Turning up the heat on biofuels
The production of biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass would benefit on several levels if carried out at temperatures between 65 and 70 degrees Celsius. Researchers with the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI) have employed a promising technique for improving the ability of enzymes that break cellulose down into fermentable sugars to operate in this temperature range.
Posted: May 15th, 2013
Read moreX-48 project completes flight research for cleaner, quieter aircraft (w/video)
NASA's remotely piloted X-48C hybrid-wing-body subscale aircraft, which demonstrates technology concepts for cleaner and quieter commercial air travel, completed an eight-month flight research campaign on April 9.
Posted: May 15th, 2013
Read moreResearchers demonstrate significant improvement in the performance of solar-powered hydrogen generation
Using a powerful combination of microanalytic techniques that simultaneously image photoelectric current and chemical reaction rates across a surface on a micrometer scale, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have shed new light on what may become a cost-effective way to generate hydrogen gas directly from water and sunlight.
Posted: May 15th, 2013
Read moreNew report identifies strategies to achieve net-zero energy homes
Chances are you know how many miles your car logs for each gallon or tankful of gas, but you probably have only a foggy idea of how much energy your house consumes, even though home energy expenditures often account for a larger share of the household budget.
Posted: May 15th, 2013
Read moreA novel concept to store electricity at the bottom of the sea
Norwegian research scientists will contribute to realising the concept of storing electricity at the bottom of the sea. The energy will be stored with the help of high water pressure.
Posted: May 15th, 2013
Read moreReducing the environmental impacts of fertiliser use
Scientists have demonstrated how improvements in nitrogen fertiliser manufacture and their application could help reduce China's agricultural greenhouse gas emissions by around 60%, by 2030, compared to the current business as usual approach. This emissions reduction represents a 2 to 6% reduction in China's overall greenhouse gas emissions and therefore could be significant in the global battle on climate change.
Posted: May 15th, 2013
Read morePollution from shipping making ocean more acidic
Shipping pollution along major trade lanes can rival carbon emissions in contributing to the increased acidity of the ocean, according to a new study by an international team, including researchers from the University of Gothenburg, Chalmers University of Technology, the University of Delaware, and the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies. The research is the first global analysis that shows that acidification from shipping can during the summer months equal that from carbon dioxide.
Posted: May 15th, 2013
Read moreInnovation in spectroscopy could improve greenhouse gas detection
Detecting greenhouse gases in the atmosphere could soon become far easier with the help of an innovative technique developed by a team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where scientists have overcome an issue preventing the effective use of lasers to rapidly scan samples.
Posted: May 15th, 2013
Read moreCould CO2 be injected in sandstone? Would it stay there?
As CO2 levels in Earth's atmosphere top 400 parts per million, options such as storing the greenhouse gas in porous sandstone rock formations found in abundance on the sea floor are of increasing interest. But how do we know if CO2 can be safely injected into spongy sandstone, and that once it is there, that it will stay there?
Posted: May 14th, 2013
Read moreScientists use crowd-sourcing to help map global CO2 emissions (w/video)
Climate science researchers from Arizona State University are launching a first-of-its-kind online 'game' to better understand the sources of global warming gases. By engaging 'citizen scientists', the researchers hope to locate all the power plants around the world and quantify their carbon dioxide emissions.
Posted: May 14th, 2013
Read moreSouth Korea on course to have the world's highest carbon prices
Ambitious plans for a national emission trading system spell tough challenges ahead for Korean companies.
Posted: May 14th, 2013
Read moreSolar panels as inexpensive as paint?
A new generation of solar cells, including plasmonic-enhanced organic solar cells, could make solar power more affordable.
Posted: May 13th, 2013
Read moreBreakthrough industrial carbon capture, utilization and storage project begins full-scale operations (w/video)
This first-of-a-kind, breakthrough project advances carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies and demonstrates the potential to safely secure carbon dioxide pollution underground while providing an economic benefit and increasing our energy security.
Posted: May 13th, 2013
Read moreAs carbon dioxide hits a new high, there's still no Planet B
On May 9, 2013, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the US recorded CO2 levels in the atmosphere at of 400 parts per million. This signifies a return to the atmospheric conditions similar to those of the Pliocene, which ended about 2.6 million years ago.
Posted: May 13th, 2013
Read moreConversion efficiency of 10.5% for thin-film microcrystalline silicon solar cells
developed a novel light-trapping structure to enhance optical absorption inside thin-film silicon solar cells.
Posted: May 13th, 2013
Read moreNRL shatters endurance record for small electric UAV
Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory flew their fuel cell powered Ion Tiger UAV for 48 hours and 1 minute on April 16-18 by using liquid hydrogen fuel in a new, NRL-developed, cryogenic fuel storage tank and delivery system.
Posted: May 10th, 2013
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