Oct
19
A North Sea Oil Discovery Gets Bigger
October 19, 2011 | 5 Comments
Back in August we looked at the world’s leading oil discovery firm, Statoil, out of Norway and its new field. Statoil confirmed their new oil field would be a giant that at that date would be a 500 million to 1.2 billion recoverable barrel field. That’s changed now, and for western hemisphere consumers, great news. [...]
Oct
18
Ammonia For Fuel Update
October 18, 2011 | 5 Comments
The 8th Annual NH3 Fuel Conference held back in September has some interesting results worth a look and some thought. So far, Brian Wang at NextBigFuture has a write up with long quotes and some good links to set up a post. The prize though is “Nuclear Ammonia – A Sustainable Nuclear Renaissance’s ‘Killer Ap’” [...]
Oct
17
Where More Biofuel Crops Can Be Grown
October 17, 2011 | 1 Comment
Matt Johnston, from the University of Minnesota and his colleagues have produced a global map that identifies areas of low-yielding biofuel crops whose productivity could be increased through intensification opening a new set of questions and issues. The map shows that there is huge potential for increasing biofuel production without increasing its area footprint. However, [...]
Oct
14
Perhaps the First Molecular Filter Arrives
October 14, 2011 | Leave a Comment
At the University of Minnesota a research team has designed a specialized type of molecular sieve that could make the production of gasoline, plastics and various chemicals more cost effective and energy efficient. After more than a decade of research, the team devised a means for developing freestanding, ultra-thin zeolite nanosheets that as thin films [...]
Oct
13
Concern Grows About Minerals and Metals
October 13, 2011 | 1 Comment
Many if not most metals, rare earth minerals and other elements used to make everything from photovoltaic panels and cellphone displays to the permanent magnets in cutting edge new wind generators and motors will become limited in availability. Geologists are warning of shortages and bottlenecks of some metals due to an insatiable demand for consumer [...]
Oct
12
Industrial Waste Gas to Jet Fuel
October 12, 2011 | 4 Comments
Waste gases emitted by blast furnaces, coke ovens and BOF (basic oxygen furnace) operations can now be converted into low-cost ethanol and high-value chemicals. The new fuel production process recycles waste gases that would otherwise be oxidized further to carbon dioxide and released into the atmosphere. Britain’s Virgin Atlantic Airline announced the development of a [...]
Oct
11
There’s An Oil Boom In America
October 11, 2011 | Leave a Comment
The USA, largest consumer of oil and perhaps about fourth in production has entered an oil boom. It’s because of production technology. U.S. demand has slipped down as well. The U.S. is awash in oil. It’s the rest of the world that’s driving demand. The past 25 years has seen world oil sales increase 50% [...]
Oct
10
A Battery For The Grid
October 10, 2011 | Leave a Comment
Aquion Energy in Pittsburgh uses the simple chemistry of water-based electrolyte and abundant materials such as sodium and manganese for a grid scale battery that is expected to cost $300 for a kilowatt-hour of storage capacity, less than a third of what it would cost to use lithium-ion batteries. Third-party tests have shown that Aquion’s [...]
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