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 Alternative Energy Sources
6 August 2009
Bioethanol's water requirements underestimated
At a time when water supplies are scarce in many parts of the world, scientists are reporting that production of bioethanol - regarded by many as the clean-burning fuel of the future - may consume up to three times more water than previously thought...
29 July 2009
Deep oil reserves created without organic matter?
Counter to traditional wisdom, experiments involving basic molecules subjected to extreme heat and pressure suggest that reserves of oil and gas could exist deep in the Earth and that their creation did not require organic matter...
24 June 2009
Researchers tickled by feathers' prodigious hydrogen storage capabilities
Carbonized chicken feather fibers are as efficient at storing hydrogen as carbon nanotubes and would add only $200 to the cost of a hydrogen powered car compared to nanotube storage which would add more than $5M...
3 June 2009
Ethanol production degrading soil productivity
Crop residues are viewed as a low cost and readily available source of material for ethanol production. But these residues are not simply a waste material as they play a pivotal role in sustaining levels of organic matter in soil...
3 March 2009
"Ethanol subsidies a poor investment economically and environmentally," study finds
To avoid creating greenhouse gases, it makes more sense to leave land unfarmed in conservation reserves than to plow it up for corn to make biofuel, finds a new Duke University-led study...
4 November 2008
'Shrooming down the road: rainforest fungus makes diesel
A novel fungus from the Patagonian rainforest that can make diesel compounds from cellulose could be a new source of green energy, say the scientists who discovered it...
20 April 2008
Harnessing The Coriolis Force
Created by the rotation of the Earth, the force that causes whirlpools to form in bathtubs could soon be used to boost traditional hydroelectric power generation by 27 percent, says the inventor of a new turbine...
13 April 2007
Renewables Provide A Ray Of Sunshine In Energy Debate
It's becoming increasingly common for policy makers to tout "clean" nuclear energy as the only viable alternative to fossil fuels. But this is ignoring the fact that important inroads are being made with renewable energy sources such as solar power. The question is: are alternative energies emerging fast enough to be considered a viable alternative to nuclear energy?
14 February 2008
New World Record For Solar Conversion Efficiency
Sandia National Laboratories have set a new solar-to-grid system conversion efficiency record by achieving a 31.25 percent net efficiency rate...
4 October 2007
Taking The Heat Off Inefficient Engines
Physicists are looking at how to harness the thermal energy that is wasted by hot internal combustion engines...
25 July 2007
Solar Cell Efficiency Approaching 50%
Researchers have achieved a record-breaking silicon solar cell efficiency of 43 percent under standard terrestrial sunlight conditions...
19 July 2007
Report Pooh-Poohs Corn Biofuels
Corn ethanol refining will not significantly offset fossil fuel consumption without unacceptable environmental and economic consequences, says a highly critical new report...
15 June 2007
Glucose Converted Directly To Faux Fossil Fuel
A big step towards viable biofuel refining was taken this week, with scientists claiming to have directly converted glucose into a surrogate for petroleum-based chemicals...
27 April 2007
Race On To Increase Biofuel Yields
Scientists are investigating plant enzymes and pre-treatment methods to make the production of ethanol from biomass more efficient...
24 April 2007
Laughing Gas Levels From Biodiesel Crops Not Funny
Rapeseed crops used to make biodiesel emit the highly potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide, which could make biodiesel more of a greenhouse menace than conventional diesel...
18 April 2007
Ethanol Vehicles A Health Hazard
Higher levels of ozone pollution from ethanol powered vehicles may derail claims that the fuel is eco-friendly...
27 March 2007
Bacterium Fires-Up Plain Air Fuel Cell
Rather than platinum, a new kind of biofuel-cell uses bacterial enzymes to generate electricity from plain air mixed with a small amount of hydrogen...
16 February 2007
Organic Molecules Coaxed Into Thermoelectric Generation
Organic molecules trapped between metal nanoparticles have been used to produce electricity from heat...
18 October 2006
Look Ma, No Biofuel Cell!
Scientists have coaxed proteins to generate electricity in a biofuel cell without the infrastructure of a cell being present...
19 September 2006
Floating Wind Turbines Could Sink NIMBY Protests
An MIT researcher believes huge offshore wind turbines one hundred miles out to sea could solve all the problems that have beset wind power...
7 August 2006
Biofuels Under The Spotlight
Renewable energy advocates are calling for greater coordination among biofuel researchers in the development of alternative energy sources...
23 June 2006
Less Than Zero-Point Energy
"Matter seems to be solid, stable stuff that we, and the world, are made of. So maybe matter resists acceleration not because it possesses some innate thing called mass as Newton proposed, but because the zero-point field exerts a force whenever acceleration takes place." Welcome to the world of zero-point energy...
24 May 2006
Candy-Munching Bacteria Prodigious Hydrogen Producers
A test reactor that uses sugar-waste consuming bacteria to produce hydrogen could be a viable source of non-polluting energy in the future...
7 March 2006
MOF Power
Cars that run on hydrogen rather than gasoline are closer to becoming a reality, as researchers show how significant amounts of hydrogen fuel can be stored efficiently in a remarkable new material...
24 October 2005
Cost Breakthrough For Inorganic Solar Cells
A new method to manufacture photovoltaic cells using inorganic nanocrystals promises solar cells that are much cheaper and easier to make...
10 October 2005
Race Is On For Efficient Organic Solar Cells
Researchers are racing to develop organic solar cells that are as efficient as traditional silicon solar cells but much cheaper to produce...
30 September 2005
Solar Car Challenge: Three Wins In A Row for Dutch
According to organizers, the World Solar Car Challenge is supposed to be fuelled by the spirit of friendly competition, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that the competitors are just as hot-blooded as their fuel-injected Formula One counterparts. As the race played out, the Dutch team’s streamlined solar car, Nuna 3, led the way from start to finish, while breaking their previous world record time to boot...
29 August 2005
Shedding Light On The Hydrogen Economy
Chemists at Virginia Tech have developed a novel way of using light to directly power the chemical process that breaks water down into hydrogen and oxygen...
25 August 2005
Polymer Fuel Cell Breakthrough
A new chemical has been identified that allows polymer fuel cells to operate at much higher temperatures, opening the way for their use in cars and consumer electronic devices...
6 July 2005
Study Slams Economics Of Ethanol And Biodiesel
Turning biomass - plants like corn, soybeans and sunflowers - into fuel uses much more energy than the resulting ethanol or biodiesel generates...
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