Green Car Congress

MARCH 22, 2011

The conversion of biomass to cellulosic ethanol is the most efficient and productive use of biomass to create a high-octane, environmentally friendly transportation fuel, according to a perspective paper published in the Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology. Comparison of yields of ethanol vs other reduced products.

Universal 255

Universal GM Conversion Fuel 255

Cars That Think

NOVEMBER 20, 2024

When odorants are carried away by turbulent airflow, they get chopped into smaller packets,” says Michael Schmuker , a professor at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. These curves capture the sensor’s conversion of a physical interaction—like an odor molecule binding to its surface—into an electrical signal.

London 72

London United Kingdom Universal Stimulus 72

Green Car Congress

MARCH 6, 2021

Most contemporary DAC approaches utilize energy poorly, as evident by second-law efficiencies for CO 2 separation of 1 to 9% (for comparison, post-combustion capture from coal exhaust attains second-law efficiencies greater than 20%). Science-Driven Synthesis and Assembly of Innovative Materials for Direct Air Capture.

Carbon 360

Carbon Exhaust Water Energy 360

Green Car Congress

MAY 6, 2022

These deposits severely limit low-temperature NO x conversion and increase fuel consumption as high-temperature engine operations are required to remove the deposits. SwRI’s novel technology decreases NO x and carbon dioxide emissions for diesel engines by significantly reducing undesirable deposit formation in exhaust systems.

Diesel 284

Diesel Emissions Exhaust Engine 284

Green Car Congress

MAY 12, 2014

The purpose of the study, reported in the ACS journal Energy & Fuels , was to determine whether AlcoMix,the probable outcome of the thermochemical conversion of biomass using Fischer–Tropsch chemistry with synthesis gas, might be a suitable replacement for ethanol in fuel blending as an antiknock blending component for spark-ignited engines.

Fuel 239

Fuel San Diego Gasoline Austria 239

Green Car Congress

APRIL 11, 2014

Researchers at Stanford University have developed a nanocrystalline copper material that produces multi-carbon oxygenates (ethanol, acetate and n-propanol) with up to 57% Faraday efficiency at modest potentials (–0.25?volts The research was supported by Stanford University, the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Energy.

Fuel 300

Fuel CO2 Carbon Conversion 300

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 13, 2014

A catalyst made from a foamy form of copper has different electrochemical properties from catalysts made with smooth copper in reactions involving carbon dioxide, according to a new study by a team from Brown University. The work in the study is part of a larger effort by Browns Center for the Capture and Conversion of CO 2.

CO2 291

CO2 Production Conversion Hydrogen 291

Green Car Congress

SEPTEMBER 15, 2016

Researchers at the Future Renewable Electric Energy Distribution and Management (FREEDM) Systems Center at North Carolina State University have developed an inverter for hybrid and electric vehicles using off-the-shelf components made of the wide-bandgap semiconductor material silicon carbide (SiC). kW/L by 2020.

Congress 150

Congress ECC Milwaukee North Carolina 150

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 19, 2014

Results of a lifecycle analysis by a team at the University of Michigan suggest that multiple types of natural gas-powered vehicles—i.e., A mid-sized ICE vehicle driven in the United States was also investigated as a basis for comparison. Their study appears in the ACS journal Energy & Fuels. … Credit: ACS, Dai and Lastoskie.

Gas 218

Gas Li-ion Gas-Electric Conversion 218

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 14, 2012

The Gas Technology Institute (GTI) in Des Plaines, IL, recently added a new Pilot-Scale IH 2 Plant to broaden biomass-to-liquid hydrocarbon fuel conversion. This is over 70% efficient energy conversion, and the production of exportable steam can raise the overall process efficiency even higher. Earlier post.).

Conversion 307

Conversion Houston Renewable Gasoline 307

Green Car Congress

MAY 9, 2016

A team of scientists from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Maryland, College Park, has developed an electron microscopy technique to visualize—in real time and at high resolution—lithiation pathways in electrode materials. Source: BNL.

Li-ion 150

Li-ion Lithium Ion Conversion Pennsylvania 150

Green Car Congress

APRIL 5, 2018

Typically the steam cracking of ethane has a conversion rate of 70%, with ethylene yields of about 50%. Comparison of process energies and carbon footprint in NDP and steam cracking. (a) a) A comparison of the process energies for ethylene production from ethane. (b) Ding et al. Click to enlarge.

Idaho 218

Idaho Energy Hydrogen Manufacturer 218

Green Car Congress

MARCH 3, 2014

Scientists from Stanford University, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the Technical University of Denmark have identified a new nickel-gallium catalyst that converts hydrogen and carbon dioxide into methanol at ambient pressure and with fewer side-products than the conventional catalyst.

Low Cost 257

Low Cost Clean Cleaning Production 257

Green Car Congress

MAY 28, 2019

Electroactive microbes also allow for the use of other types of renewable electricity to power these conversions. The current study is the first that gathers in one place all of the data needed to make an apples-to-apples comparison of the efficiency of all these different modes of carbon fixation, Barstow said.

Energy Storage 274

Energy Storage Engine Energy Polymer 274

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 6, 2011

The team also suggested that algae systems can be either net energy positive or negative depending on the specific combination of cultivation and conversion processes used. Unit operations pertinent to assessment of four specific conversion pathways are shaded (gray) in panels A-D at bottom. Credit: ACS, Clarens et al. Earlier post.)

Transportation 278

Transportation Energy Conversion Water 278

Green Car Congress

SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

The comparison to the electric vehicle is based on estimates which factor in the CO 2 emissions resulting from fuel production, with the DME-powered vehicle figure calculated from the use of renewable energy to generate the DME fuel, and the electric vehicle figure calculated from electricity generated from renewable resources.

Fuel 150

Fuel Ford Powered Power 150

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 3, 2016

Researchers at Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute and Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, have developed a highly efficient homogeneous Ru-based catalyst system for the production of methanol (CH 3 OH) from CO 2 and H 2 in an ethereal solvent (initial turnover frequency = 70 h −1 at 145 °C). Click to enlarge.

Convert 150

Convert CO2 Conversion 2000 150

Green Car Congress

MARCH 16, 2012

In a similar way, the full breadth of impacts attributable to conventional gasoline production, such as natural resource consumption and hazardous pollutant emissions, must also be considered in order to make balanced comparisons to biofuels. This study highlighted the environmental impacts of corn ethanol in comparison with gasoline.

Gasoline 357

Gasoline Water Emissions Minnesota 357

Green Car Congress

MARCH 11, 2010

A University of Wisconsin-Madison research team has developed a chemical process for the hydrolysis of biomass into sugars for subsequent processing into fuels and chemicals that delivers sugar yields approaching those of enzymatic hydrolysis. Furthermore, the hydrolysate products are readily converted into ethanol by microorganisms.

Wisconsin 170

Wisconsin Universal Fuel Water 170

Green Car Congress

APRIL 27, 2012

Business-as-usual’ projections of future conversion rates, based on historical rates over the past two decades, indicate that 6–9 Mha of peatland in insular Southeast Asia may be converted to plantations by the year 2020, unless land use planning policies or markets for products change. —Miettinen et al. Chris Malins. Asner, Simon N.

Oil-Sands 314

Oil-Sands Oil Emissions Climate 314

Cars That Think

AUGUST 18, 2024

Electrification has its sustainability challenges,” notes Daniel Ludois , a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. For comparison, the relative permittivity of air is 1. Their current prototype is capable of delivering torque as high as 18 newton meters and power at 360 watts (0.5

Motors 130

Motors Motoring Motor Philadelphia 130

Green Car Congress

MARCH 28, 2017

A team at RWTH Aachen University has developed a framework for the model-based formulation of biofuel blends with tailored properties by considering the fuel’s molecular composition as the fundamental design degree of freedom. Based on the selection of a palette compound (Stage 1), a conversion pathway is created in Stage 2.

Conversion 150

Conversion Fuel Hydrogen Design 150

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 16, 2015

Researchers from Purdue University and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland are proposing a new integrated process involving the co-production of hydrogen and electricity from solar thermal energy—a concept they label “hydricity”.

Solar 150

Solar Production Energy Concept 150

Green Car Congress

JULY 30, 2013

A German consortium involving four companies and and two universities is developing dielectric elastomers (electroactive polymers) for the conversion of mechanical energy—in this case wave power—into electrical power. The Technical University of Darmstadt is developing a method for testing the electroactive polymers.

Polymer 207

Polymer Powered Power Convert 207

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 2, 2015

After debuting the first solar air battery—a photo-assisted charging Li-O 2 battery—last fall ( earlier post ), researchers at The Ohio State University led by Professor Yiying Wu have now developed a new system combining a solar cell and a battery into a single device. Credit: ACS, Yu et al. Click to enlarge. —Yu et al.

Solar 150

Solar Li-ion Batteries Battery 150

Cars That Think

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

The company has used silicon microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) to produce an entirely new wristwatch motor for analog watches that’s half the size and roughly three times as efficient in comparison with the standard stepper motor now used in wristwatches. Analog watches? In the age of the smartwatch?

Motors 112

Motors Motoring Motor France 112

Green Car Congress

APRIL 10, 2012

Pacala, Princeton University; James J. Chameides, Duke University; and Steven P. GWPs were established to allow for comparisons among GHGs [greenhouse gases] at one point in time after emission but only add confusion when evaluating environmental benefits or policy tradeoffs over time.

Climate Change 270

Climate Change Climate Gas Coal 270

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 13, 2018

Like other fuel cells, they enable direct electrochemical conversion of chemical fuels to electricity at high efficiency and with zero emissions. They are particularly attractive in comparison to other fuel cells as a consequence of the high ionic conductivity of the electrolyte at at intermediate temperatures (400–600 °C).

Fuel 186

Fuel Powered Power Maryland 186

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 30, 2015

A team at RWTH Aachen University has identified ethyllevulinate and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran as promising alternatives to cellulosic bioethanol with respect to cost and environmental impact based on a large-scale reaction screening study. The catalytic conversion of furfural yields a mixture of octanol, butyltetrahydrofuran, and dioctylether.

Conversion 150

Conversion Fuel Production Energy 150

Green Car Congress

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Chemists from the University of Glasgow (Scotland) have developed a new method for hydrogen production that is 30 times faster than current state-of-the-art proton exchange membrane electrolyzers at equivalent platinum loading. The research team was led by Professor Lee Cronin of the University of Glasgow’s School of Chemistry.

Production 230

Production Hydrogen Water Renewable 230

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 12, 2014

In electronic devices, WBG semiconductors can eliminate up to 90% of the power losses that currently occur during AC-to-DC and DC-to-AC electricity conversion, and they can handle voltages more than 10 times higher than Si-based devices, greatly enhancing performance in high-power applications. million to a $3.8-million GaN Systems, Inc.;

Powered 218

Powered Power Future United Kingdom 218

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 26, 2015

An NREL report summarizing the 2011 Alkaline Membrane Fuel Cell Workshop noted that: In comparison with PEMFCs, AMFCs offer the advantage of avoiding Pt or Pt group metal (PGM) electrocatalysts, one of the primary limitations in the commercial deployment of fuel cells. … Northeastern University. University of California, Irvine.

Fuel 150

Fuel Hydrogen Virginia 2011 150

Green Car Congress

OCTOBER 30, 2014

The study led by University of Nebraska-Lincoln assistant professor Adam Liska, funded through a three-year, $500,000-grant from the US Department of Energy, used carbon dioxide measurements taken from 2001 to 2010 to validate a soil carbon model that was built using data from 36 field studies across North America. Liska et al.

Climate Change 265

Climate Change Climate Nebraska Carbon 265

Green Car Congress

JULY 24, 2016

Researchers at Rice University’s Laboratory for Nanophotonics (LANP), with colleagues at Princeton University, have developed a new method for uniting light-capturing photonic nanomaterials and high-efficiency metal catalysts, creating an “antenna-reactor” plasmonic catalyst. Swearer/Rice University) Click to enlarge.

Energy 170

Energy Light Universal Convert 170

Green Car Congress

JULY 21, 2016

A team of researchers from the UK’s Cardiff University’s Cardiff Catalysis Institute and Queen’s University Belfast have shown that significant amounts of hydrogen can be unlocked from fescue grass—without significant pre-treatment—using sunlight and a metal-loaded titania photocatalyst.

Hydrogen 150

Hydrogen Cheap Production 2016 150

Green Car Congress

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Based on yields alone, this is a very important discovery: in comparison, after six decades of commercial-scale improvements and optimization, the traditional acrylonitrile production process achieves yields of approximately 80%–83%.

Carbon Fiber 191

Carbon Fiber Renewable Carbon Eaton 191

Green Car Congress

AUGUST 20, 2010

CoalTek, teaming with the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research in Lexington, Ky., Duke University in Durham, N.C., and the University of North Dakota Energy and Environment Research Center in Grand Forks, N.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Blacksburg, Va.)-Partnering

Coal 218

Coal Hydrogen Fuel Powered 218