All Articles Tagged As: fuel

OPX Biotechnologies Inc. Licenses CU-Boulder Biofuels Technology (5/11/2008)

A Boulder high-tech company spun off from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2007 has been granted an exclusive license by the university for a novel microbial technology to produce new biorefining fuels and related chemical products. ...> Full Article

Turning fungus into fuel (5/8/2008)

Organism with a taste for olive drab shows promise for greener energy ...> Full Article

Researcher devises fuel that are more efficient cells, thanks to a new catalyst (5/6/2008)

Researcher has developed new materials that enable the manufacture of cheaper and more efficient methanol fuel cells ...> Full Article

Lean and mean biomass-degrading fungus reveals capabilities for improved biofuel production (5/5/2008)

The genome analysis of a champion biomass-degrading fungus has revealed a surprisingly minimal repertoire of genes that it employs to break down plant cell walls, highlighting opportunities for further improvements in enzymes customized for biofuels production. ...> Full Article

New oilsands extraction method could eliminate tailings ponds (5/4/2008)

New method of extracting bitumen from oilsands that uses almost no water and would solve the industry's toxic tailings ponds dilemma ...> Full Article

Microbes could boost world energy supply (5/1/2008)

Scientists expect to begin trials next month to find out whether microbes can unlock the vast amount of energy trapped in the world's unrecoverable heavy oil deposits ...> Full Article

Gas from grass - surely not? (4/27/2008)

UK researchers hope to convert ryegrass into ethanol ...> Full Article

New Source for Biofuels Discovered by Researchers (4/24/2008)

A newly created microbe produces cellulose that can be turned into ethanol and other biofuels ...> Full Article

Chemical Engineer Discovers Way of Increasing Battery Life with Environmentally Friendly Fuel Cells (4/23/2008)

Chemical engineering professor is exploring a way to increase battery life with an environmentally friendly alternative ...> Full Article

Biogas production is all in the mixing (4/20/2008)

Engineers using an impressive array of imaging and tracking technologies, have determined the importance of mixing in anaerobic digesters for bioenergy production and animal and farm waste treatment. Anaerobic digesters employ reactors that use bacteria to break down organic matter in the absence of oxygen. ...> Full Article

Bioreactors create a marriage of the minds (4/15/2008)

Researchers to produce algal oil feedstock as biofuels for conversion to military jet fuel ...> Full Article

Promising new material for hydrogen storage (4/14/2008)

Lithium based material may be useful in hydrogen storage ...> Full Article

Money Doesn't Grow on Trees, But Gasoline Might (4/12/2008)

Researchers make breakthrough in creating gasoline from plant matter, with almost no carbon footprint ...> Full Article

Gut reaction: Cow stomach holds key to turning corn into biofuel (4/9/2008)

An enzyme from a microbe that lives inside a cow's stomach is the key to turning corn plants into fuel ...> Full Article

Fueling Ethanol Production While Protecting Water Quality (4/7/2008)

Scientists evaluate the unintended consequences of ethanol production on water quality ...> Full Article

Study Finds Concerns with Biofuels (4/6/2008)

Impact of Biofuels on Biodiversity Explored ...> Full Article

Algae could one day be major hydrogen fuel source (4/2/2008)

As gas prices continue to soar to record highs, motorists are crying out for an alternative that won't cramp their pocketbooks. ...> Full Article

Researchers test find near-zero emissions for BMW Hydrogen 7 (3/31/2008)

Independent tests conducted by engineers on the mono-fueled version of the BMW Hydrogen 7 prototype have found that the car's hydrogen-powered engine surpasses the super-ultra low-emission vehicle (SULEV) level, the most stringent emissions performance standard to date. ...> Full Article

Findings Could Improve Fuel Cell Efficiency (3/21/2008)

Researchers have developed a membrane that allows fuel cells to operate at low humidity and theoretically at higher temperatures. ...> Full Article

Invention Promises Major Advance in BioFuel Production (3/12/2008)

Research that started with bacteria from the Chesapeake Bay has led to a process that may be able to convert large volumes of all kinds of plant products, from leftover brewer's mash to paper trash, into ethanol and other biofuel alternatives to gasoline. ...> Full Article

Efficient Catalysts for Making Oxygen for 'Artificial Photosynthesis' (3/11/2008)

Research could lead to more efficient, cleaner hydrogen production ...> Full Article

Newly defined signaling pathway could mean better biofuel sources (3/8/2008)

A newly defined biochemical pathway in plants may provide the scientific tools to design plants that will yield larger quantities of alternative transportation fuels than currently can be produced ...> Full Article

Researchers discover key for converting waste to electricity (3/4/2008)

Researchers studying bacteria capable of generating electricity have discovered that riboflavin (commonly known as vitamin B-2) is responsible for much of the energy produced by these organisms. ...> Full Article

New Research Suggests Biofuel Blending is Often Inaccurate (3/2/2008)

Study of Retail Biofuel Samples Suggests National Standards May Be Needed ...> Full Article

Researchers Developing a More Efficient Ethanol Production Method (2/27/2008)

A University of Wyoming professor has received a $485,000 grant to explore a more economical way to produce ethanol. ...> Full Article

Solar cell directly splits water for hydrogen (2/20/2008)

Plants trees and algae do it. Even some bacteria and moss do it, but scientists have had a difficult time developing methods to turn sunlight into useful fuel. Now, Penn State researchers have a proof-of-concept device that can split water and produce recoverable hydrogen. ...> Full Article

Coal Gasification Could Fuel Clean Coal: Myths, Challenges And Opportunities (2/19/2008)

There is a growing consensus that increased demand for electricity will cement coal's place in the energy portfolio for years to come. In fact, more than half of the electricity produced in the United States comes from coal. With demand for electricity expected to double by 2050 and renewable resources still years away from offsetting increased demand, it is clear -- coal is here to stay. ...> Full Article

Researchers developing equipment to get double duty out of biofuels (2/15/2008)

Researchers are developing equipment that would allow farmers to have their biofuels and let their animals eat it, too. A project led by Paul Aakre, assistant professor in agriculture, examines opportunities for individual farmers or farm groups to produce their own biodiesel from crops like canola and sunflowers and use the byproduct of that biodiesel production to feed their animals. ...> Full Article

Study of Energy Crops Finds Miscanthus More Productive than Switchgrass (2/4/2008)

At the annual meeting of the American Society of Plant Biologists in Chicago (July 7-11, 2007), scientists presented findings on how to economically and efficiently produce plant crops suitable for sustainable bioenergy. Improving the production of such biomass is important because it should significantly ease and eventually replace dependence on petroleum-based fuels. Biomass is plant material, vegetation or agricultural waste used as fuel. ...> Full Article

New Techniques Create Butanol, A Superior Biofuel (1/30/2008)

A team of researchers headed by an environmental engineer at Washington University in St. Louis is plying new techniques to produce a biofuel superior to ethanol. ...> Full Article

New Methane Storage Technology Exceeds DOE Goals (1/22/2008)

In a major advance in alternative fuel technology, researchers report development of a sponge-like material with the highest methane storage capacity ever measured. It can hold almost one-third more methane than the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) target level for methane-powered cars, they report in a new study. ...> Full Article

Scientist researches ways to squeeze two fuels from one kernel of corn (1/19/2008)

Getting ethanol from a corn kernel has changed the way the country looks at a corn field. ...> Full Article

Trees, Grass May Produce Ethanol Without Poisoning Gulf (1/19/2008)

Within five to seven years fast growing trees and grasses might become economically viable alternatives to corn as a source of renewable fuel ethanol, reducing the need for pollutants that now cause a massive "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico. ...> Full Article

New fund aims to make clean biofuel a reality (1/17/2008)

If we wanted to create the ideal environmentally friendly energy source, it would be a fuel that is easy and economical to produce, and one that does not pollute the air when burned. That is exactly what researchers at ASU intend to develop in a new program that uses bacteria and sunlight to generate hydrogen, a clean fuel that produces no greenhouse gases. ...> Full Article

The power of bananas revealed (1/15/2008)

The thought of powering your house on banana waste may sound a little unrealistic, but, two years ago, UQ researcher, Associate Professor Bill Clarke, proved it was a possibility. ...> Full Article

Butter from Farm Show sculpture will power tractors (1/11/2008)

After the conclusion of the Pennsylvania Farm Show, which runs from Jan. 5 to Jan. 12, about 900 pounds of butter used in the event's famous butter sculpture will be scraped off its frame by Penn State farm operations workers, plopped into barrels and brought back to the University and State College Area High School for conversion into biodiesel. ...> Full Article

Researchers Look at Turning Plant Waste Into Biofuels (1/9/2008)

The growing demand for ethanol has Canadian farmers harvesting corn kernels at a rapid pace, but the rest of the plant has been going to waste - until now. ...> Full Article

Researcher finds renewed interest in turning algae into fuel (1/6/2008)

The same brown algae that cover rocks and cause anglers to slip while fly fishing contain oil that can be turned into diesel fuel ...> Full Article

Scientists Highlight Environmental Impacts of Biofuels (1/5/2008)

Biofuels reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in comparison to fossil fuels. In the Jan. 4 issue of the journal Science, Smithsonian researchers highlight a new study that factors in environmental costs of biofuel production. Corn, soy and sugarcane come up short. The authors urge governments to be far more selective about which biofuels they support, as not all are more environmentally friendly than fossil fuels. ...> Full Article

A breakthrough in advancing coal gasification technology (1/3/2008)

Researchers have successfully carried out a 1.0MPa, long period (up to 72 hours) high pressure testing on a semi-industrial platform of pressurized ash agglomerating fluidized bed (AFB) coal gasification, which was jointly developed by the CAS Institute of Coal Chemistry (ICC) and Jincheng Anthracite Mining Group, both being in north China's Shanxi Province. ...> Full Article

Chemist reinvents the wheel (12/25/2007)

Dr. Vera Thoss, an environmental chemist from Bangor University's School of Chemistry, has been partnering with Welsh Company UTD Research Ltd to produce novel products from used tyres. ...> Full Article

Researchers Investigate Supercritical Method of Converting Chicken Fat and Tall Oil into Biodiesel (12/22/2007)

Chemical engineering researchers have investigated supercritical methanol as a method of converting chicken fat into biodiesel fuel. The new study also successfully converted tall oil fatty acid, a major by-product of the wood-pulping process, into biodiesel at a yield of greater than 90 percent, significantly advancing efforts to develop commercially viable fuel out of plentiful, accessible and low-cost feedstocks and other agricultural by-products. ...> Full Article

Cattle Fed Byproducts Of Ethanol Production Harbor Dangerous E. Coli Bacteria (12/14/2007)

Ethanol plants and livestock producers have created a symbiotic relationship. Cattle producers feed their livestock distiller's grains, a byproduct of the ethanol distilling process, giving ethanol producers have an added source of income. ...> Full Article

Microbial fuel cells turn on the juice (12/5/2007)

The combination of beer, wastewater, microbes, fuel cells, high school students and teachers sounds like a witches' brew for an old-fashioned, illicit '60s beach party. ...> Full Article

Researchers fuelling the 'hydrogen economy' (11/27/2007)

Scientists are turning low-grade sludge into high-value gas in a process which could make eco-friendly biodiesel even greener and more economical to produce. ...> Full Article

Researcher making biofuel from rotten peaches (11/21/2007)

What's brewing in Caye Drapcho's bioreactor may well be a fuel of the future. Drapcho, a biosystems engineer at Clemson University, is investigating a bacterium that produces hydrogen. The microbe is called Thermotoga neapolitana. And it has a taste for peaches, especially rotten ones. ...> Full Article

Clean, carbon-neutral hydrogen on the horizon (11/14/2007)

Hydrogen as an everyday, environmentally friendly fuel source may be closer than we think. ...> Full Article

Scientists Discover Record-Breaking Hydrogen Storage Materials (11/13/2007)

Scientists at the University of Virginia have discovered a new class of hydrogen storage materials that could make the storage and transportation of energy much more efficient - and affordable - through higher-performing hydrogen fuel cells. ...> Full Article

Scientists Discover New Way To Make Water (11/2/2007)

In a familiar high-school chemistry demonstration, an instructor first uses electricity to split liquid water into its constituent gases, hydrogen and oxygen. Then, by combining the two gases and igniting them with a spark, the instructor changes the gases back into water with a loud pop. ...> Full Article

Fuel Cells Gearing Up To Power Auto Industry (11/1/2007)

The average price for all types of gasoline is holding steady around $2.95 per gallon nationwide, but the pain at the pump might be short-lived as research may eliminate one of the biggest hurdles to the wide-scale production of fuel cell-powered vehicles. ...> Full Article

Persistence pays off (10/26/2007)

Chemists have come remarkably close to mimicking a type of protein previously thought impossible to imitate. The long-term application of this work could be in the development of new types of glucose sensors for diabetics, or in the production of new biofuels. ...> Full Article

Switchgrass: Bridging Bioenergy And Conservation (10/9/2007)

An important part of the answer to the country's energy woes could be blowing in the prairie wind, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant geneticist Michael Casler. He has spent the past 10 years breeding switchgrass, an eight-foot-plus native plant that was an integral part of the tall grass prairies that once dominated America's Midwest. ...> Full Article

From Fats to Fuel (10/4/2007)

Researchers have developed a way to convert vegetable oil and other oils from animal fat - even cooking grease and algae - into jet fuel to power airplanes. ...> Full Article