ethanol
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Lego's treehouse set uses plant-based bricks for the greenery
Last year, Lego revealed a new type of brick made using a type of polyethylene created with ethanol from sustainably sourced sugarcane. Though it said only a small percentage of total bricks would be made in such a way, it was a major step towards Lego's broader sustainability ambitions. Several sets have included such pieces, though Lego has unveiled perhaps its most ambitious one yet: a Treehouse kit that includes 185 of those pieces.
Virgin to use eco-friendly jet fuel on commercial flight this October
Virgin Atlantic is about conduct a real-world test of its greener jet fuel. The airline plans to use LanzaTech's sustainable fuel for the first time in a commercial flight this October, with a Boeing 747 relying on the low-carbon liquid for a trip from Orlando to London's Gatwick airport. The journey will both "raise awareness" for the more environmentally friendly technology and show that it's viable for more than just experimental flights.
Honda and Toyota are still backing hydrogen fuel-cell cars
Toyota, Honda and Nissan are partnering with eight industrial firms to make a fresh push on hydrogen refuelling stations in Japan. The group wants to build 80 stations within the first four years of the partnership -- which is expected to last a decade -- with nine in operation by March 2018. The plan would nearly double the 91 stations currently in the country.
Scientists find cleaner, more efficient way to turn CO2 into fuel
Conventional fuel aren't going away just yet, but that doesn't mean you can't produce them in a more responsible way... and scientists might have found that way. They've developed a process that can convert CO2 into carbon monoxide (and subsequently into fuel) using solar energy with nearly flawless selection -- that is, you can get the material you want virtually every time. The trick was to create a spongy nickel-organic photocatalyst that purposefully includes a lot of defects, letting it produce adequate amounts of carbon monoxide without creating surprise molecules.
ICYMI: Getting ethanol from more than just corn
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory created ethanol out of carbon dioxide in a way that they believe would be easy to scale up. Most importantly, the conversion happens at room temperature so it could be done nearly anywhere in the world. We are also tickled by this stop-motion music video for a new song by Dan Sultan, and enjoy the dress designer who wants to put alcohol in clothes. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Researchers accidentally turn carbon dioxide into ethanol
Science has a long and storied history of looking for one thing but finding something better instead. Penicillin, radioactivity, science boxes...I mean microwave ovens -- all of these discoveries came in the the search for something else. On Monday, researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee announced that they too had unintentionally discovered something incredible: a means of transforming carbon dioxide directly into ethanol using a single catalyst.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: wind towers, viaduct power and how Four Loko will be recycled into gasoline
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. It was a monumental week for eco architecture as renewably-powered projects sprung up around the world. Japan unveiled plans for a massive new type of wind power tower, and we were wowed by a proposal to transform abandoned Italian viaducts into high-tech energy centers. We also showcased a solar-powered Dutch pavilion that can generate as much power as it consumes, and we were awestruck by one designer's plan for a crazy vertical skyscraper amusement park. In other news, eco transportation blazed a trail as a student-designed solar car smashed a world speed record. The recently released Chevy Volt outsold the Nissan Leaf by a huge margin last month, and we took a look at a breakthrough battery tech that could enable electric vehicles to charge 40 times faster. We also saw efficient aviation take to the skies as Honda launched a new jet that consumes 20% less fuel than comparable planes, and speaking of jet fuel, this week we learned that banned Four Loko beverages are being recycled into engine-ready ethanol. We also watched China light up the newswires with energy news as they announced the imminent construction of the world's largest solar plant and found a way extend the life of nuclear fuel by 60 times. Finally, this week we celebrated all of the hot new media tech at CES with a look at Lady Gaga's shutter-fly sunglasses, and we brought you a guide to how kids can use technology to create online media.
E-Fuel's Micro Fueler creates Ethanol from sugar in your backyard
Far from being the first at-home biofuel kit we've seen, E-Fuel is hoping to target consumers with a hankering for fueling up their vehicle with homegrown goodness. The Micro Fueler claims to be the first backyard Ethanol brewer made specifically for use at one's abode, and according to the outfit's CEO, the premise behind it is quite simple. By mixing water, sugar and yeast, individuals can receive E100 Ethanol in a matter of hours. More specifically, it's noted that a gallon of fuel can be derived from ten gallons of sugar, and while that may not sound like the most efficient conversion rate in the world, the company is quick to point out that costs can be lowered via federal, state and local credits along with carbon trading coupons. Those eager to start fueling up before they even leave the house can order one now for $9,995, though we're told not to expect shipments until Q4.
GM's Hummer HX: where Halo and E85 meet
We're guessing some nasty memos have been getting passed around at Hummer headquarters lately since consumers have been going ga-ga over fuel efficient vehicles. Something along those lines may explain a concept vehicle introduced by the company at this year's Detroit Auto Show: a smaller, lighter, and E85-capable new SUV dubbed the Hummer HX. GM CEO Rick Wagoner lauded the domestically-produced ethanol-based fuel used in the new design, which rings a number of Halo bells, not unlike the Jeep Renegade concept we've seen recently. The sport-utility rocks a slew of unique features, including an armored underbelly, customizable LED displays, removable fender flares and roof, and lack of a radio or CD player (it's only got an iPod dock). Of course, the car is just for show right now -- but maybe it's a sign that the age of fuel-guzzling Hummers is coming to a close... nah, probably not.
Corncob waste could enable methane use in vehicles
Aside from the obvious choice, there's vehicles scooting around on bioethanol, batteries, fuel cells, and all sorts of other alternatives, but a recent breakthrough in Kansas City, Missouri has opened up the possibility of using natural gas. Currently, the cheaper and cleaner burning methane isn't feasible in modern vehicles due to the extremely high pressure (3,600 psi) and gargantuous tanks required to actually use it. Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia and Midwest Research Institute in Kansas City have devised a way to change all that, however, by using corncob waste to create "carbon briquettes with complex nanopores capable of storing natural gas at an unprecedented density of 180 times their own volume and at one seventh the pressure of conventional natural gas tanks." In layman's terms, this discovery allows natural gas to be held under much less pressure and in thin-walled tanks similar to cells used on current vehicles, which could instantly make natural gas a viable (and readily available) alternative fuel source. A prototype system has been working just fine since last October, and the backers are currently crafting a second revision in hopes of storing even more natural gas and driving production costs down, but there's still no hard deets on when this invention could see commercial light.[Via AutoblogGreen]
MIT gasoline / ethanol engine to up gas mileage by "30 percent"
Anyone with enough coin to not concern themselves with fuel prices anyway can throw down $100,000 (or more) for an uber-green Tesla Roadster, or you can tack a few extra grand onto the price of your next vehicle to ensure it has some sort of hybrid engine underneath the hood, but MIT researchers are developing yet another alternative to our oh-so-troublesome fuel dilemma without looking to fuel cells. The gasoline / ethanol prototype is about "half the size" of a conventional gas engine, and would only add "about $1,000" to the price of a vehicle -- much less than current battery / gasoline options. The gasoline and ethanol are housed in separate tanks, with the ethanol "suppressing the spontaneous combustion inside the cylinder," allowing for a "higher compression ratio" and a "30 percent increase" in overall gas mileage. Ford is currently testing the system with Ethanol Boosting Systems, and while we're unsure how these engineering minds will solve the problem of double-pumping each time you need a fill up, they're reportedly working hard to "minimize any inconvenience to the driver."
