Solar panels are finally generating more energy than they use
You want an inconvenient truth? Here’s one: Despite the exponential growth of solar energy over the past 13 years, the global production of photovoltaic panels has consumed more electricity than the...
View ArticlePharmaceutical approach boosts oil production from algae
Using an approach from pharmaceutical chemistry, UC Davis chemists are screening for compounds that boost fuel production by microscopic green algae. Taking an approach similar to that used for...
View ArticleSurprising Findings On Hydrogen Production in Green Algae
New research fuels hope of efficient hydrogen production with green algae being possible in the future, despite the prevailing scepticism based on previous research. The study changes the view on the...
View ArticleIs Butanol the fuel that could be the end of Ethanol
Ethanol could be on its way out this decade thanks to a discovery that makes butanol more cost-effective. In 2007 we reported on biobutanol, a biofuel with the potential to solve many of the problems...
View ArticleUS Dominating Cellulosic Ethanol Market
In the ethanol fuel market, the US takes the lead. Pilot and demonstration plants to commence in late 2013. Ethanol is the most widely acclaimed alternative or additive for gasoline used for running...
View ArticleKey Ingredient in Mass Extinctions Could Boost Biofuel Production
Hydrogen sulfide, the pungent stuff often referred to as sewer gas, is a deadly substance implicated in several mass extinctions, including one at the end of the Permian period 251 million years ago...
View ArticleChina conducts its first successful bio-fueled airline flight
China says is has successfully conducted its first airline flight powered by self-developed biofuel made mainly from palm oil and recycled cooking oil. An Airbus A320 operated by China Eastern...
View ArticleNASA says Jet engine biofuel runs cleaner
NASA researchers said Thursday that test flights conducted in California have shown a commercial jet could fly safely with a blend of jet fuel that includes a plant oil. Scientists at NASA’s Langley...
View ArticleChanging cellulose-forming process may tap plants’ biofuel potential
Changing the way a plant forms cellulose may lead to more efficient, less expensive biofuel production, according to Penn State engineers. “What every biofuel manufacturer wants to do is to get to...
View ArticleSecond gen Biofuel pioneer now supports natural gas
Alan Shaw, the chemist and executive who led a six-year effort to turn inedible crops into fuels to displace gasoline, has renounced the industry he helped pioneer and decided the future instead lies...
View ArticleSqueezing More From Ethanol
Proposed Tier 3 rules include E30-promotion plan Faced with a crop of lemons — too much ethanol, a population of cars not tuned to burn it effectively and a driving public leery of the fuel’s...
View ArticleAutomakers warn new ethanol mandate could damage vehicles
Detroit says it will ruin your engine. The EPA says it’s safe. Farmers say it’s better than foreign oil. Oil companies say it’s more expensive than gasoline. But as Washington looks to compel...
View ArticleBiofuel debate needs to move on
Lawmakers must set a positive agenda for growth and jobs. French MEP Corinne Lepage, the European Parliament’s lead rapporteur on European Union biofuel legislation, has set the scene for an intense...
View ArticleNew Advance in Biofuel Production
Advanced biofuels — liquid fuels synthesized from the sugars in cellulosic biomass — offer a clean, green and renewable alternative to gasoline, diesel and jet fuels. Bringing the costs of producing...
View ArticleWhy the US military should continue biofuel research
The sequester should not excuse the US military from making the important investments into the future, Holland writes. It is strategically important for the military to develop new sources of energy...
View ArticleHigh oil prices are not spurring more investment in biofuels
An International Energy Agency report says investments in oil technology will lead to a worldwide supply boom. High oil prices were supposed to make biofuels and other oil alternatives more...
View ArticleEthanol Tries To Make The Cellulosic Switch
The U.S. ethanol industry, not long ago booming, is in decline. Rising commodity prices have hurt, as has a trend toward folk driving less; there’s just not enough gasoline out there to blend the...
View ArticleResearchers design photobioreactor to produce biofuel from algae
Researchers at the University of Alicante have patented a new device that allows more efficiently to cultivate microalgae and can be used as raw material for biofuel or for other valuable substances in...
View ArticleChanging cellulose-forming process may tap plants’ biofuel potential
Changing the way a plant forms cellulose may lead to more efficient, less expensive biofuel production, according to Penn State engineers. “What every biofuel manufacturer wants to do is to get to...
View ArticleJapan Develops Cost-Competitive Way to Make Ethanol from Farm Waste
Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd said on Thursday it has developed technology to produce fuel for cars from farm waste at a cost that is competitive with imported ethanol made from food products,...
View Article
