to produce a […]
In Australia, researchers from the Australian National University said in a new study eucalyptus-based fuel would initially be more expensive than fossil fuels to make on a mass scale, but would produce significantly less net carbon emissions. “If we could plant 20 million hectares of eucalyptus species worldwide, which is currently the same amount that […]
In Texas, chemists at The University of Texas at Arlington have been the first to demonstrate that an organic semiconductor polymer called polyaniline is a promising photocathode material for the conversion of carbon dioxide into alcohol fuels without the need for a co-catalyst. In this proof-of-concept study, the researchers provide insights into the unique behavior […]
In New Mexico, A wide-ranging analysis of water vulnerability across the Pacific — including the U.S., China, Russia and Japan — has identified hundreds of locations where energy production depends upon scarce water supplies. The Sandia National Laboratories study, “Mapping Water Consumption for Energy Production Around the Pacific Rim,” was published in Environmental Research Letters. […]
The European Union organizes every year the EUCYS Prize, which has been set up to promote the ideals of co-operation and interchange between young scientists. It serves as an annual showcase of the best of European student scientific achievement and gives students the opportunity to compete with the brightest of their contemporaries at European level. […]
Michael Hummel, postdoctoral researcher at the Aalto University in Finland, has been awarded a €1.5 million ($1.68 million) starting grant by the European Research Council (ERC). The funding is allocated to a five-year project aiming at the manufacturing of high-quality carbon fibers from wood. “We can produce hybrid fibers composed of cellulose and lignin as […]
