Solar panels keep greenhouses cooler in summer, let the sun through in winter Spain’s ULMA Agrícola consortium and Tecnalia research center have developed a new type of photovoltaic solar panel for greenhouses that can generate electricity without an adverse effect on the crops grown within, while additionally providing cooling in summer. The system is designed [...]
Posted on January 16th, 2012 by Editor
Filed under: ENERGY COLLECTION, ENERGY USES, HEATING, PLANTS, SOLAR | No Comments »
Groasis Waterboxx lets trees grow up in unfriendly places It’s not often that you hear about an invention that was modeled after bird poop, but there’s a first time for everything. In fact, this fecally-inspired device could ultimately be responsible for reforesting billion of acres of parched land, and it just won Popular Science’s Best [...]
Posted on November 22nd, 2010 by Editor
Filed under: ALGAE WEEDS PLANTS, ENVIRONMENT, EQUIPMENT, HEATING, PLANTS | No Comments »
Making tougher biodegradable plastics from plants Replacing petro-chemical-based plastics with plant-based alternatives is a growing area of research. One popular form of plant-derived plastic is Poly(lactic) acid, or PLA, a type of biodegradable plastic that is currently used to make bottles, bags and is woven into fibers to make clothes in place of polyester. Although [...]
Posted on November 22nd, 2010 by Editor
Filed under: MANUFACTURING, PLANTS, PLASTICS | No Comments »
Bio-Crude Turns Cheap Wood Waste into Valuable Fuel Science (Feb. 4, 2008) — CSIRO and Monash University have developed a chemical process that turns green waste into a stable bio-crude oil. The bio-crude oil can be used to produce high value chemicals and biofuels, including both petrol and diesel replacement fuels. “By making changes to [...]
Posted on October 10th, 2010 by Editor
Filed under: BIO MASS, BY-PRODUCTS, CARBON TRADING, FUEL, MINING & RESOURCES, OILS PETROL, PLANTS, RECYCLING, RENEWABLE ENERGY, WASTE, WOOD | No Comments »
Fungus Among Us Could Become Non-Food Source for Biodiesel Production Science (Sep. 17, 2010) — In the quest for alternatives to soybeans, palm, and other edible oilseed plants as sources for biodiesel production, enter an unlikely new candidate: A fungus, or mold, that produces and socks away large amounts of oils that are suitable for [...]
Posted on October 10th, 2010 by Editor
Filed under: BIO DIESEL, FOOD, FUEL, PLANTS | No Comments »
‘First Economical Process’ For Making Biodiesel Fuel From Algae Science (Mar. 31, 2009) — Chemists reported development of what they termed the first economical, eco-friendly process to convert algae oil into biodiesel fuel — a discovery they predict could one day lead to U.S. independence from petroleum as a fuel. The study was presented recently [...]
Posted on October 10th, 2010 by Editor
Filed under: ALGAE WEEDS PLANTS, ARTICLES, BIO DIESEL, FUEL, MATERIALS, PLANTS, RENEWABLE ENERGY | No Comments »
Purple Pokeberries Hold Secret to Affordable Solar Power Worldwide Science(Apr. 30, 2010) — Pokeberries — the weeds that children smash to stain their cheeks purple-red and that Civil War soldiers used to write letters home — could be the key to spreading solar power across the globe, according to researchers at Wake Forest University’s Center [...]
Posted on May 2nd, 2010 by Editor
Filed under: COATINGS, ENERGY COLLECTION, ENERGY STORAGE, GEOTHERMAL, HEAT TRANSFER, PLANTS, RESEARCH EXPLORE, TECHNOLOGY | No Comments »
Algae: Biofuel Of The Future? ScienceDaily (Aug. 19, 2008) — In the world of alternative fuels, there may be nothing greener than pond scum. Algae are tiny biological factories that use photosynthesis to transform carbon dioxide and sunlight into energy so efficiently that they can double their weight several times a day. As part of the [...]
Posted on April 8th, 2010 by Editor
Filed under: BIO DIESEL, BIO GAS, BIO MASS, BY-PRODUCTS, FUEL, PLANTS, WATER | 12 Comments »