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U of C chemists discover recipe to design a better type of fuel cell

October 18, 2009

Fuel cells are often touted as one method to help decrease society's addiction to fossil fuels. But there is still a lot of work to be done before fuel cells will be ready for mass market to be used in transportation, home heating and portable power for emergencies.

Ion Tiger fuel cell unmanned air vehicle completes 23-hour flight

October 13, 2009

The Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL's) Ion Tiger, a hydrogen-powered fuel cell unmanned air vehicle (UAV), has flown 23 hours and 17 minutes, setting an unofficial flight endurance record for a fuel-cell powered flight. The test flight took place on October 9th through 10th at Aberdeen Proving Ground.

New material could expand applications and lower costs for solid oxide fuel cells

October 1, 2009

A new ceramic material described in this week's issue of the journal Science could help expand the applications for solid oxide fuel cells -- devices that generate electricity directly from a wide range of liquid or gaseous fuels without the need to separate hydrogen.

Sugar + weed killer = potential clean energy source

September 29, 2009

A spoonful of herbicide helps the sugar break down in a most delightful way.

Researchers at Brigham Young University have developed a fuel cell -- basically a battery with a gas tank -- that harvests electricity from glucose and other sugars known as carbohydrates.

The human body's preferred energy source could someday power our gadgets, cars or homes.

A recipe for controlling carbon nanotubes

September 20, 2009

CLEVELAND -- Nanoscopic tubes made of a lattice of carbon just a single atom deep hold promise for delivering medicines directly to a tumor, sensors so keen they detect the arrival or departure of a single electron, a replacement for costly platinum in fuel cells or as energy‐saving transistors and wires.

Smaller isn't always better: Catalyst simulations could lower fuel cell cost

September 17, 2009

MADISON -- Imagine a car that runs on hydrogen from solar power and produces water instead of carbon emissions. While vehicles like this won't be on the market anytime soon, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers are making incremental but important strides in the fuel cell technology that could make clean cars a reality.

Making more efficient fuel cells

September 6, 2009

Bacteria that generate significant amounts of electricity could be used in microbial fuel cells to provide power in remote environments or to convert waste to electricity.

Pitt researchers harness carbon nanomaterials for drug delivery systems, oxygen sensors

August 17, 2009

PITTSBURGH -- Two nanoscale devices recently reported by University of Pittsburgh researchers in two separate journals harness the potential of carbon nanomaterials to enhance technologies for drug or imaging agent delivery and energy storage systems, in one case, and, in the other, bolster the sensitivity of oxygen sensors essential in confined settings, from mines to spacecrafts.

Wastewater produces electricity and desalinates water

August 6, 2009

A process that cleans wastewater and generates electricity can also remove 90 percent of salt from brackish water or seawater, according to an international team of researchers from China and the U.S.

New clues about a hydrogen fuel catalyst

August 5, 2009

RICHLAND, Wash. -- To use hydrogen as a clean energy source, some engineers want to pack hydrogen into a larger molecule, rather than compressing the gas into a tank. A gas flows easily out of a tank, but getting hydrogen out of a molecule requires a catalyst. Now, researchers reveal new details about one such catalyst.

Nanotubes take flight

July 29, 2009

With products that range from carpets to kites, you'd think Rice University chemist Bob Hauge was running a department store.

What he's really running is a revolution in the world of carbon nanotechnology.

Actions taken over the next decade to demonstrate and deploy key technologies will determine US energy future

July 28, 2009

WASHINGTON -- With a sustained national commitment, the United States could obtain substantial energy-efficiency improvements, new sources of energy, and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions through the accelerated deployment of existing and emerging energy technologies, according to AMERICA'S ENERGY FUTURE: TECHNOLOGY AND TRANSFORMATION, the capstone report of the America's Energy Future pro

Fuel cells, energy conversion and mathematics

July 24, 2009

Concerns about dwindling fossil fuel resources, current levels of petroleum consumption, and growing pressure to shift to more sustainable energy sources are among the many factors prompting the transition from our current energy infrastructure to one that uses less carbon and requires the efficient conversion of energy.

Delaware State U. scientists refine hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle power plants

July 24, 2009

DOVER, Del. -- Hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs) can be an important part of the solution to America's energy crisis, says Dr. Andrew Goudy of Delaware State University. He is leading a research team striving to solve a key technical FCV puzzle.

MIT: A new approach to engineering for extreme environments

June 29, 2009

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Composite materials such as fiberglass, which take on a mix of properties of their constituent compounds, have been around for decades. Now, an MIT materials scientist is taking composites to the nanoscale, where entirely new properties, not found in any of the original compounds, can emerge.



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