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Four scientists affiliated with the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory were named Battelle Distinguished Inventors during the lab’s annual Innovation Awards on Dec. 1 in recognition of being granted 14 or more United States patents.

The honorees join an elite group of inventors recognized by Battelle, the Columbus, Ohio, research firm that co-manages the lab through the UT-Battelle partnership. Since UT-Battelle began managing ORNL in 2000, 97 ORNL researchers have reached this milestone.

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In 2010, there were about 250 million registered vehicles on U.S. highways.[1] Most of these vehicles have engines that use oil-based fuel, such as gasoline or diesel. Even hybrid-electric cars use gasoline to power their internal combustion engines, although they use less fuel than traditional automobiles.[2]

The use of oil-based fuels has both economic and environmental impacts. Both consumers and businesses are affected by fluctuations in oil prices. Fuel prices have been trending upward, with the annual average price of a gallon of gas increasing by about 170 percent between 2002 and 2012.[3] And vehicles powered by oil-based fuels release emissions that are harmful to the environment, including greenhouse gases (GHGs).

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Both food and fuel come from corn and soybeans. In this unit, students learn about fermentation and transesterification, ethanol and biodiesel production, what enzyme action can do, and how co-products from ethanol and biodiesel are valuable in their own right.

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The Learning about materials resources collection presents educational resources about materials in the form of teacher’s notes and photocopiable worksheets. This resource contains instructions for practical work on a) making a biodiesel and b) comparing it to fossil diesel, as well as a comprehension exercise, and a team exercise.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — On Sunday, the Earth sizzled to the hottest day ever measured by humans, yet another heat record shattered in the past couple of years, according to the European climate service Copernicus Tuesday.

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In this lab activity, students investigate how to prepare a biofuel source for conversion to a combustible product. The activity models how raw materials are refined to process liquid fuels.

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John Thomas is a GrowNextGen teacher leader who teaches at Fairbanks High School. He attended the Science of Food and Fuel workshop sponsored by USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Here he talks about using the biodiesel lesson from the workshop in the classroom:

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Abstract

The current debate on the sustainability of bio-based products questions the environmental benefits of replacing fossil- by bio-resources. Here, we analyze the environmental trade-offs of 98 emerging bio-based materials compared to their fossil counterparts, reported in 130 studies. Although greenhouse gas life cycle emissions for emerging bio-based products are on average 45% lower (−52 to −37%; 95% confidence interval), we found a large variation between individual bio-based products with none of them reaching net-zero emissions. Grouped in product categories, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions ranged from 19% (−52 to 35%) for bioadhesives to 73% (−84 to −54%) for biorefinery products. In terms of other environmental impacts, we found evidence for an increase in eutrophication (369%; 163 to 737%), indicating that environmental trade-offs should not be overlooked. Our findings imply that the environmental sustainability of bio-based products should be evaluated on an individual product basis and that more radical product developments are required to reach climate-neutral targets.

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July 3, 2024 -- Climate change is hitting us hard, even in ways we don’t notice. It could be what you see right outside your window, or it could be things your body reacts to that you can’t see. And a lot of us are finally acknowledging its toll: 64% of Americans say they’re worried about climate change, and 1 in 10 report symptoms of anxiety or depression due to climate change, leading some to seek help.

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An opportunity exists at the bottom of the world to show the planet the importance and reliability of renewable energy.

Researchers at two U.S. Department of Energy laboratories—the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Argonne National Laboratory—looked at how a combination of solar modules, wind turbines, and battery storage could provide a cost-effective way to expand research capabilities at the South Pole while significantly reducing costs. The idea to shift away from diesel fuel specially formulated to withstand the extreme cold comes as scientists look toward future experiments.

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