First Report from New Nuclear Energy Standards Group Released
NIST and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) have published a report on the inaugural meeting of the Nuclear Energy Standards Coordination Collaborative (NESCC), a new ANSI Standards Panel, co-chaired by NIST and ANSI, to address the current and future standards needs of the nuclear energy industry.
Lean, Mean and Green: Where Emerging Energy Technology Is Going
A highly efficient system for generating and distributing energy is lean, mean and green "" and could be as close as the nearest farm, according to a University of Connecticut professor.
Plastics That Convert Light to Electricity Could Have a Big Impact
University of Washington researchers have found a way to measure exactly how much electrical current is carried by tiny bubbles and channels that form inside nanoscale solar cells, paving the way for development of more efficient materials.
Gasoline-Diesel 'Cocktail': A Potent Recipe for Cleaner, More Efficient Engines
Diesel and gasoline fuel sources both bring unique assets and liabilities to powering internal combustion engines. But what if an engine could be programmed to harvest the best properties of both fuel sources at once, on the fly, by blending the fuels within the combustion chamber?
Researchers on Chikyu Report Successful Riser-Drilling
For the first time in the history of scientific ocean drilling, researchers aboard the riser-equipped drilling vessel CHIKYU successfully drilled down to a depth of 1,603.7 meters beneath the sea floor into an earthquake-generating zone off the coast of Japan.
Scientists Show How to Stack the Deck for Organic Solar Power
A new class of economically viable solar power cells""cheap, flexible and easy to make""has come a step closer to reality as a result of recent work at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where scientists have deepened their understanding of the complex organic films at the heart of the devices.
Circulating Fluidized Bed Technology Generates Power While Reducing Emissions
Burning coal and biomass to generate power while reducing emissions at the same time, Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) technology uses fluidization to mix and circulate fuel particles with limestone as they burn in a low-temperature combustion process. Unlike conventional steam generators that burn the fuel in a massive high-temperature flame, CFB technology does not have burners or a flame within its furnace.
Professor's Invention Lands First-Place Award, Could Save Million of Gallons of Fuel Every Day
It's called a Plug-in Hybrid Retrofit Kit. It could double the average mileage per gallon. If 50 percent of the automobiles in America used it, it could save 120 million gallons of fuel per day""globally, as much as 600 million gallons per day. It will reduce our dependence on oil. It will reduce carbon emissions and could create 2,000 new manufacturing jobs. A potential foreign market is growing daily.
Students Make Biodiesel from Waste Vegetable Oil
A group of Virginia Tech students have produced more than 200 gallons of biodiesel as part of a senior design project. They are using it in two pickup trucks.
New SOFC Seal Could Help Bring Efficient Energy Technology to Market
Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have great potential for stationary and mobile applications. But SOFCs have had a flaw "" the integrity of the seals within and between power-producing units. A materials science professor has invented a self-healing seal that will provide strength and long-term stability.
A Genome May Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Acquiring cheap genome sequence data can improve the quality of feedstocks used to create biofuels, according to a new study published in The Plant Genome.
Home Energy Savings Are Made in the Shade
Trees positioned to shade the west and south sides of a house may decrease summertime electric bills by 5 percent on average, according to a recent study of California homes by researchers from NIST and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Smart Charger Controller Simplifies Electric Vehicle Recharging
PNNL's Smart Charger Controller simplifies electric vehicle recharging, protects the grid and saves consumers money; device automatically activates the vehicle's battery to recharge at times of least stress on the grid.
Biofuel Production: a Drink-Or-Drive Issue?
Federal requirements to increase the production of ethanol has developed into a "drink-or-drive issue" in the Midwest as a result of biofuel production's impact on water supplies and water quality, says an environmental engineering researcher at Missouri University of Science and Technology in the latest issue of the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Discovery of an Unexpected Boost for Solar Water-Splitting Cells
A research team from Northeastern University and NIST has discovered, serendipitously, that a residue of a process used to build arrays of titania nanotubes--a residue that wasn't even noticed before this--plays an important role in improving the performance of the nanotubes in solar cells that produce hydrogen gas from water.
Cheap and Efficient White Light LEDs
Roughly 20 percent of the electricity consumed worldwide is used to light homes, businesses, and other private and public spaces. Though this consumption represents a large drain on resources, it also presents a tremendous opportunity for savings. Improving the efficiency of commercially available light bulbs -- even a little -- could translate into dramatically lower energy usage if implemented widely.
New Approach to Splitting Water
Weizmann Institute scientists have identified a new mode of bond generation between oxygen atoms. This work is a step toward development of an efficient artificial catalyst for solar-driven splitting of water into oxygen and hydrogen, which is a major goal of renewable, clean energy research.
"First Economical Process" for Making Biodiesel Fuel from Algae
Chemists are reporting development of what they termed the first economical, eco-friendly process to convert algae oil into biodiesel fuel "" a discovery they predict could one day lead to U.S. independence from petroleum as a fuel. The study is scheduled for presentation in March at the 237th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Researchers Create Catalysts for Use in Hydrogen Storage Materials
A team of scientists from Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Uppsala in Sweden, and the Savannah River National Laboratory have identified that carbon nanostructures can be used as catalysts to store and release hydrogen, a finding that may point researchers toward developing the right material for hydrogen storage for use in cars.
"Ice That Burns" May Yield Clean, Sustainable Bridge to Global Energy Future
In the future, natural gas derived from chunks of ice that workers collect from beneath the ocean floor and beneath the arctic permafrost may fuel cars, heat homes, and power factories. Government researchers are reporting that these so-called "gas hydrates," a frozen form of natural gas, show increasing promise as an abundant, untapped source of clean, sustainable energy. The study is scheduled for presentation in March at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Researcher Work in Ghana to Create Biofuels Native Tree Seeds
Kansas State University biologists are working with a researcher in Ghana to create biodiesel from the seeds of trees that are common and well adapted to the climate of northern Ghana.
Scientists Discover New Platinum Catalysts for the Dehydrogenation of Propane
The process to turn propane into industrially necessary propylene has been expensive and environmentally unfriendly. That was until scientists at U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory devised a greener way to take this important step in chemical catalysis.
Nanowires May Lead To Better Fuel Cells
The creation of long platinum nanowires at the University of Rochester could soon lead to the development of commercially viable fuel cells by providing significant increases in both the longevity and efficiency. Nanowire enhanced fuel cells could power many types of vehicles, helping reduce the use of petroleum fuels for transportation.
Researchers Developing Renewable Energy for Ethanol Industry
Researchers from Iowa State University, Frontline BioEnergy and Hawkeye Energy Holdings are using a $2.37 million grant from the Iowa Power Fund to develop new burner and catalyst technologies. The technologies will use gas made from biomass to efficiently produce ethanol and provide clean, renewable power for heating and drying equipment.
Recycling a Greenhouse Gas for High-Energy Fuel
A team of researchers at Penn State has come up with an ingenious method of turning captured CO2 into methane using the energy of the sun.