Energy

Leave it to Scotland to find a reason to make more whisky. A new research project at the University of Abertay Dundee could make it possible for cars of the future to run on fuel made from the by-products of brewing and distilling booze. Researchers in Abe ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 25 2007 - 12:50pm

A POX On Synthesis Gas

A way to convert natural gas into raw materials for the chemical industry and generate power as a by-product could lead to more environmental benign manufacturing processes. Making synthesis gas- a blend of hydrogen and carbon monoxide- is a key step in tu ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 11 2007 - 7:23pm

New 'Facilitated Transport' Membrane Catches CO2 For Disposal

Approximately one third of the total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the world come from energy production. It's possible to make CO2-free gas-powered plants but that relies on it being removed from the waste gases and deposited in the ground, an ex ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 19 2007 - 10:13am

The Upside To Biofuels: It Will Help Poor People

Biofuels are a wash environmentally and a negative economically because they requite subsidies to be competitive but there is one way they are a boon: the increase in world agriculture prices caused by the global boom in biofuels could benefit many of the ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 19 2007 - 6:34pm

Propane-Fed Bacteria Found In Natural Gas

A German-American research team of biologists and geochemists has discovered hitherto unknown anaerobic bacteria in marine sediments which need only propane or butane for growth. The hydrocarbons ethane, propane and butane – as well as the main component, ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 20 2007 - 7:36pm

Does Standby Mode Need Regulation?

Consumers are told that leaving electrical devices in standby mode wastes large amounts of energy and makes a significant contribution to carbon dioxide emissions. Should 'standby mode' be regulated by governments? Not according to results of a s ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 4 2007 - 4:20am

Untapped Energy Source: Waste Heat From Engines

Energy lost from hot engines could save billions of dollars if it could be captured and converted into electricity via thermoelectric devices, according to Clemson University physicist Terry Tritt. “Thermoelectric generators are currently used in NASA’s de ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 7 2007 - 9:41pm

Organic Solar Cells: The Hype Has No Limit

In the latest issue of Materials Today, Dr. Gilles Dennler of Konarka Austria GmbH and twenty other experts warn that a race to report organic solar cells (OSCs) with world record efficiencies is leading to a significant number of published papers claiming ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 15 2007 - 1:50pm

Upload/Download: An Internet Model For Electricity By The Year 2050

In the future everyone who is connected to the electric grid will be able to upload and download 'packets' of electricity to and from the network, according to one scenario by Dutch researcher Jos Meeuwsen of the Technical University Eindhoven. H ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 24 2007 - 12:34pm

Turning Oil Spills Into Energy

Leaking pipelines in Siberia, sabotage operations in Nigeria and the long-term consequences of accidents have one thing in common: they leave behind them huge lakes of oil which pollute the soil, contaminate the ground water and destroy the habitat of huma ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 29 2007 - 10:23am