Posts Tagged biofuel

Engineered Tobacco Leaves Produce Biofuel at Berkeley

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Biodiesel on May 18, 2013

Instead of smoking it, we could one day use tobacco to power cars – thanks to a project at UC Berkeley, CA. A team of scientists are now using genetically modified tobacco leaves that produce oil. The researchers have worked to isolate chlorophyll from the oil that the leaves produce so that the final product [...]

Oil Production Surges with Technological Advances, Biofuel Interest Wanes

Posted by Leigh Kim in Energy news on May 15, 2013

Oil production is taking off, much to the surprise and chagrin of proponents of biofuel. The United States could see a surge in oil production that could make it the world’s leading oil producer within the next 10 years, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency. Several years ago, experts posited that [...]

Waste Cooking Oil Provides Power, Runs Desalination Plant, Sewage System in London

Posted by Mila Luleva in Biodiesel on April 11, 2013

A new initiative by Thames Water and 2OC, a utility company, aims to collect used cooking oil for powering the world’s biggest fat-fueled power station, major sewage works, a desalination plant and to supply UK’s National Grid. The waste cooking oil will be supplied by thousands of London restaurants. Considering that their annual spending on clearing drains from [...]

Synthetic Trees Produce Energy Efficient Biofuels From Algae

Posted by Mila Luleva in Biodiesel on April 10, 2013

Synthetic trees, designed by researchers at the University of Texas, are the latest innovation in the field of cultivating algae for biofuels. The approach that Thomas Murphy and Halil Berberoglu, researchers from the Mechanical Engineering Department at The University of Texas at Austin took, aimed to scale up algal biofuel production in order to increase the [...]

How to Make an Algae Photo-BioReactor at Home

Posted by Mila Luleva in Biodiesel, How to... on April 9, 2013

Producing biofuels from algae is a topic that has been widely discussed over the past few years. As we have already mentioned in earlier articles on the topic, government officials in the U.S. are already funding various projects to encourage scientists and companies to implement this technology. Here we would like to show you a [...]

Synthetic Fuel from Carbon Dioxide by Tweaking “Pyrococcus Furiosus” Bacteria

Posted by Benji Jerew in Experiments on March 28, 2013

Biofuels, synthetic fuels, are made from plants that use photosynthesis to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but what if we could remove the middlemanplant? Biofuels are essentially carbon-neutral, because they release the same amount of carbon dioxide that was sequestered by the plants that the fuel is synthesized from. Making synthetic fuel by this [...]

Switchgrass Biofuel Makes Home Energy Costs Drop

Posted by Mila Luleva in Green News on March 25, 2013

According to a study conducted by the USDA Agricultural Research Service, the burning of biomass in the form of switchgrass, instead of oil, could cut down energy costs of companies and homes. The study shows that this is particularly true for regions such as the Northeast, where the price of oil as well as the [...]

Commercially-Viable Renewable Algae Biofuel Developed by Teenager

Posted by Leigh Kim in Experiments on March 22, 2013

Since 1998, Intel has been a sponsor of the 70 year old Science Talent Search, a competitive science fair that draws the best and brightest teenagers to compete for a top prize of $100,000. This year Sara Volz, a 17 year old from Colorado Springs, claimed the prize after winning with her efficient algae-based biofuel [...]

Bioplastics Could Have a New Source of Raw Material: Animal Fats

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Biodiesel, Green News on February 22, 2013

Animal leftovers are a valuable source of fats (carbon-rich organic polymers) that are ideal for the production of bioplastics. This could make the search for alternatives to petrochemical products turn slaughter houses in goldmines. Along with the meat, skin, bones and even hair, the slaughter houses will be able to turn any of the redundant organic [...]

Grasslands Replaced by Biofuel Crops, Wildlife Affected

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Biodiesel on February 19, 2013

Biofuels may be better for the environment than fossil fuels, but the hunt for profit destroys grasslands and pastures in the U.S. and affects wildlife. This is the conclusion of a study led by Christopher Wright and Michael Wimberly from South Dakota State University in Brookings. The two pulled their conclusions by analyzing satellite imagery [...]

Bio-Oil Hydrogen Generation Just Needed a More Efficient Process

Posted by Benji Jerew in Biogas, Hydrogen Power on February 15, 2013

We’ve been watching hydrogen fuel for a while now, and the utilization of hydrogen has seen fairly rapid development, as seen in the decreasing size of fuel cell stacks and increasing efficiency. In fact, by 2015, Toyota, BMW, and others are planning on having at least one hydrogen fuel cell model in production. Of course, [...]

Growing Algae Biofuel in Seawater Could Reduce Europe’s Coal Consumption

Posted by Mila Luleva in Biodiesel on February 11, 2013

AccliPhot, the new EU consortium based at the University of Aberdeen, has all the right ingredients to find a way to reduce the growing consumption of coal and replace it with renewable energy sources. Scientists are now searching for potential uses of seawater for biofuel production. The aim is to improve the traditional algae farming, [...]

Biomass Turns Easier into Fuel Thanks to New Research

Posted by Mila Luleva in Biodiesel on February 8, 2013

Biomass can now be converted into fuels efficiently, ensuring long-lasting availability of renewable materials. This is possible thanks to research conducted by a team of Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists. The study published in the journal Catalysis Science & Technology gives new insights in the field of of biomass fuels synthesis. John Gordon, one of [...]

The World is A Long Way Off Viable Biofuel From Algae

Posted by Mila Luleva in Biodiesel on February 1, 2013

Algal biofuels have been discussed quite extensively lately, as a very promising alternative to fossil fuels. Researchers at Cornell, however, published a study last month, indicating that further research is needed before the technology becomes economically and energetically viable. The team consisted of Deborah Sills, a postdoctoral associate in the research groups of Charles Greene, [...]

Chicken Waste Biofuel to Power Future Mazda Diesel Engines

Posted by Mila Luleva in Biodiesel on January 22, 2013

The new Mazda 6 “clean diesel” sedan will be displayed at the “Daytona International Speedway’s Rolex 24 endurance race”, which will take place next week. The makers have prepared to show three high-performance racing versions of the car, which run on specially made by the company ‘Dynamic Fuels’ renewable, synthetic diesel. The secret of Dynamic [...]