Benchtop NMR spectroscopy can accurately analyse pyrolysis oils

More accessible analysis could help develop the potential of bio-oils as an alternative to fossil fuels

12-Sep-2023 - A team of researchers at Aston University has demonstrated that benchtop spectrometers are capable of analysing pyrolysis bio-oils just as well as far more expensive, high-field spectrometers. Bio-oils resulting from the intense heating (pyrolysis) of industrial or agricultural by-products, are ...

Next generation solar fuels: How a record-breaking copper catalyst converts CO₂ into liquid fuels

Researchers have made real-time movies of copper nanoparticles as they evolve to convert carbon dioxide and water into renewable fuels and chemicals

21-Feb-2023 - Since the 1970s, scientists have known that copper has a special ability to transform carbon dioxide into valuable chemicals and fuels. But for many years, scientists have struggled to understand how this common metal works as an electrocatalyst, a mechanism that uses energy from electrons to ...

Methane-eating bacteria convert greenhouse gas to fuel

State-of-the-art method reveals never-before-seen atomic structures controlling the process

21-Mar-2022 - Methanotrophic bacteria consume 30 million metric tons of methane per year and have captivated researchers for their natural ability to convert the potent greenhouse gas into usable fuel. Yet we know very little about how the complex reaction occurs, limiting our ability to use the double benefit ...

Chemists unlock the key to improving biofuel and biomaterial production

Spectroscopy method enables future opportunities for looking at complex biomolecules in different plants

08-Feb-2022 - As the world searches for and demands more sustainable sources of energy and materials, plant biomass may provide the solution by serving as a renewable resource for biomaterials and biofuel production. However, until now, the complex physical and chemical interactions in plant biomass have been ...

Visualizing chemical reactions

On the way to synthetic fuels

10-Jan-2020 - Researchers at the joint EPFL-Empa lab in Sion have developed a reactor system and an analysis method that has allowed them to observe the real-time production of synthetic natural gas from CO2 and H2 for the first time. Infrared (IR) thermography is used to determine the temperature of humans ...

New method for identifying carbon compounds derived from fossil fuels

15-Sep-2017 - Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a laboratory instrument that can measure how much of the carbon in many carbon-containing materials was derived from fossil fuels. This will open the way for new methods in the biofuels and bioplastics ...

University of Miami scientists find way to identify manmade biofuels in atmosphere

Tracking urban atmospheric plumes using isotopic signatures of vehicle emissions

05-Aug-2011 - Scientists at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science have discovered a technique to track urban atmospheric plumes thanks to a unique isotopic signature found in vehicle emissions. Brian Giebel, a Marine and Atmospheric Chemistry graduate student working with ...

Stratophase doubles manufacturing capacity and increases applications development with move to larger facility

16-Jul-2010 - Stratophase has doubled its sensor chip manufacturing capability and moved to a larger site. Three times larger than the old building, Stratophase’s new facility has been fitted with offices, meeting rooms and high tech laboratory space, and has the capacity to expand further with minimal ...

Major magnet grant to advance state-of-the-art in chemical analysis

Chemistry professor Alan G. Marshall to oversee $17.5 million NSF project

17-Jun-2010 - The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University is planning to build a state-of-the-art magnet system that will transform the study of complex environmental and biological samples. A better understanding of fossil and biological fuels, for example, could lead to ...

Detecting fake wine vintages: It's an (atomic) blast

24-Mar-2010 - Two decades of atomic bomb testing in the atmosphere are yielding an unexpected bonus for consumers, scientists reported here at the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). It's a new test to determine whether that Bordeaux or burgundy is from a fine vintage year and ...