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 ...

Aviation safety: Rapid test for harmful microbes in kerosene developed

Faster and more robust than a PCR test

12-Apr-2021 - Fuels such as kerosene or diesel can be contaminated by fungi or bacteria. The microorganisms settle in the liquid itself, on the inner walls of tanks and pipes or in fuel filters and feed on carbon atoms. Since the fungi and bacteria multiply well in this environment, they can form a streaky ...

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 ...

Taking a closer look at genetic switches in cancer

24-May-2017 - Many things go wrong in cells during the development of cancer. At the heart of the chaos are often genetic switches that control the production of new cells. In a particularly aggressive form of leukemia, called acute myeloid leukemia, a genetic switch that regulates the maturation of blood stem ...

Insight into enzyme's 3-D structure could cut biofuel costs

19-May-2017 - Using neutron crystallography, a Los Alamos research team has mapped the three-dimensional structure of a protein that breaks down polysaccharides, such as the fibrous cellulose of grasses and woody plants, a finding that could help bring down the cost of creating biofuels. The research focused ...

Genome sequence of fuel-producing alga announced

12-May-2017 - The genome of the fuel-producing green microalga Botryococcus braunii has been sequenced by a team of researchers led by a group at Texas A&M AgriLife Research. The report comes after almost seven years of research, according to Dr. Tim Devarenne, AgriLife Research biochemist and principal ...