http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Russian explorers headed home Thursday after proving it is possible to drive from Russia to Canada across the North Pole, in buses with bloated tires over drifting ice, using a pickaxe to clear the way. http://phys.org/news287936452.html Space & Earth Thu, 16 May 2013 15:20:58 EST news287936452 (Phys.org) —Engineers will be able to design better fuel systems for everything from motorcycles to rockets faster and more inexpensively because of a mathematical fuels model developed at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. http://phys.org/news282899618.html Technology Tue, 19 Mar 2013 08:13:45 EST news282899618 High battery costs still prevent many people from buying an electric vehicle. Is it possible to save money by using an electric vehicle instead of a conventional reference car? This question is studied by the companies of Michelin and Siemens in cooperation with research partners at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI. In January 2013, the consortium was promised funding by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building, and Urban Development (BMVBS) under the Baden-Württemberg LivingLab BWe mobil showcase project. http://phys.org/news280740984.html Technology Fri, 22 Feb 2013 07:36:32 EST news280740984 Under new European Union rules to combat pollution, trucks and buses rolling off assembly lines this year will produce significantly less harmful exhaust fumes. http://phys.org/news276522471.html Technology Fri, 04 Jan 2013 11:47:59 EST news276522471 The notoriously smoggy skies of Los Angeles are a little bit cleaner than you might expect, at least in one respect. According to a study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the levels of certain vehicle-related pollutants in Los Angeles have dropped by 98 percent since the 1960s. The study has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres but is not yet available online. http://phys.org/news265304374.html Space & Earth Mon, 27 Aug 2012 17:20:07 EST news265304374 Scientists today described development of a new fuel mixture to ease the major air pollution and cost problems facing cruise ships, oil tankers and container ships. These vessels tend to burn the cheapest and most highly polluting form of diesel fuel. Their report was part of the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, being held here this week. http://phys.org/news264677374.html Chemistry Mon, 20 Aug 2012 14:50:01 EST news264677374 Researchers have designed a metal oxide catalyst for removing pollutants from diesel engine exhaust that could potentially replace costly platinum catalysts. http://phys.org/news264350846.html Chemistry Thu, 16 Aug 2012 15:47:38 EST news264350846 In some isolated clinics in parts of Africa, the electricity needed to power lights and medical devices is generated by expensive imported diesel fuel; the water supply can be so cold in winter that health workers can’t even wash their hands properly. But a startup company established by a team of MIT students and alumni aims to change that. http://phys.org/news263461201.html Technology Mon, 06 Aug 2012 08:41:28 EST news263461201 (PhysOrg.com) -- Significant boosts in the microbial production of clean, green and renewable biodiesel fuel has been achieved with the development of a new technique in synthetic biology by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI). This new technique – dubbed a dynamic sensor-regulator system (DSRS) – can detect metabolic changes in microbes during the production of fatty acid-based fuels or chemicals and control the expression of genes affecting that production. The result in one demonstration was a threefold increase in the microbial production of biodiesel from glucose. http://phys.org/news251981375.html Biology Mon, 26 Mar 2012 11:49:48 EST news251981375 (PhysOrg.com) -- A class of chemical compounds best known today for fragrance and flavor may one day provide the clean, green and renewable fuel with which truck and auto drivers fill their tanks. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have engineered Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria to generate significant quantities of methyl ketone compounds from glucose. In subsequent tests, these methyl ketones yielded high cetane numbers – a diesel fuel rating comparable to the octane number for gasoline – making them strong candidates for the production of advanced biofuels. http://phys.org/news250928758.html Biology Wed, 14 Mar 2012 07:26:12 EST news250928758 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new catalytic process discovered by the Cardiff Catalysis Institute could unleash a range of useful new by-products from diesel fuel production. http://phys.org/news246713381.html Chemistry Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:29:51 EST news246713381 (PhysOrg.com) -- The recent discovery that bisabolane, a member of the terpene class of chemical compounds used in fragrances and flavorings, holds high promise as a biosynthetic alternative to D2 diesel fuel has generated keen interest in the green energy community and the trucking industry. Now a second team of researchers with the U.S Department of Energy (DOE)’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) has determined the three-dimensional crystal structure of a protein that is key to boosting the microbial-based production of bisabolane as an advanced biofuel. http://phys.org/news245406005.html Chemistry Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:00:02 EST news245406005 It is unlikely the United States will meet some specific biofuel mandates under the current Renewable Fuel Standard by 2022 unless innovative technologies are developed or policies change, says a new congressionally requested report from the National Research Council, which adds that the standard may be an ineffective policy for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. Achieving this standard would likely increase federal budget outlays as well as have mixed economic and environmental effects. http://phys.org/news236944458.html Technology Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:54:24 EST news236944458 (PhysOrg.com) -- Claims of job creation by the TransCanada Corp. Keystone XL Pipeline are inflated at best and misleading at worst, according to a new report by the ILR Global Labor Institute (GLI) posted on its website. http://phys.org/news236848208.html Other Sciences Mon, 03 Oct 2011 08:10:27 EST news236848208 Scientists in Scotland are turning to cows and the tiny organisms and enzymes found in their stomachs for a potential way to create industrial products such as biofuels from plant waste and plan to unveil their ideas at a presentation next month in Edinburgh. http://phys.org/news231129460.html Technology Fri, 29 Jul 2011 03:37:59 EST news231129460 An award-winning University of Wisconsin-Madison student hybrid vehicle will become a showcase for advanced fuel technology that harnesses the advantages of both diesel and gasoline. http://phys.org/news230804321.html Technology Mon, 25 Jul 2011 09:30:02 EST news230804321 On the evening of Feb. 2, 1942, an unarmed tanker with 66,000 barrels of crude oil on board was steaming in the Atlantic, about 90 miles off Ocean City, Md. Without warning, it was struck by German torpedoes. The attack set the W.L. Steed ablaze, and sank it; only a handful of the crew of 38 survived. http://phys.org/news230127360.html Space & Earth Sun, 17 Jul 2011 13:16:24 EST news230127360 Will we soon be fueling our cars, applying cosmetics and eating food - all made from algae? That's the rather science-fiction-y premise of the new cluster of companies (many of them based in San Diego, home of the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology) that are growing strains of algae far more useful than that residue that forms on your swimming pool. http://phys.org/news229794532.html Technology Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:50:01 EST news229794532 (PhysOrg.com) -- Diesel engines, long confined to trucks and ships, are garnering more interest for their fuel efficiency and reduced carbon dioxide emissions, relative to gasoline engines. Argonne mechanical engineer Steve Ciatti takes a crack at some of the more persistent myths surrounding the technology. http://phys.org/news227267971.html Technology Tue, 14 Jun 2011 10:59:50 EST news227267971 Researchers from the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine have found that inhaled carbon black nanoparticles create a double source of inflammation in the lungs. http://phys.org/news224954115.html Nanotechnology Wed, 18 May 2011 16:15:30 EST news224954115 (PhysOrg.com) -- Every person in the US military needs about 7 gallons of water per day for drinking, cooking, and cleaning. Supplying and transporting all that water takes a great deal of time and effort that might otherwise be used for other purposes. To address this problem, researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are developing a technology that harvests water from the combusted diesel fuel that is used to power tanks, Humvees, generators and other machines. http://phys.org/news222447353.html Technology Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:56:13 EST news222447353 Companies looking to engineer an eco-friendly diesel fuel have more red lights in their path. According to Kansas State University researchers, making petroleum diesel completely green would not only bend the laws of physics, it would cost too much green. http://phys.org/news221226493.html Biology Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:48:32 EST news221226493 Finnish firm Neste Oil opened the world's biggest renewable diesel plant in Singapore on Tuesday, taking advantage of massive palm oil production in nearby Malaysia and Indonesia. http://phys.org/news218813113.html Technology Tue, 08 Mar 2011 13:25:27 EST news218813113 (PhysOrg.com) -- For the last ten years, biodiesel in the form of fatty acid methyl ester has been promoted as a replacement for fossil-fuel-based diesel fuel. It was soon found that this has its problems because the required plants, such as rape, occupy cropland that can then no longer be used to grow food. A second-generation biodiesel is now supposed to be gained from plant waste. http://phys.org/news215956683.html Chemistry Thu, 03 Feb 2011 12:50:03 EST news215956683 The benefits of using barley for bioenergy production don't stop at the gas pump, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) studies. http://phys.org/news212232449.html Biology Wed, 22 Dec 2010 09:27:53 EST news212232449 Researchers have developed a method that uses aluminum and a liquid alloy to extract hydrogen from seawater to run engines in boats and ships, representing a potential replacement for gasoline and diesel fuel in marine applications. http://phys.org/news207215975.html Technology Mon, 25 Oct 2010 09:00:06 EST news207215975 (PhysOrg.com) -- Industrial hemp, which grows in infertile soils, is attractive as a potential source of sustainable diesel fuel. http://phys.org/news205599757.html Technology Wed, 06 Oct 2010 16:02:53 EST news205599757 University of Georgia oceanographer Samantha Joye, like most scientists, always has a plan. Especially when it involves complex, expensive research cruises. http://phys.org/news204286705.html Space & Earth Tue, 21 Sep 2010 11:18:39 EST news204286705 The search for new raw materials for making biodiesel fuel has led scientists to an unlikely farm product — butter. In a new study in ACS' bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, they report that butter could be used as an eco-friendly feedstock, or raw material, for making diesel fuel. http://phys.org/news199595060.html Chemistry Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:00:02 EST news199595060 Sensors currently used to monitor the quality of diesel fuel and biodiesel blended fuels during engine operation are unable to adequately detect certain important fuel quality concerns. Alan Hansen, professor of agricultural and biological engineering at the University of Illinois, and his colleagues are working to develop new technologies to improve these commercially-available sensors. http://phys.org/news199366058.html Technology Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:50:01 EST news199366058