Tag Archives: fuel
Researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have reported inthe journal Science that they have "genetically engineered a lithoautotrophic microorganism known as Ralstonia eutropha H16 to produce isobutanol and 3-methyl-1-butanol in an electro-bioreactor using carbon dioxide as the sole carbon source and electricity as the sole energy input." Or, in English, they have created a bug whch makes a form of alcohol from carbon dioxide when it gets an electric shock. The significance of this is that it allows electricity to be stored in the form of an alcohol which can be used as a … Continue Reading
Gizmag has reported that UK-based Cella Energy has developed a synthetic fuel that could lead to $US1.50 per gallon petrol replacement. The technology, developed at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Oxford, is based on complex hydrides, The development team was led by Professor Stephen Bennington in collaboration with scientists from University College London and Oxford University. Gizmag quotes Stephen Voller, CEO of Cella Energy, as saying “We have developed new micro-beads that can be used in an existing gasoline or petrol vehicle to replace oil-based fuels, Early indications are that the micro-beads can be used in existing vehicles without engine … Continue Reading
According to a survey carried out for the British insurance company, Shiela’s Wheels, the average British male motorist drives an extra 444 kilometres a year, and the average female motorist drives an extra 412 kilometres a year, as a result of being lost. The company calculated that motorists waste an average of about 1,660 litres of petrol costing about £2,000 ($3,500) in their lifetime. More than a quarter of men (26 per cent) surveyed wait at least half an hour before asking for directions, with 12 per cent of male motorists refusing to ask a stranger for help at all. … Continue Reading
Wired magazine has reported that Scientists at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg have developed an improved technique for producing liquid fuel from coal. The process of producing liquid fuel from coal has already been used on a lage scale – in Nazi Germany and apartheid South Africa It’s not only the regimes that have used it that leads many to see this process as evil. Coal-derived fuel could produce as much as twice as much CO2 as traditional petroleum fuels and at best will emit at least as much of the greenhouse gas The traditional process uses carbon monoxide, … Continue Reading
Researchers at General Motors and elsewhere believe that they are close to developing a thermoelectic generator which would use the heat from a car’s exhaust to generate electricity. The electricity would be used to reduce fuel consumption by running the vehicle’s air conditioning and accessories. A thermoelectric generator works when one side of its metallic material is heated and excited electrons move to the cold side. The movement creates an electric current. According to General Motors. in an internal combustion engine, only about a quarter of the total energy from petrol is used to actually turn the wheels – 30 … Continue Reading
Videos
Renewables News- New Aussie Technology to Clean Polluted WaterScientists from Deakin University, together with French colleagues, say that they have manufactured a lightweight and reusable material that can absorb up to 33 times its weight in a wide range of spilt oils, chemical solvents and dyes, while repelling … Continue Reading → […]
- Aussie Researchers Make Efficient Solar Cells from Low-grade SiliconResearchers at the University of New South Wales have found a way to make very high efficiency solar cells out of cheap, low-grade silicon. It has been known for several decades that hydrogen atoms can be introduced into the atomic … Continue Reading → […]
- First Aussie “Hot Rocks” Power Plant Begins ProducingThe first power plant in Australia to produce electricity using an enhanced geothermal ("hot rocks") system has begun producing electricity in the far north-east of South Australia. The one-megawatt Habanero pilot plant near outback Innamincka is operated by Geodynamics. Geodynamics … Continue Reading → […]
- New Aussie Technology to Clean Polluted Water
