Energy & Utilities
NIST provides octagonal window of opportunity for carbon capture
February 8, 2012 9:30 am | News | CommentsFiltering carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from factory smokestacks is a necessary, but expensive part of many manufacturing processes. However, a collaborative research team from NIST and the University of Delaware has gathered new insight into the performance of a material called a zeolite that may stop carbon dioxide in its tracks far more efficiently than current scrubbers do.
More environmental rules needed for shale gas
February 6, 2012 10:22 am | by Mark Golden, Stanford University | News | CommentsObama's new rule is only one step toward ensuring the safety of hydraulic fracturing, the booming technology that offers economic and environmental benefits, according to Stanford University geophysicist and DOE adviser Mark Zoback.
A natural solution for transportation
February 3, 2012 3:46 am | News | CommentsAs the United States transitions away from a primarily petroleum-based transportation industry, a number of different alternative fuel sources—ethanol, biodiesel, electricity, and hydrogen—have each shown their own promise. Hoping to expand the pool even further, researchers at Argonne National Laboratory have begun to investigate adding one more contender to the list of possible energy sources for light-duty cars and trucks: Compressed natural gas.
Biosolar breakthrough promises cheap, easy green electricity
February 2, 2012 6:56 am | News | CommentsA professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is turning the term "power plant" on its head. The biochemist and a team of researchers have developed a system that taps into photosynthetic processes to produce efficient and inexpensive energy.
New zeolite material may solve diesel shortage
February 1, 2012 8:04 am | News | CommentsWorld fuel consumption is shifting more and more to diesel at the expense of gasoline. A recently published article by a research team at Stockholm University and the Polytechnic University of Valencia in Spain presents a new porous material that evinces unique properties for converting gasoline directly into diesel.
Tool determines value of solar photovoltaic power systems
January 31, 2012 10:59 am | News | CommentsConsistent appraisals of homes and businesses outfitted with photovoltaic installations are a real challenge for the nation’s real estate industry, but a new tool developed by Sandia National Laboratories and Solar Power Electric and licensed by Sandia addresses that issue.
Microbubbles provide new boost for biofuel production
January 26, 2012 3:06 am | News | CommentsA solution to the difficult issue of harvesting algae for use as a biofuel has been developed using microbubble technology pioneered at the University of Sheffield. The technique builds on previous research in which microbubbles were used to improve the way algae is cultivated.
New uses for diesel byproducts
January 25, 2012 9:56 am | News | CommentsA new catalytic process discovered by the Cardiff Catalysis Institute could unleash a range of useful new byproducts from diesel fuel production. The team has reported the use of a mixed-metal catalyst to convert decane to a range of oxygenated aromatics.
DOE to spur construction of small modular nuclear reactors
January 20, 2012 12:04 pm | News | CommentsThrough a draft Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) announced Friday, the U.S> Department of Energy plans to establish cost-shared agreements with private industry to support the design and licensing of small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). About one-third the size of current nuclear plants, SMR are expected to both safer and cheaper to build and operate.
Nanomaterials-based technology to increase efficiency of solar cells
January 20, 2012 11:09 am | News | CommentsResearchers from the University at Buffalo, Army Research Laboratory, and Air Force Office of Scientific Research have developed a new, nanomaterials-based technology that has the potential to increase the efficiency of photovoltaic cells up to 45%.
Miscanthus x giganteus gains stature as a potential energy source
January 19, 2012 11:17 am | News | CommentsA promising candidate for sustainable biofuel resources, Miscanthus x giganteus offers high biomass yield per acre for ethanol production while minimizing inputs and environmental damage. But until recent research at the University of Illinois, scant research has been performed on this plant’s growth and biomass yields in different environments in the United States.
Computer model optimizes biofuel operations
January 17, 2012 7:55 am | News | CommentsResearch into biofuel crops such as switchgrass and Miscanthus has focused mainly on how to grow these crops and convert them into fuels. But many steps lead from the farm to the biorefinery, and each could help or hinder the growth of this new industry. A new computer model developed at the University of Illinois can simplify this transition.
Power generation is blowing in the wind
January 17, 2012 4:59 am | News | CommentsBy looking at the stability of the atmosphere, wind farm operators could gain greater insight into the amount of power generated at any given time. Power generated by a wind turbine largely depends on the wind speed. In a wind farm in which the turbines experience the same wind speeds but different shapes, such as turbulence, to the wind profile, a turbine will produce different amounts of power.
Fuel economy of new vehicles slipped in December
January 16, 2012 8:06 am | News | CommentsAfter two months of increases, the average fuel economy of all new vehicles sold in the United States fell by a half mile per gallon last month, say researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.
Comparing energy conversion of plants and solar cells
January 16, 2012 5:04 am | by Sharon Durham, USDA | News | CommentsScientists now have a way to more accurately compare how efficiently plants and photovoltaic, or solar, cells convert sunlight into energy, thanks to findings by a research consortium that included a U.S. Department of Agriculture scientist.
UOP selected by Dow to provide technology for petrochemical facility
January 13, 2012 6:45 am | News | CommentsUOP LLC, a Honeywell company, announced that it has been selected by The Dow Chemical Company to provide technology to produce propylene at a Dow production site in Texas. Dow Texas Operations will use the Honeywell UOP C 3 Oleflex technology in a new propane dehydrogenation unit to convert shale gas-derived propane to propylene.
Designing self-repairing batteries
January 11, 2012 8:07 am | News | CommentsImagine dropping your phone on the hard concrete sidewalk—but when you pick it up, you find its battery has already healed itself. A team of researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Argonne National Laboratory are exploring ways to design batteries that heal themselves when damaged.
Team to test ‘quad porosity’ shale gas model
January 11, 2012 5:09 am | News | CommentsA quad porosity model developed by Oklahoma State University researchers uses scanning electron microscopy to characterize up to four porosity systems for shale gas. The simulation model, which will offer better forecasting and potential cost savings, is about to be field-tested in gas reservoirs over the next few months.
Here comes the sun
January 11, 2012 3:07 am | by Jennifer Chu, MIT News Office | News | CommentsResearchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in collaboration with RWTH Aachen University in Germany, have come up with a design that reduces the amount of land required to build a concentrated solar power plant, while increasing the amount of sunlight its mirrors collect. They found that by rearranging the mirrors in a pattern similar to the spirals on the face of sunflower, they could reduce the pattern's footprint by 20% and increase its energy generation.
Implanted biofuel cell converts bug's chemistry into electricity
January 6, 2012 4:42 am | News | CommentsAn insect's internal chemicals can be converted to electricity, potentially providing power for sensors, recording devices, or to control the bug, a group of researchers at Case Western Reserve University report. The finding is yet another in a growing list from universities across the country that could bring the creation of insect cyborgs out of science fiction and into reality.
Depleted gas reservoirs can double as geologic carbon storage sites
January 5, 2012 10:10 am | News | CommentsA demonstration project on the southeastern tip of Australia has helped to verify that depleted natural gas reservoirs can be repurposed for geologic carbon sequestration. The project, which includes scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, also demonstrated that depleted gas fields have enough carbon dioxide storage capacity to make a significant contribution to reducing global emissions.
Sunn hemp shows promise as biofuel source
January 4, 2012 5:20 am | News | CommentsWork by scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture suggests that farmers in the Southeast could use the tropical legume sunn hemp ( Crotalaria juncea ) in their crop rotations by harvesting the fast-growing annual for biofuel.
Researchers investigate small-scale autonomous planetary explorers
January 3, 2012 9:06 am | News | CommentsRobotic exploration to remote regions, to include distant planetary bodies, is often limited by energy requirements to perform, in repetition, even the simplest tasks. With this in mind, researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory are looking into a novel approach that could some day aid scientific space and planetary research without the need for power-intense options.
Brookhaven Lab's electrocatalyst technology licensed for fuel cells
January 3, 2012 8:51 am | News | CommentsN.E. Chemcat Corporation has licensed electrocatalysts developed by scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory that can reduce the use of costly platinum and increase the effectiveness of fuel cells for use in electric vehicles. In addition, the license includes innovative methods for making the catalysts and an apparatus design used in manufacturing them.
How to kick-start new energy technologies
January 3, 2012 3:05 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsThe world desperately needs innovation in energy technologies—but those innovations are unlikely to happen by themselves. A three-year study by a team of researchers based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has now identified a suite of policy and investment strategies that could accelerate innovation in the United States.
