Energy News - Energy Technology - Energy Business

December 06, 2012

Gases from Grasses
Austin TX (SPX) Dec 06, 2012
In a well-known fairy tale, Rumpelstiltskin used magic to weave straw into gold. Today, scientists are reversing that formula - using gold to turn straw (and other forms of biomass) into today's global currency: energy. The magic involves a special nanocatalyst, in which minute particles of gold dot the surface of titanium-oxide. The forces that emerge from the combination of these two materials are strong enough to breaks the O-O bond of oxygen molecules and the C-O bond of acetic acid, a byprodu ... read more

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New '4-D' transistor is preview of future computers A new type of transistor shaped like a Christmas tree has arrived just in time for the holidays, but the prototype won't be nestled under the tree along with the other gifts. "It's a preview of thin ... more		Plastic packaging industry is moving towards completely bio-based products The new generation of bio-based plastic packaging is not only eco-friendly but also has several superior qualities compared to traditional plastic packaging. The plastic packaging industry is moving ... more		Synthetic fuels could eliminate entire U.S. need for crude oil, create 'new economy' The United States could eliminate the need for crude oil by using a combination of coal, natural gas and non-food crops to make synthetic fuel, a team of Princeton researchers has found. Besid ... more
				NASA Investigates Use of 'Trailblazing' Material for New Sensors Tiny sensors - made of a potentially trailblazing material just one atom thick and heralded as the "next best thing" since the invention of silicon - are now being developed to detect trace elements ... more		Organic metamaterial flows like a liquid, remembers its shape A bit reminiscent of the Terminator T-1000, a new material created by Cornell researchers is so soft that it can flow like a liquid and then, strangely, return to its original shape. Rather than liq ... more

Numerical study suggests subsea injection of chemicals didn't prevent oil from rising to sea surface The 2010 blowout of the Macondo well in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico resulted in the region's largest oil spill in U.S. history. As the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) incident unfolded, in an effort to ... more		Brazil advances wind power development Brazil is redoubling efforts to boost its electricity generation capacity and wind power is high on both public and corporate sector agenda. ... more		India must rethink infrastructure needs for 100 new 'smart' cities to be sustainable Woman held at S.Africa airport for rhino horn smuggling Bienvenue! French zoo announces first ever panda pregnancy How did early humans survive aridity and prolonged drought in Africa Health risk alarm over water rationing in Rome Dozens hospitalised in Indonesia as thick haze spreads Off Namibia, an underwater diamond harvest		Paraguay's diplomatic isolation dissipates Paraguay's diplomatic isolation is fast becoming a thing of the past as President Federico Franco receives the Organization of American States endorsement and a Mercosur diplomatic campaign falters. ... more
				China island row takes bite out of Japan tourism The sound of Mandarin-speaking tourists and the cash tills they set ringing have become rare in Tokyo's upmarket Ginza district, retailers say, since a flare-up in an island row between China and Japan. ... more		Taiwan concerned over China high-tech talent poaching Taiwan Wednesday voiced concern over "malicious talent poaching" in reaction to a report that a high-tech firm run by former Chinese president Jiang Zemin's son was aggressively recruiting staff from the island. ... more

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Activists slam Singapore crackdown on China strikers Activists expressed outrage Wednesday over Singapore's crackdown on Chinese bus drivers who staged the city-state's first industrial strike in 26 years to demand better pay and conditions. ... more		German's solar ovens make sunbaked tortillas in Mexico Under a blazing sun in Mexico's central mountain range, a clutch of large dish-shaped solar panels suck up the light and beam the heat into a kitchen, cooking tortillas. ... more		Soyuz rocket rolled out, ready to launch Iran in 'successful' test of satellite-launch rocket Portals to new worlds: Martian exploration near the North Pole A Tale of Three Stellar Cities MSU gravitational physicist receives NASA award to explore extreme gravity and the universe Milky Way's origins are not what they seem How Light Looks Different on the Moon and What NASA Is Doing About It		Android gains on Apple in surging tablet sector: survey The global market for tablet computers is growing faster than earlier estimates suggested, with Android-powered devices gaining on the market-leading iPads, a survey said Wednesday. ... more
				Outside View: Japan's energy conundrum When it comes to choices in Japanese politics, quantity has certainly given over to quality. After all, as voters face a barrage of campaign rhetoric from 12 political parties as they go to the polls Dec. 16, none of the parties have come up with a credible solution to the country's energy dilemma following the 2011 Fukushima disaster. ... more		Bulgarian president hints at revival of Russian nuclear project Bulgaria's president said Wednesday that his party might support reviving a major joint nuclear power project with Russia abandoned earlier this year even if a January referendum fails as expected to attract enough voters to be valid. ... more

Making sustainability policies sustainable

S. America upbeat on energy growth in 2013

Need for clean energy 'more urgent than ever': IEA

Argonne National Lab Selected as DOE's Batteries and Energy Storage Hub

Numerical study suggests subsea injection of chemicals didn't prevent oil from rising to sea surface

Report decries Big Oil's 'oily grasp' on Canada

Brazil advances wind power development

US Navy, DoD, Developer Announce Wind Farm Agreement

Britain: Higher energy bills 'reasonable'

German's solar ovens make sunbaked tortillas in Mexico

British firm to build 'Africa's biggest solar plant'

The Future Looks Bright: ONR, Marines Eye Solar Energy

	China grabs Mideast oil as U.S. power dips China is muscling into Iraq's oil sector as Baghdad grapples with defections by international majors like Exxon Mobil and Chevron of the United States and France's Total. ... more		Gazprom's LNG tanker pioneers Arctic crossing Russian gas giant Gazprom announced Wednesday that one of its ships had transported liquified natural gas from Europe to Asia via the Arctic for the first time, in a sign of what a changing climate could mean for global energy markets. ... more		New China leaders urge end to 'pointless meetings' China's new leaders have urged an end to "pointless" meetings, speeches and other time-wasting events, state-run media said on Wednesday in the latest call for improved governance. ... more		China mine blast kills 17: state media A gas blast in a southwest China coal mine left 17 people dead Wednesday, state press said of the latest accident in the dangerous industry. ... more

Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Ralph Johnson completes builders trials

Tears in rain: North Korea marks 'Victory Day'

US slams 'provocative' Iran satellite-launch rocket test

China is 'landlord' to Hong Kong says justice chief

Minuteman III ICBM support contract awarded to BAE

Yemeni rebel missile shot down near Mecca: Arab coalition

Japan's scandal-hit defence chief resigns

China Southern to buy 10 A330-300 aircraft		Who will win the Temelin NPP bid?		Robot buddy to keep Japan astronaut company		Bismuth provides perfect dance partners for quantum computing qubits		DNA Analysis of Microbes in a Fracking Site Yields Surprises
Ames Laboratory scientists develop indium-free organic light-emitting diodes		A better way to make chemicals?		Steps towards filming atoms dancing		Squirrels and Birds Inspire Researchers to Create Deceptive Robots		Goodbye, fluorescent light bulbs! See your office in a new light

How 'transparent' is graphene?

Italian power giant pulls out of French nuclear deal

British firm to build 'Africa's biggest solar plant'

Report decries Big Oil's 'oily grasp' on Canada

Android extends global smartphone lead: survey

Argonne National Lab Selected as DOE's Batteries and Energy Storage Hub

Engineering professor looks to whirligig beetle for bio inspired robots

The Future Looks Bright: ONR, Marines Eye Solar Energy

ORNL develops lignin-based thermoplastic conversion process

Maths helps mobiles and tablets match eyes' ability to switch from sunshine to shadow

Making sustainability policies sustainable

Gulf of Mexico Clean-Up Makes 2010 Spill 52-Times More Toxic

Geoscientists cite 'critical need' for basic research to unleash promising energy resources

Outside View: Soaking the rich

YPF pushes expansion despite litigation

Oil prices mixed after US, China data

The widening gap between present emissions and the two-degree target

Four injured in China fighter jet crash: reports

A human-caused climate change signal emerges from the noise

Answer to Mongolia pollution is blowing in the wind

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