James Clark, the director of the University of York's Green Center of Excellence, will present some of the newest chemical technologies that could help producing clean biofuels and at the same time eliminate waste, at the Annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Finding new methods of processing wastewater really impresses me every time. Using a combination of wastewater and algae to produce biodiesel is even more touching, because it's "doubly green", as the algae neutralize water pathogens as they feed and eat out carbon dioxide to produce fuel.
Cement is one of the most important CO2 emitters, accounting for 5% of the world's total emissions. Producing 1 ton of Portland cement, for example, outputs 800 kilograms of carbon dioxide, and that is because of the material used in the fabrication process: calcium carbonate.
Do you remember Eric Jacqmain, who built his "Death Ray," a solar concentrator that was able to melt everything that stood in its path? Well, Solar Beam, a Canadian company now produces solar concentrators, based on the same principle Eric used, but aimed at heating your home and providing hot water... for free.
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy has published its annual list of the top 12 greenest electric cars of the year, but with a 12th-place tie, the list includes 13 vehicles.
A study of the Resources for the Future (RFF) institute from a few years ago (2009, more exactly) revealed the impact that obesity has on a man's carbon footprint. It showed that even a 10 percent increase in the rate of overweight and obesity among the population affected the miles per gallon by 2.5%, in the bad direction. This, in turn, created a 30 cent increase in gasoline prices.
An engineer from Germany and a television host have traveled almost 2,106 mile (5,000 km) in a lightweight electric vehicle powered by the wind. Dubbed Wind Explorer, the car does not only use electricity from wind turbines, but rather kites.
VTT, the Technical Research Centre of Finland began testing a large-scale prototype of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) that, according to the organization, will provide cheap and efficient grid power from biogas and natural gas. Using a single 10 kW planar SOFC stack, the system is capable of generating clean energy for a typical apartment block throughout an entire year.
Tuning existing solar cells so they run at their best is the hardest thing to do next to creating new ones, with the most advanced technology to date. HyperSolar, a company specialized in building solar concentrators, has reached that point where they can say they'll be able to develop a commercial product in the following period.
The Department of Energy has $29.5 available billion for the fiscal year 2012. About $8 billion would be invested in solar, wind and advanced batteries. "Whomever leads in the global, clean energy economy will also take the lead in creating high-paying, highly skilled jobs for its people," the administration said about the budget.
