Alternative energies

New research is shedding light on how to alter the genetic makeup of E. coli to produce biodiesel fuel derived from fatty acids.

A researcher says it's possible to triple fuel economy in gasoline-powered cars by 2035, but it'll mean getting our automotive kicks from smart electronic technology and other forms of virtual performance rather than horsepower.

Scientists are reporting the development of a new battery-like device that opens the possibility that people one day could "recharge" cell phones, laptops, and other portable electronics in an unlikely way -- with a sugar fix from a shared sip of soda pop or even a dose of vegetable oil.

The era of personalized energy systems -- in which individual homes and small businesses produce their own energy for heating, cooling and powering cars -- took another step toward reality as scientists reported discovery of a powerful new catalyst that is a key element in such a system. The advance could help free homes and businesses from dependence on the electric company and the corner gasoline station.

Hydrogen is considered the fuel of the future. Yet this lightest of the chemical elements can embrittle the metals used in vehicle engineering. The result: components suddenly malfunction and break. A new special laboratory is aiding researchers' search for hydrogen-compatible metals.

In the quest for efficient, cost-effective and commercially viable fuel cells, scientists have discovered a catalyst and catalyst-support combination that could make fuel cells more stable, conk-out free, inexpensive and more resistant to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Scientists have developed a new tool for deciphering the genetics of a native prairie grass being widely studied for its potential as a biofuel. The genetic map of switchgrass is expected to speed up the search for genes that will make the perennial plant a more viable source of bioenergy.

Don't pour that dirty fat from the fryer down the sink -- it could be used to make the fuel of the future.

Sensors currently used to monitor the quality of diesel fuel and biodiesel blended fuels during engine operation are unable to adequately detect certain important fuel quality concerns.Researchers are now working to develop new technologies to improve these commercially-available sensors.

Engineers have made a significant advance toward producing electricity from sewage, by the use of new coatings on the anodes of microbial electrochemical cells that increased the electricity production about 20 times. The findings bring the researchers one step closer to technology that could clean biowaste at the same time it produces useful levels of electricity -- a promising new innovation in wastewater treatment and renewable energy.

Chemical engineers have developed a new method to process agricultural waste and other biomass into biofuels, and they are proposing the creation of mobile processing plants that would rove the Midwest to produce the fuels.

When using fuel cells to generate electricity from biomass, the best approach is to do so centrally, in combination with a gas turbine. The production and subsequent distribution of hydrogen is an inefficient process.

Automobile air conditioning systems do not run free of charge. In fact in the hot parts of the world they can account for up to thirty per cent of fuel consumption. Even in Switzerland, with its temperate climate, the use of air conditioning systems is responsible for about five per cent of total fuel usage, rising to around ten per cent in urban traffic, as shown by a new study. Furthermore, two thirds of the additional fuel usage could be saved if air conditioning systems were simply turned off when the air temperature falls below 18 degrees Celsius.

A new green, bio-based method for producing a much-used fuel additive and industrial chemical that is currently made from petroleum products has been developed.

A new process for storing and generating hydrogen to run fuel cells in cars has been invented by chemical engineers.

Some bacteria destroy oil. Might those bacteria lead oil companies to change their methods of harvesting the energy of the oil while at the same time reducing the carbon dioxide that burning oil and gasoline discharges into the atmosphere?

Researchers in Austria are sing biological principles as the inspiration to develop a new bionic fuel cell.

Scientists have pinpointed the noncarbon atoms that create defects when graphene is produced through a technique called graphene-oxide reduction. The researchers have also proposed how to make that technique more efficient by precisely applying hydrogen -- rather than heat -- to remove the impurities.

Scientists have been hard at work harnessing the power of microbes as an attractive source of clean energy. Now, researchers have investigated a means for enhancing the efficiency of clean energy production by using specialized bacteria.

Researchers have found yet another formulation, based on inexpensive and widely available materials, that can efficiently catalyze the splitting of water molecules using electricity. This could ultimately form the basis for new storage systems that would allow buildings to be completely independent and self-sustaining in terms of energy: The systems would use energy from intermittent sources like sunlight or wind to create hydrogen fuel, which could then be used in fuel cells or other devices to produce electricity or transportation fuels as needed.

Understanding the key elements of biofuel combustion is an important step toward insightful selection of next-generation alternative fuels.

Scientists are figuring out how to turn wheat straw into ethanol "gold," and learning more about the bacteria that can "infect" ethanol plants and interfere with fuel production.

Renewable electricity can be transformed into a substitute for natural gas. Until now, electricity was generated from gas. Now, a German-Austrian cooperation wants to go in the opposite direction. In the future, these researchers and entrepreneurs would like to store surplus electricity such as from wind power or solar energy as climate-neutral methane, and store it in existing gas storage facilities and the natural gas network.

Researchers have discovered an inexpensive metal that can generate hydrogen from neutral water, even if it is dirty, and can operate in sea water. Experts agree that hydrogen can play a key role in future renewable energy technologies if a relatively cheap, efficient and carbon-neutral means of producing it can be developed.

A new form of platinum that could be used to make cheaper, more efficient fuel cells has been created. The process could help enable broader use of the devices, which produce emissions-free energy using hydrogen.