Biofuels
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Used Cooking Grease Fuels Jet
SmartPlanet News &bull Feb 4, 2012
The airline company tested a blend of cooking grease and conventional aircraft fuel on 75 flights in an effort to find a viable alternative to traditional petroleum-based fuel. Although kitchen grease is more environmentally friendly than traditional fuel, the results… Full Story »
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The Ventless Fireplace: A Cool Idea Worth Warming Up To
Re-Nest &bull Feb 2, 2012
There's nothing like the crackle, warmth and glow from a real wood-burning fireplace. But for apartment dwellers without an existing fireplace, alternatives to the traditional chimney and flue are necessary. Ventless designs powered by eco-friendly biofuel are now available in modern materials and as ceiling-mount, wall-mount and floor standing units. Here… Full Story »
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The politics of peak oil
SmartPlanet News &bull Feb 1, 2012
It's a bit hard to believe that in 2012 anyone is still unclear about what "peak oil" means, but enough confusion about it has surfaced in the past week that I feel compelled to, once again, try to set the record straight. It is not about oil reserves (oil that has been proved to exist and to be producible at a profit), or resources (oil that may exist in the ground, irrespective of its potential to be produced profitably). Those quantities do play a role in estimating the peak, but do not determine it in any way. Unconventional" liquids such… Full Story »
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Adobe fuel cell installation blooms in San Francisco
SmartPlanet News &bull Jan 31, 2012
Software developer Adobe Systems has installed two Bloom Energy fuel cells that it estimates will provide about 35 percent of the electricity needs for its San Francisco office. In a blog by the company's facilities director, Michael Bangs, Adobe said… Full Story »
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Cocoon_FS: Pohl Architects Unveils Prefab Plankton-Inspired Pod Building in Germany
Inhabitat &bull Jan 31, 2012
Cocoon_FS is a brilliant and bizarre-looking lightweight modular building inspired by marine phytoplankton and pioneered by Pohl Architects in cooperation with PlanktonTech. A high strength to weight ratio, translucent shell, and low material usage make this eye-catching prefab fantastically easy… Full Story »
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Topics:
- Biofuels
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Leaked EU documents rank biofuel emissions higher than crude oil
SmartPlanet News &bull Jan 28, 2012
European Union politics website EurActive has gotten its hands on official EU data reporting that many biofuel crops release more carbon dioxide than crude oil, and approximate the emissions of the much-maligned oil mined from tar sands. The numbers were… Full Story »
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Leaked EU documents rank biofuel carbon emissions with crude oilleaked EU documents rate biofuel carbon emissions with crude oil leaked EU documents rate biofuel carbon emissions with crude oil
SmartPlanet News &bull Jan 28, 2012
Leaked documents from the EU rank the carbon emissions of some biofuels -- including top crops palm, soybean, and rapeseed oil -- on par with oil from tar sands. Will politicians recognize the numbers? Full Story »
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USDA bets (again) on advanced biofuels
SmartPlanet News &bull Jan 27, 2012
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has kicked off 2012 with two investments in the advanced biofuels industry. Earlier this month, the federal agency approved a conditional commitment for a$25 million loan guarantee to build a biorefinery plant in Iowa that converts municipal… Full Story »
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Microbubbles Enable More Efficient Production Of Algae Biofuels
Inhabitat &bull Jan 26, 2012
Algae biofuel is one of the most promising alternative fuels on the market - so far we've seen cars and even planes adapted to run on it. The main drawback thus far has been high production costs and energy usage… Full Story »
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Celtic Renewables is a New Company That Turns Whisky Byproducts into Biofuels
Inhabitat &bull Jan 26, 2012
Scottish whisky is becoming quite the green business these days - with whisky power plants and brand new green distilleries, they're ahead of the pack. Well, they're about to add yet another sustainability first to their list with a whisky… Full Story »
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Massive 1,000 LB Butter Sculpture Will Power Pennsylvania Farm for Three Days
Inhabitat &bull Jan 24, 2012
Each year the Pennsylvania Farm Show unveils a series of giant butter sculptures, and this year the mother of them all was revealed - a 1,000 pound piece of butter art. The sculpture depicts a 4-H member receiving a ribbon… Full Story »
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U.S. in 2035: Oil imports slashed, renewables rise
SmartPlanet News &bull Jan 24, 2012
Over the next decade or so, the U.S. will produce more of its own crude, increase its use of biofuels and guzzle less gasoline, according to the Energy Information Administration's latest annual energy outlook. If the EIA's projections are right,… Full Story »
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Poet's cellulosic ethanol strategy: Dump fed loan, partner with DSM
SmartPlanet News &bull Jan 23, 2012
Poet, the largest ethanol maker in the U.S., has turned down a $105 million federal loan guarantee that would have financed one of the country's first commercial cellulosic ethanol plants. Poet's cellulosic ethanol dreams aren't dead. They've just found a new partner. Poet announced today it… Full Story »
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The Morning Briefing: Junk food to artificial chicken
SmartPlanet News &bull Jan 23, 2012
The Morning Briefing" is SmartPlanet's daily roundup of must-reads from the web. This morning we're reading about consumption and recent food studies. A U.S. study tracked approximately 20,000 students from kindergarten through to eighth grade in 1,000 public and private… Full Story »
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Human Stomach Microbe Could Help Turn Seaweed Into Biofuel
Inhabitat &bull Jan 20, 2012
Researchers at the Bio Architecture Lab and the University of Washington in Seattle have genetically modified a microbe commonly found in the human stomach that is now capable of breaking down the very exotic sugars found in seaweed. Seaweed could… Full Story »
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Greenhouse Combines Crops With Solar Power
TreeHugger &bull Jan 20, 2012The delicate balancing act between energy and agriculture is a challenge for policymakers, especially when it comes to growing biofuels feedstocks and siting large-scale solar and wind farms on prime agricultural land. But there are many examples of small-scale, creative solutions to producing food… Full Story »
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Clean Energy Challenge: And Then There Were 10
TreeHugger &bull Jan 19, 2012Despite it being January, the Midwest is heating up - at least in cleantech circles. The Clean Energy Trust (CET) has selected the 10 finalists who will duke it out for a total of $250,000 in prizes in the 2012 Clean Energy Challenge. Independent evaluators picked through more than 100 applications before narrowing down the list to the final teams, and the competition is looking well,… Full Story »
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Cambridge company launches new 5kW 48V DC generator for renewable deployments
webitpr &bull Jan 17, 2012
Cambridge, UK, 17th January 2012 - Cambridge based Telgenco has launched a new DC generator targeted specifically for renewable energy deployments and remote telecoms sites. The Quiet48-5 genset has a number of features that make it ideally suited for renewable… Full Story »
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Startup seeks to make biodiesel from commercial kitchen grease
SmartPlanet News &bull Jan 13, 2012
A new relationship between cleantech start-up BlackGold Biofuels and SLM Facility Solutions Nationwide gives truth to that old adage: one man's trash is another man's treasure. The partnership, which is aimed at serving commercial kitchens, will encourage hospitality companies to use SLM to recover and recycle the liquid waste… Full Story »
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Renewable energy investment soared in 2011
SmartPlanet News &bull Jan 13, 2012
Global investment surged to record levels, and the United States led the pack. The industry's challenges were many: falling stock prices, bankruptcy, slim profit margins, trade disputes, disappearing energy subsidies, and excess capacity created a witch's brew of uncertainty. Solyndra became a dirty word in the United States. Despite… Full Story »
