Nov
30
Solid State Lithium Air Battery Might Be a Breakthrough
November 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Binod Kumar, leader of the University of Dayton Research Institute has published in the 2010 Issue 1 of the Journal of the Electrochemical Society that the group has developed the first solid-state, rechargeable lithium-air battery. Kumar is calling this a breakthrough designed to address the fire and explosion risk of other lithium rechargeable batteries and [...]
Nov
27
The List for Thanks
November 27, 2009 | 2 Comments
With a little thought there is quite a list of things to be thankful for even when staying on the topic of energy and fuels.
There is the physics of the universe and all its marvels, the exchange between energy and matter, reactions that release energy and the amazing array of chemicals that can store energy.
The [...]
Nov
25
Attacking Oil
November 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment
In laboratory experiments to be reported in the journal Chemosphere, University of Utah engineer and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Andy Hong demonstrated that “pressure-assisted ozonation and sand filtration” effectively removes oil droplets dispersed in water, indicating it could be used to prevent oil sheen from wastewater discharged into coastal waters.
First, the focus on [...]
Nov
24
A Method to Get Natural Gas to Transportable Methanol
November 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment
A lot of natural gas is lost, burned off or simply too remote to get to market. Several efforts have made press releases, but most are non-scalable or not cost effective. Yet, the lure of so much fuel and energy in remote natural gas is a strong enticement.
A catalyst manufactured by the American chemist Roy [...]
Nov
23
Algae That Produces Hydrogen Gas
November 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Barry Bruce, a professor of biochemistry and cellular and molecular biology leads a team at UT Knoxville that has found the inner machinery of photosynthesis can be isolated from certain algae and, when coupled with a platinum catalyst, is able to produce a steady supply of hydrogen when exposed to light.
So far researchers have been [...]
Nov
20
US Team Sets Uranium Fuel Energy Release Record
November 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Idaho National Laboratory (INL) scientists are working with Babcock and Wilcox Inc., General Atomics, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to establish standards and procedures for the manufacture of commercial-scale new uranium fuels. The team has set a new world record with next-generation particle fuel (aka fuel pellets) for use in high temperature gas reactors (HTGRs).
The [...]
Nov
19
Progress On the Path to Harvesting Heat
November 19, 2009 | 2 Comments
Starting from scratch, without trying to improve existing technology MIT’s Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering Peter Hagelstein and graduate student Dennis Wu aimed to find how close realistic technology could come to achieving the theoretical limits for the efficiency of harvesting waste heat energy.
Hagelstein says, “There’s a gold mine in waste heat, if you could [...]
Nov
18
By Force or a Lure Will You Drive an Electric Car?
November 18, 2009 | 2 Comments
Monday Nov. 16 saw The Electrification Coalition in Washington D.C. to persuade the government to pull the financial levers for an electric car revolution. The coalition seeks a goal made with 75% of light duty vehicles to be electric powered by 2040. The group’s forecast is their goal would essentially end imported oil and improve [...]
Nov
17
On the Hunt for Cheaper Algae
November 17, 2009 | 3 Comments
A major potential from algae is they could change the energy source of fuels from the ancient fossil fuels to current account renewable fuels. That goal has two Kansas State University engineers assessing systematic production methods that could make the costs of algae oil production more reasonable.
Algae production presents major obstacles to scaling at economical [...]
Nov
16
Genome Sequenced for Ethanol Producing Yeasts
November 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Scientists from Duke University with colleagues from Brazil led by Lucas Argueso have analyzed the genome structures of bioethanol-producing microorganisms, uncovering genetic clues that will be critical in developing new technologies needed to implement production on a global scale.
Researchers at Stanford University and Brazilian colleagues led by Boris Stambuk and Gavin Sherlock have also analyzed [...]
