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Scientists have engineered yeast to consume acetic acid, a previously unwanted byproduct of the process of converting plant leaves, stems and other tissues into biofuels. The innovation increases ethanol yield from lignocellulosic sources by about 10 percent.
Oct 8th, 2013
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Bacterial cells use an impressive range of strategies to grow, develop and sustain themselves. Despite their tiny size, these specialized machines interact with one another in intricate ways.
Oct 8th, 2013
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A*STAR's Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences inked a Memorandum of Understanding with the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, to promote joint research and collaboration in the field of sustainable chemicals - specifically in biomass-to-chemicals research.
Oct 7th, 2013
Read moreThe anaerobic digestion process can be optimized to produce either biogas or volatile fatty acids that are even more valuable products than biogas.
Oct 7th, 2013
Read moreThe mitigation of climate change can be framed as a problem of risk management on a global scale. Avoiding dangerous interference with ecosystems and human society calls for a global climate policy, which will translate a selected climatic target into economic incentives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Oct 7th, 2013
Read moreAn EU-funded research project, 'European carbon dioxide capture and storage laboratory infrastructure' (ECCSEL), joined leading research institutes from across Europe to prepare the research infrastructure needed to promote widespread CCS adoption.
Oct 4th, 2013
Read moreWith EU funding of the project 'Thermochemical energy storage for concentrated solar power plants' (TCSPOWER), scientists are developing ways to store the Sun's thermal energy for electricity production during the night.
Oct 4th, 2013
Read moreResearchers are developing a multidimensional mapping tool to identify areas of similar climate, building practices, technologies and economics. This will aid efforts to improve the energy and resource efficiency of the built environment.
Oct 4th, 2013
Read moreUniversity of Tuebingen microbiologists show soil microbe communities can be influenced to decrease nitrous oxide emissions.
Oct 4th, 2013
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The aim of the project is to establish and implement replicable, off-grid electricity generation, based on a solar photovoltaic storage system, which promotes development in sub-Saharan Africa.
Oct 4th, 2013
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New research shows that making stuff on a 3D printer uses less energy - and therefore releases less carbon dioxide - than producing it en masse in a factory and shipping it to a warehouse.
Oct 3rd, 2013
Read moreU.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced a proposed $100 million in FY2014 funding for Energy Frontier Research Centers to accelerate the scientific breakthroughs needed to build a new 21st-century energy economy. Research supported by this initiative will enable fundamental advances in energy production and use.
Oct 2nd, 2013
Read moreThe term 'carbon capture and storage' seems only to appear when shortly followed by 'not commercially proven' or 'in development'. But construction has now begun on what will be the world's first commercial carbon dioxide mineralisation plant, in which carbon dioxide greenhouse gas is transformed into baking soda.
Oct 2nd, 2013
Read moreTo meet a goal set by the US Environmental Protection Agency's Renewable Fuels Standard to use 36 billion gallons of biofuels each year - mostly ethanol - the nation must expand its infrastructure for transporting and storing ethanol. Ethanol, however, is known for triggering stress corrosion cracking of steel. Researchers investigated the mechanism of how ethanol triggers stress corrosion cracking along with ways to circumvent this issue to prevent ethanol-related corrosion issues.
Oct 1st, 2013
Read moreThe National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently issued a new report, 'Non-Hardware ('Soft') Cost-Reduction Roadmap for Residential and Small Commercial Solar Photovoltaics, 2013'. The report builds off NREL's ongoing soft-cost benchmarking analysis and charts a path to achieve SunShot soft-cost targets of $0.65/W for residential systems and $0.44/W for commercial systems by 2020.
Oct 1st, 2013
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Solar modules are exposed to many environmental influences that cause material to fatigue over the years. Researchers have developed a procedure to calculate effects of these influences over the long term. This allows reliable lifespan predictions.
Oct 1st, 2013
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Global production of photovoltaic cells grew by 10% in 2012 in comparison to 2011 despite a 9% decline in solar energy investments according to the annual 'PV Status Report' released by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre.
Sep 30th, 2013
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The water budget of the troposphere, the bottom layer of the Earth's atmosphere, determines the weather and plays a central role in climate change. The isotope composition of water vapor, i.e. the ratio of light and heavy water molecules, provides insight into underlying mechanisms. Climate researchers gather the data required by in-situ measurements as well as by using remote sounding instruments, e.g. on board of satellites. In a recent campaign, they combined both methods and proved the precision of remote sounding measurements for the first time.
Sep 30th, 2013
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