May
31
Bacteria to Produce Hydrogen Gas
May 31, 2010 | 12 Comments
Karin Willquist, a doctoral student in Applied Microbiology at Lund University in Sweden will soon be presenting a thesis on the subject of a newly discovered bacterium that produces twice as much hydrogen gas as the bacteria currently used. The results show how, when and why the bacterium can perform its excellent work and increase [...]
May
28
Making Butanol With Electricity
May 28, 2010 | 12 Comments
The Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) has awarded James C. Liao, Chancellor’s Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, $4 million over three years to develop a method for converting carbon dioxide into the liquid fuel isobutanol using electricity. Liao’s grant was [...]
May
27
Major Geothermal Drilling Progress
May 27, 2010 | 2 Comments
Potter Drilling’s new technology differs from current air-based techniques because they use hot fluid rather than air to spall the rock. Because spallation occurs in a water-filled borehole, Potter Drilling’s technology can be used to drill to depths required for engineered geothermal system (EGS) plants 12,000 to 30,000 feet. 30K feet is major in that [...]
May
26
Cracking the Fuel Cell Platinum Problem
May 26, 2010 | 13 Comments
Platinum – the joy of a jewelry designer – the bane of a catalyst user, and in the current economy its the most expensive element on earth. Platinum is the cost problem for fuel cells. Developing alternatives are treasure hunts of the highest caliber. Chemists at Brown University have demonstrated that a nanoparticle with a [...]
May
25
Synthetic Life Begins
May 25, 2010 | 7 Comments
May 20, 2010 might be a significant date someday. The J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), a not-for-profit genomic research organization team’s paper was published online at Science Express. The paper describes the successful construction of the first self-replicating, synthetic bacterial cell. The JCVI scientists envision the development of applications and products including biofuels, vaccines, pharmaceuticals, [...]
May
24
Get Ready for Some DMF
May 24, 2010 | 6 Comments
U.S. researchers have gotten closer to biomass sourced DMF. DMF is the anagram for 2.5-Dymethylfuran. The U.S results while novel are thought efficient triggering questions about DMF combustion and the effluent effects on the environment. Little is known in the engine community about DMF’s combustion and emission characteristics, especially about the specific chemical emissions from [...]
May
21
The New Mind Bending Transmission
May 21, 2010 | 6 Comments
Steve Durnin’s D-Drive may be the holy grail of infinitely variable transmissions. The video below will illustrate, at least in part. The thrill of the D-Drive is it lacks a friction connection for neutral, hydraulic power flow or hydraulic actuation, a torque converter or any other device that bleeds off energy – it seems, but [...]
May
20
A Worthwhile Foray Into Nuclear Energy
May 20, 2010 | 10 Comments
Brian Wang over at NextBigFuture posted an interesting collection of nuclear energy pages under the title ‘Carnival of Nuclear Energy’. Brian did a good job of catching the current events and in his way of brief titles and very short summaries puts out the bait for linking out to more info. Brian covers some 14 [...]
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