Alternative Fuels & Energy
Alaska Airlines launches biofuel-powered commercial service
November 7, 2011 7:41 am | News | CommentsAlaska Airlines will fly 75 commercial passenger flights in the United States powered by biofuel, starting this Wednesday. These flights signal aviation's next era, where sustainable biofuels can provide a viable alternative to conventional fuel and enable airlines to reduce their environmental impact.
Hybrid power plants can help industry go green
November 3, 2011 9:02 am | News | CommentsHybrid cars, powered by a mixture of gas and electricity, have become a practical way to "go green" on the roads. Now researchers at Tel Aviv University are applying the term "hybrid" to power plants as well.
Berkeley Lab builds special equipment to simulate star power
October 27, 2011 12:10 pm | News | CommentsThe heavy-ion fusion research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, described in the R&D Daily last week, requires a host of supporting technologies to make these experiments happen. One is an induction accelerator, which can handle higher currents than radio frequency accelerator and can be used to create near-fusion conditions.
Research holds promise for hydrogen's use as fuel source
October 27, 2011 7:26 am | News | CommentsImagine your car running on an abundant, environmentally friendly fuel generated from the surrounding atmosphere. Sounds like science fiction, but University of Texas at Dallas researchers recently published a paper detailing a breakthrough in understanding how such a fuel—in this case, hydrogen—can be stored in metals.
Power up: The Earth, the leaf, and the atom
October 27, 2011 4:37 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsIn part four of a continuing Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study on scalable energy candidates, researchers from the MIT Energy Initiative discuss how there are many sources that can make a contribution to our energy supply, but likely not at a major scale in the near future.
LLNL to collaborate with industry in advancing clean energy technology
October 25, 2011 8:55 am | News | CommentsLawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) issued a call to energy businesses of all sizes for proposals to collaborate with LLNL teams of experts in advancing energy technology through the use of high performance computing (HPC).
Researchers discover new process for biofuel
October 25, 2011 7:57 am | News | CommentsResearchers have long been interested in waste products as sources of biofuel. In Maine, those waste items could include treetops and limbs deemed by the forest products industry as unusable and often left behind in the woods. A University of Maine research team has, however, discovered a new chemical process can transform forest residues into a hydrocarbon fuel oil.
Dividing corn stover makes ethanol conversion more efficient
October 25, 2011 6:50 am | News | CommentsNot all parts of a corn stalk are equal, and they shouldn't be treated that way when creating cellulosic ethanol, say Purdue University researchers. When corn stover is processed to make cellulosic ethanol, everything is ground down and blended together. But a research team found that three distinct parts of the stover—the rind, pith, and leaves—break down in different ways.
Power up: Where the wind blows
October 25, 2011 4:30 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsWith the world's energy needs growing rapidly, can zero-carbon energy options be scaled up enough to make a significant difference? How much of a dent can these alternative make in the world's total energy usage over the next half-century? Part two of this Massachusetts Institute of Technology five-part series explores how far wind power can go toward reducing global carbon emissions from electricity production.
Discovery could make fuel production more energy efficient
October 12, 2011 5:49 pm | News | CommentsA University of Minnesota team of researchers has overcome a major hurdle in the quest to design 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 free-standing, ultra-thin zeolite nanosheets that as thin films can speed up the filtration process and require less energy.
Contract awarded for ITER early delivery cooling water system equipment
October 10, 2011 4:49 am | News | CommentsOak Ridge National Laboratory has awarded a $13.2 million task order to AREVA Federal Services for fabrication of five drain tanks for the ITER tokamak cooling water system. ITER is an international project to demonstrate the feasibility of commercial fusion energy.
Ionic liquid catalyst helps turn emissions into fuel
October 6, 2011 8:49 am | News | CommentsAn University of Illinois research team has succeeded in overcoming one major obstacle to a promising technology that simultaneously reduces atmospheric carbon dioxide and produces fuel.
Grain of salt helps electrolysis cells make hydrogen
September 19, 2011 1:08 pm | News | CommentsA grain of salt or two may be all that microbial electrolysis cells need to produce hydrogen from wastewater or organic byproducts, without adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere or using grid electricity, according to Penn State engineers.
Research shows solar rays could replace petroleum fuels
September 13, 2011 10:01 am | News | CommentsAlternative fuel sources for cars may have a glowing future as a Kansas State University graduate student is working to replace petroleum fuels with ones made from sunlight.
SwRI launches International Alternative Fuel Technology Center
September 12, 2011 7:23 am | News | CommentsSouthwest Research Institute launched a collaborative effort to assist their clients to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and to address governmental mandates for alternative fuel production and tightened emissions standards.
USDA, DOE fund research project to accelerate bioenergy crop production
August 12, 2011 6:34 am | News | CommentsThe U.S. Departments of Energy and Agriculture have awarded 10 grants totaling $12.2 million to spur research into improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of growing biofuel and bioenergy crops. The investments are part of a broader effort by the Obama administration to develop domestic renewable energy and advanced biofuels.
Lab and Spain sign agreement to collaborate on fusion
August 5, 2011 5:43 am | by Breanna Bishop | News | CommentsLawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which is pursuing fusion research at its National Ignition Facility, has expanded the scope of its research by singing a memorandum of understanding to engage in joint research and exchange personnel with Spain's Instituto de Fusion Nuclear.
Solar power, without the downtime
July 29, 2011 4:28 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsThe biggest hurdle to widespread implementation of solar power is the fact that the sun doesn't shine constantly in any given place, so backup power systems are needed for nights and cloudy days. But a novel system designed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology could finally overcome that problem, delivering steady power 24/7.
Modeling plant metabolism to optimize oil production
July 26, 2011 5:29 am | News | CommentsScientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a computational model for analyzing the metabolic processes in rapeseed plants—particularly those related to the production of oils in their seeds. Their goal is to find ways to optimize the production of plant oils that have widespread potential as renewable resources for fuel and industrial chemicals.
OSC lifts OSU land speed racer toward 400-mph goal
July 22, 2011 6:27 am | News | CommentsA team of engineering students at The Ohio State University’s (OSU) Center for Automotive Research (CAR) recently began running aerodynamics simulations at the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC), one of the first steps in the long and careful process of designing, building, and racing the fourth iteration of their alternative-fuel streamliner.
U.S. shale gas weakens Russian petro-power
July 20, 2011 10:07 am | News | CommentsRising U.S. natural gas production from shale formations has already played a critical role in weakening Russia’s ability to wield an "energy weapon" over its European customers, and this trend will accelerate in the coming decades, according to a new Baker Institute study, "Shale Gas and U.S. National Security."
Researchers find potential key for unlocking biomass energy
July 20, 2011 6:35 am | News | CommentsResearchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory and Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center have found a potential key for unlocking the energy potential from non-edible biomass materials such as corn leaves and stalks, or switch grass.
Google invests $280 million to spur home solar
June 14, 2011 5:40 pm | by JONATHAN FAHEY - AP Energy Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsMaking its largest single investment yet in clean energy, Google has inked a deal with photovoltaic installer SolarCity in an effort to help private homeowners put solar panels on their rooftops. The agreement is just one of the many recent renewable energy investments Google has made.
Carbon 'grapevine' may store hydrogen
June 13, 2011 7:35 am | News | CommentsA nanoscale grapevine with hydrogen grapes could someday provide your car's preferred vintage of fuel. Rice Univ. researchers have determined that a lattice of calcium-decorated carbyne has the potential to store hydrogen at levels that easily exceed Department of Energy (DOE) goals for use as a "green" alternative fuel for vehicles.
Gevo retrofits ethanol plant to produce bio-based isobutanol
June 1, 2011 12:37 pm | News | CommentsA Minnesota-based biofuel company has shifted its gears. Gevo, which bought the ethanol-production plant from Agri-Energy in September 2010, expects to complete its retrofit by next summer, and will produce 18 million gallons of bio-isobutanol, a petroleum substitute.
