« March 2007 | Main | May 2007 »

EPA: Total US Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rose 0.8% in 2005; Transportation Up 1.6%

GHG emissions by the four end-use sectors, plus electrical generation. Click to enlarge. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released the current national greenhouse gas inventory, which finds that net overall emissions—factoring in sources and sinks—rose 0.83% in 2005 from 2004 to 6,431.9 Tg CO2e. Emissions from transportation rose... Read more →


Nanostellar Introduces Gold as Oxidation Catalyst

THC performance of three formulations of NS Gold compared to a platinum-palladium catalyst. Click to enlarge. Nanostellar, Inc., a start-up developer of catalyst materials, has introduced a gold-containing oxidation catalyst that reduces emissions by as much as 40% more than existing pure-platinum catalysts at equal cost, according to independent testing... Read more →


Siemens Applies Injection Technology to Dosing System for Exhaust Aftertreatment

Siemens VDO is applying its DEKA fuel injection technology in a diesel dosing system for optimal regeneration of particulate filters. The aftertreatment solution, which is independent of the engine and requires no change to engine architecture, uses a fuel injector in combination with a high-temperature spray nozzle valve to directly... Read more →


FEV Displays Turbocharged, Direct-Injection, E85 Variable Compression Ratio Engine

An earlier rendering of the VCR mechanism. Click to enlarge. FEV Engine Technology is displaying a developmental gasoline/E85 turbocharged direct injection (GTDI) engine that also features variable compression ratio (VCR) at the 2007 SAE World Congress. The engine is being developed in-house, in tandem with several other DI engine projects... Read more →


ConocoPhillips and Tyson in Strategic Alliance for Renewable Diesel from Animal Fat

ConocoPhillips and Tyson Foods Inc. have formed a strategic alliance to produce renewable diesel from the refinery-based processing of waste animal fat. The companies expect to begin production later this year, and ramp up through spring 2009 to generate as much as 175 million gallons of the renewable fuel per... Read more →


Hyundai·Kia Motors to Use Corning Filters for Diesel Passenger Cars

Hyundai·Kia Motors is equipping select European-market diesel passenger cars with Corning DuraTrap AT filters. (Earlier post.) Corning began serial production of AT filters for Hyundai·Kia Motors at the end of 2006. This agreement represents additional high-volume production for the advanced diesel particulate filter that Corning introduced in 2005. Hyundai·Kia Motors... Read more →


New Software Combination for Engine and Powertrain Analysis

Reaction Design and Gamma Technologies have partnered to release GT-POWER/KINetics, an advanced software tool for simulating detailed gas-phase and gas-surface chemistry in an engine or powertrain flow. GT-POWER/KINetics closely couples Reaction Design’s KINetics chemistry-solver technology with Gamma Technologies’ GT-POWER software. GT-POWER is an engine and powertrain simulation tool, used by... Read more →


Five More Companies Join Model Fuels Consortium

Reaction Design announced that five more companies have joined its Model Fuels Consortium (MFC). The MFC, led by Reaction Design, works to develop, validate and apply simulation methods to improve engine and fuel design. ConocoPhillips, Cummins Engine Company, Ford Motor Company, Honda, and Mazda join existing members Chevron, Dow Chemical... Read more →


Jülich to Showcase Direct Methanol Fuel Cell-Powered Forklift at the Hannover Messe

Forschungszentrum Jülich will unveil a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) powered-forklift at the upcoming Hannover Messe. With this prototype, we are now only a small step away from the commercialization of our fuel cell technology. —Prof. Detlef Stolten, Director at the Jülich Institute of Energy Research DMFCs are a variant... Read more →


Las Vegas Valley Water District Dedicates New Solar-Powered Hydrogen Station

The concept of the hydrogen station. Click to enlarge. The Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD), in partnership with the UNLV Research Foundation, dedicated a pilot hydrogen refueling station that operates on solar power. Solar panels produce the electricity for a Proton Energy Systems electrolyzer that generates up to 12... Read more →


Boston Mayor Announces Additional Initiatives to Address Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, joined by US Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA), announced a set of initiatives designed to reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on petroleum. The initiatives announced by Mayor Menino are designed to strengthen and improve the efforts the city already has underway. Among its other... Read more →


WG III Preview: Global Transportation Energy Use and Emissions to Grow 80% by 2030

Robust global growth in transportation will increase energy use and carbon emissions in the sector by about 80% over 2002 levels by 2030, according to the technical summary of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group III report to be issued 4 May, as described by Reuters. Transportation... Read more →


Cal Poly Wins First Shell Eco-marathon Americas with 1,902.7 MPG

The Cal Poly vehicle: “Curb Hopper”. Click to enlarge. The team from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo today won the first Shell Eco-marathon Americas with a gasoline-fueled combustion engine vehicle that delivered 1,902.7 mpg. The Eco-marathon challenges student teams to design and build the most fuel-efficient vehicles, which are tested... Read more →


NRG Energy Testing GreenFuel Algae Emissions-to-Fuel System at Coal Power Plant

NRG Energy has begun field testing GreenFuel Technologies’ proprietary Emissions-to-Biofuels bioreactor technology (earlier post) at NRG’s Big Cajun II—a 1,489 net MW coal-fueled power plant in New Roads, Louisiana. GreenFuel’s Emissions-to-Biofuels process uses naturally occurring algae to capture and reduce flue gas carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. The algae... Read more →


Hydromechanical CVTs for Hydraulic Hybrid Applications

The Folsom 50/100hp CityCar CVT. Folsom Technologies has developed a line of hydromechanical continuously variable transmissions (CVT) that are configurable either as a standalone CVT or as the CVT component of a hydraulic hybrid system. At the New York International Auto Show, the company displayed its 50/100hp CityCar CVT. This... Read more →


Nissan and NEC To Form Joint Venture To Develop Automotive Li-Ion Batteries

Prototype laminated cells (left) and vehicle battery pack (right). Click to enlarge. Nissan Motor, NEC Corporation, and NEC TOKIN Corporation, have signed an agreement to establish a joint-venture company—Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC)—to develop and market lithium-ion batteries for wide-scale automotive application by 2009, including applications such as hybrids, plug-in... Read more →


German Researchers Find Straight Rapeseed Oil Fuel Increases Mutagenicity of Diesel Engine Emissions

A German team of researchers has found that straight rapeseed vegetable oil used as a fuel in diesel engines shows a strong increase in the mutagenicity of emissions compared to a reference diesel fuel and other fuels. In a study published in Archives of Toxicology, the team compared the mutagenic... Read more →


Natural Gas Vehicles In Germany Up 40.6% in 2006

Automobilwoche. The natural gas car fleet in Germany increased by 40.6% in 2006 from 38,993 to 54,772, according to the latest figures from the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamtes. The increase is due to four reasons, according to Hartmut Hechler, chairman of the Initiativkreises Erdgas als Kraftstoff in Bayern (IEK Bayern): the lower cost... Read more →


Los Angeles World Airports to Purchase Additional Alternative Fuel Vehicles

The Board of Airport Commissioners has approved the purchase of an additional 21 compressed natural gas (CNG) pickup trucks and two liquefied natural gas (LNG) heavy-duty trucks with 4,000 gallon water tanks as part of its Vehicle Replacement and Alternative Fuel Vehicle programs. Nineteen of the CNG trucks are being... Read more →


Chemists at UCLA Design Organic Structures Well-Suited for Gaseous Storage; The Lowest Reported Density of Any Crystal

The crystal structure of COF-108. Synthesized only from light elements (H,B,C,O) COF-108 is the lowest-density crystal ever produced (0.17 g/cm3). Click to enlarge. Credit: José L. Mendoza-Cortés Chemists at UCLA have designed new organic structures for the storage of voluminous amounts of gases for use in alternative energy technologies. The... Read more →


FEV to Showcase Ford TwinForce Direct Injection Concept and Future DI Work

Operation of the TwinForce dual turbo, direct injection engine. Click to enlarge. FEV Engine Technology will showcase its work with Ford on the new turbocharged, gasoline direct injection engine concept—TwinForce—at the upcoming SAE World Congress. This is the first time that an OEM concept car will be displayed as a... Read more →


VeraSun Increases Capacity to 340M Gallons with Early Startup of Third Ethanol Plant

VeraSun Energy Corporation, the second-largest US ethanol producer, has brought its third, 110-million gallon ethanol plant on stream nearly three months ahead of schedule. The startup of the Charles City, Iowa facility increases VeraSun’s total annual production capacity to 340 million gallons per year. The plant will annually process 39... Read more →


BASF Forms Fuel Cell Subsidiary; Portfolio on Display at Hanover Fair

BASF has formed a new fuel cell subsidiary—BASF Fuel Cell—from its own fuel cell work combined with the activities acquired from PEMEAS and Engelhard in 2006. The newly-founded subsidiary will be a supplier of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs), gas diffusion electrodes and catalysts. PEMEAS was founded in April 2004 as... Read more →


Renault launches Logan in Argentina and Brazil; Flex-fuel for Brazil

Renault is introducing the Logan in Argentina in May and Brazil in July. Both markets are growing steadily. Brazilian autosales rose 28% to 1,834,581 in 2006 from 2004, while Argentina’s market grew 57% to 420,356. For Brazil, the Logan will be available with the ethanol-powered engines required for this market—a... Read more →


DOE to Award up to $8.2 Million for Hydrogen Storage Research

The US Department of Energy (DOE) plans to award up to $8.2 million, over four years (FY’07-’10), for six hydrogen storage research projects in support of the Administration’s Hydrogen Fuel Initiative (HFI). The HFI is focused on accelerating research and development of hydrogen technologies including hydrogen storage, production, and polymer... Read more →


Chevron and Weyerhauser to Partner on Cellulosic Biofuels

Chevron Corporation and Weyerhauser Company have signed a letter of intent (LOI) to jointly assess the feasibility of commercializing the production of biofuels from cellulose-based sources. The companies will focus on researching and developing technology that can transform wood fiber and other nonfood sources of cellulose into biofuels for transportation.... Read more →


GM Introduces Two New 1.7-Liter Diesels for Opel

The new 1.7-liter diesel. GM is applying two new 1.7-liter diesel engines in the new edition Opel Astra. Following Opel’s downsizing strategy, the latest generation common-rail turbo-diesel engines are relatively compact, yet with their high power output per liter and power reserves they boast higher fuel economy and low emissions.... Read more →


California Governor Tells Automakers to Get Off Their Butt

Bloomberg. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said Detroit’s carmakers must get off their “butt” on greenhouse gas reduction. “I say, Arnold to Michigan: get off your butt and join us,” Schwarzenegger said today at an environmental conference in Washington. “California may be doing more to save US automakers than anyone else.... Read more →


New York Times Company Adds Sprinter Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle to Delivery Fleet

Positioning of the hybrid components in the Sprinter PHEV. All components are underneath the floor or in the engine bay. Click to enlarge. The New York Times Company will receive a Dodge Sprinter plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV)—the first medium-duty plug-in hybrid vehicle on the US East Coast and the... Read more →


New Joint Venture Targeting Biofuels from Plasma Arc Gasification of Waste

The Skygas reactor. MPM Technologies Inc. (MPM) and Losonoco Inc. have formed a new joint venture company, Losonoco Skygas, LLC, to develop biofuel and chemical manufacturing facilities based on the Skygas waste gasification process. MPM is an environmental engineering company that has done extensive development work on the Skygas plasma... Read more →


Scuderi Group to Preview Enhanced Designs of Air-Hybrid Engine

Cylinder pairs in the Scuderi Split Cycle. Scuderi divides the four strokes of the Otto cycle across two paired cylinders, a compression and a power cylinder. The Scuderi Group will exhibit further-developed designs of its Scuderi Air-Hybrid Engine next week at the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress in Detroit.... Read more →


EMTA Holdings Receives TxLED Approval

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has approved Clean Boost LE Diesel Fuel Treatment from EMTA Holdings as meeting the state’s stringent low-emission diesel fuel regulations (TxLED). Use of the Clean Boost LE Diesel Fuel Treatment additive reduces NOx and PM emissions to levels that bring diesel-powered vehicles into... Read more →


AB Enzymes Introduces New Enzyme Product to Enhance Seedoil Extraction

AB Enzymes, one of the world’s oldest enzyme companies, has introduced a new product for the processing of vegetable oils. ROHALASE OS reduces the need for chemicals in the extraction of oil from seeds such as canola, sunflower and soy while delivering a higher yield. The product can be applied... Read more →


Pennsylvania to Provide $31.4 Million in Development Grants for Alternative Fuels and Energy

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell announced the availability of $31.4 million in grants to help businesses and organizations develop clean energy and alternative fuel projects. The grants will be funded through Pennsylvania’s three alternative energy development programs—up to $16.4 million through the Alternative Fuels Incentive Grants program, $10 million through the... Read more →


ConocoPhillips Supports Mandatory National Framework to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

ConocoPhillips announced its support for a mandatory national framework to address greenhouse gas emissions and has joined the US Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), a business-environmental leadership group dedicated to the quick enactment of national legislation to require significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. The members of USCAP include a number... Read more →


EPA Finalizes Regulations for Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today established the regulations for the nation’s first comprehensive Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. Authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the RFS program requires that the equivalent of at least 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel be blended into motor vehicle fuel... Read more →


Fuel Cell Hybrid Bus Begins Service In Hartford

CTTRANSIT fuel cell bus. New England’s first zero-emission fuel cell-powered hybrid bus in regular urban service made its debut today in ceremonies at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, Connecticut. The 40-foot bus will immediately enter CTTRANSIT service and operate first on the free downtown Hartford Star Shuttle route, and... Read more →


Modine to Supply Hyundai with Approximately $100 Million in Euro-5 EGR Systems

Hyundai Motor Company has awarded Modine approximately $100 million in business for Modine’s Euro-5 exhaust gas recirculation coolers that will be on engines in new Hyundai passenger cars starting with the 2009 models. These programs are expected to extend to 2014. Earlier in the year, won more than $143 million... Read more →


University of Delaware Introduces Series-Hybrid Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus

The University of Delaware hydrogen fuel cell hybrid bus. Researchers at the University of Delaware (UD) unveiled a series-hybrid hydrogen fuel cell bus developed in partnership with a consortium that includes EBus, Ballard Power Systems, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Air Liquide Advanced Technologies US, and the Delaware Transit Corp.... Read more →


ConocoPhillips Establishes $22.5 Million Biofuels Research Program at Iowa State; Interest in Fast Pyrolysis

ConocoPhillips will establish an eight-year, $22.5 million research program at Iowa State University dedicated to developing technologies that produce biorenewable fuels. The grant is part of ConocoPhillips’ plan to create joint research programs with major universities to produce viable solutions to diversify US energy sources. ConocoPhillips will make an initial... Read more →


GM Puts Hold on Development of RWD Vehicles Pending CO2, CAFE Regs

Chicago Tribune. In an interview with Tribune auto columnist Jim Mateja, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said that the company was putting a hold on the development of future rear-wheel drive vehicles until regulations on CO2 limits and fuel economy are sorted out. Rear-wheel drive cars tend to be larger... Read more →


Malaysian Company Claims 6.48 Billion Liter Ethanol Output in 2009

Bernama. Pioneer Bio Industries Corp Sdn Bhd (PBIC) claims it will be able to produce 6.48 billion litres (1.7 billion gallons US) of nipah palm ethanol yearly when its planned refineries there begin operations in 2009. That level of production is an increase from the company’s earlier projection of 1.22... Read more →


Schaeffler Group Developing New Electric Cam Phasing System

The Schaeffler Group, a global automotive supplier of rolling bearings and linear products, is developing a new ultra-fast electrically operated cam phasing system that allows rapid adjustment of cam timing for all engine speeds and engine temperatures. Variable cam phasing is a mechanism to support variable valve timing. Depending upon... Read more →