News tagged with oil industry

Related topics: oil

Recovering water from tailings ponds

(Phys.org) -- As Alberta faces increasing pressure to make the oil industry more sustainable, one University of Alberta researcher may have found a natural solution to a problem that has been plaguing oil companies for years.

Space & Earth / Environment

created May 29, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Supercharged safflower

This scientific achievement has produced safflower seed oil that contains more than 90 per cent of this valuable fatty acid, the highest level of purity of an individual fatty acid currently available in any ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created May 21, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Study finds benefits of plug-in vehicles depend on battery size

Thinking about buying a new plug-in vehicle? You may want to check the size of its battery first.

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Sep 26, 2011 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (4) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

The great gas hydrate escape

For some time, researchers have explored flammable ice for low-carbon or alternative fuel or as a place to store carbon dioxide. Now, a computer analysis of the ice and gas compound, known as a gas hydrate, ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Jan 18, 2012 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (7) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Conventional fossil fuels sometimes 'greener' than biofuels: study

There’s a race afoot to give biofuel wings in the aviation industry, part of an effort to combat soaring fuel prices and cut greenhouse gas emissions. In 2008, Virgin Atlantic became the first commercial ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created May 11, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

A high-yield biomass alternative to petroleum for industrial chemicals

A team of University of Massachusetts Amherst chemical engineers report in today's issue of Science that they have developed a way to produce high-volume chemical feedstocks including benzene, toluene, xylene ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Nov 25, 2010 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (10) | comments 5 | with audio podcast

China oil spill to have long-term impact: report

An oil spill off China's eastern coast kept hidden from the public for weeks has caused long-term environmental damage that will hurt the area's fishing industry, state media reported Tuesday.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Jul 05, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (6) | comments 5

Research team develops better iron catalyst to help turn plant material into plastic

(PhysOrg.com) -- As most people know, modern plastics are made from crude oil derivatives, making them vulnerable to price and supply fluctuations, which in the end means an alternative must be found in order for the plastics ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Feb 17, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Solving the chalk mystery

A piece of chalk in a laboratory at the University of Stavanger in Norway may be the key to unlock a great mystery. If the mystery is solved, it will generate billions in additional income for the oil industry. Associate ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Apr 24, 2009 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (7) | comments 8

Airlines positioned for big gains in efficiency

Planes are being built out of the same lightweight materials used for Formula 1 race cars. Their engines are being redesigned to squeeze more thrust out of every gallon of fuel. And governments are developing ...

Technology / Engineering

created Jul 04, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (8) | comments 4

Obama calls for investment in clean energy

US President Barack Obama called on Congress Saturday to invest more money in clean energy technologies and end multi-billion-dollar subsidies given each year to oil companies.

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Mar 10, 2012 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (9) | comments 25

Modeling plant metabolism to optimize oil production

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a computational model for analyzing the metabolic processes in rapeseed plants -- particularly ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jul 26, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Massive disaster looms in Gulf of Mexico spill

BP officials desperately searched for a new fix to the enormous Gulf of Mexico oil spill after efforts to cap a gushing leak with a containment dome hit a perilous snag.

Space & Earth / Environment

created May 10, 2010 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (8) | comments 29

Scientists warn of unseen deepwater oil disaster

(AP) -- Independent scientists and government officials say there's a disaster we can't see in the Gulf of Mexico's mysterious depths, the ruin of a world inhabited by enormous sperm whales and tiny, invisible ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created May 31, 2010 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (17) | comments 19

Fishing ban imposed in oil-affected Gulf of Mexico

Louisiana's 2.4-billion-dollar a year commercial and recreational fishing industry is dealt its first major blow from the oil spill as the US government bans activities for 10 days due to health concerns.

Space & Earth / Environment

created May 02, 2010 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 7