fuel
Hydrogen Powered Cars
Hydrogen-powered cars are trying to make inroads in the rapidly-evolving automobile market. Several major automakers – including Hyundai, Toyota and Honda continue to invest heavily in the technology while selling a limited number of cars around the world.
Cleaning Up Shipping Fuel
Cargo ships are significant sources of global air pollution because of their fuel oil. Most ships burn something called “bunker fuel” which is a pitch-black, molasses-thick fuel made from the dregs of the oil refining process. It is loaded with sulfur, so when it is burned it produces noxious gases and fine particles that can harm human health and the environment. Because bunker fuel is made from petroleum refining residues, waste byproducts sometimes end up in the mix, making the stuff even a worse source of pollution.
A Battle For The Automobile Fuel Business
Energy giant BP predicts that electric vehicle sales will increase by an incredible 8,800 percent between now and 2040. That creates a major business opportunity for oil companies as well as a real problem because demand for gasoline and diesel is destined to slow.
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Biomass: Renewable But Not Sustainable
Biomass is often touted as a green energy source. Just recently, the US Environmental Protection Agency declared biomass energy to be carbon neutral – a policy already embraced by many European countries. However, burning forests for fuel has hard limitations and ecological consequences.
Trouble With China And Climate Progress
With the United States backing away from the Paris climate agreement and with Europe taking a less active role in climate negotiations, China has become the bellwether on global climate change. Recent climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany were rather acrimonious as countries accused other countries of not doing their part or keeping their promises.
The Fight For Greener Cars
U.S. automakers have always been reluctant partners in the nation’s efforts to reduce air pollution and improve fuel efficiency. There have been struggles for decades between the carmakers and the government in setting Corporate Average Fuel Economy (or CAFÉ) standards. During the Obama administration, some of the most demanding fuel economy and emissions standards were mandated.
Fighting Methane With Bacteria
Bacteria may have an important role to play in the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A group of researchers at the University of Alberta are genetically engineering non-hazardous bacteria that consume methane and turn it into fuel.
Greener Biofuel
Engineers from the National University of Singapore have recently discovered that a naturally occurring bacterium is capable of directly converting cellulose to biobutanol, a promising biofuel.
Sunshine To Fuel
Hydrogen is touted to be the fuel of the future, particularly for cars. But a more acccurate view of it is that hydrogen is an energy storage medium. And the most promising form of energy to store using hydrogen is solar energy.
Indirect Greenhouse Gas Emissions
When considering the greenhouse gas emissions associated with any energy source, it is important to look at the total life cycle emissions both from the direct use of the energy source and from the indirect emissions associated with building the system, producing and transporting fuels and other supplies and, ultimately, decommissioning the system. Taking all of this into consideration is necessary in order to have a full accounting of the carbon impact of power sources.
Transportation And Greenhouse Gases
Power plants have been the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States for more than 40 years. But the ever-changing picture of electricity production has changed that situation. According to new data from the government’s Energy Information Administration, transportation has now taken over the top spot.
Toyota’s Hydrogen Factory
Toyota is one of several automakers that are promoting hydrogen fuel cell cars – electric cars that get their energy from fuel cells rather than batteries. Fueling one of these cars is much like filling up the tank of a gasoline-powered car, except that the fuel in question is hydrogen.
Turning Emissions Into Fuel
Reducing carbon dioxide emissions is an essential element in mitigating climate change. The best approach is to not produce the stuff in the first place and the ongoing transition away from fossil fuels is trying to do just that. But realistically, fossil fuels will be with us for a long time to come. Given that, additional approaches are necessary.
Economics Of Solar And Wind Power
It is well-known that the cost of both solar and wind energy has been dropping dramatically in recent years. That trend is largely responsible for the rapid growth of both power sources. A recent study has revealed just how remarkable the economic progress has been.
Turning Biofuel Waste Into Valuable Chemicals
When biofuels are made, tough plant material is left over as waste. The material is lignin, which is a main component of plant cell walls that gives plants their structural integrity. Lignin is made up of many valuable compounds, but taking it apart to extract them is very difficult.
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Fuel From Greenhouse Gases
Carbon dioxide and methane are the two greenhouse gases that are having the greatest impact on the global climate. There are basically three ways to prevent them from getting into the atmosphere: don’t emit them, trap them and store them away, or turn them into something useful.
Lawnmower Pollution
Over 50 million Americans mow their lawns each week, which uses 800 million gallons of gas per year and produces tons of air pollutants. Garden equipment engines were completely unregulated with respect to emissions until the late 1990s and still emit high levels of carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and nitrogen oxides. In fact, gas mowers and their relatives like leaf blowers and edgers produce 5% of the air pollution in this country.
Another Unconventional Fossil Fuel Source
It has only been about 10 years that fracking has been a big deal in the energy world. With it, a largely inaccessible source of fossil fuel became relatively easy pickings. And both the economic benefits and the attendant environmental problems have been grabbing headlines ever since.
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