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SwRI, UTSA researchers show biochar is low-cost, effective method to treat fracking water

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Researchers at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) have determined that biochar, a substance produced from plant matter, is a safe, effective and inexpensive method to treat flowback water following hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. —Maoqi Feng, SwRI.

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CSIRO joins US sCO2-based power generation project STEP demo

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The pilot plant has been designed, building construction has been completed, and equipment installation is underway on the SwRI campus in San Antonio, TX. Using sCO 2 as a power cycle working fluid instead of steam/water will lower capital expenditures and reduce plant size and footprint.

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EIA: natural gas-fired reciprocating engines are being deployed more to balance renewables

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In addition, power plants using internal combustion engines tend to require significantly less water than similarly sized combined-cycle or simple-cycle natural gas turbine plants. Power plants with large reciprocating engines are often located in states with significant renewable resources, specifically wind generation.

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Texas Clean Energy Project signs long-term CO2 offtake agreement with Whiting Petroleum for enhanced oil recovery; 90% CO2 capture from IGCC coal polygen plant

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This is another important milestone for the Texas Clean Energy Project, coming on the heels of last month’s power purchase announcement with CPS Energy in San Antonio. In oil fields such as Whiting’s, the injected CO 2 mixes with the oil that is left behind in the primary oil-well production and the secondary water-injection stage.

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Daimler Trucks NA SuperTruck achieves 115% freight efficiency improvement over 2009 baseline; 50.2% engine BTE

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The final SuperTruck demonstrator ran a five-day, 312-mile (502-kilometer) roundtrip route on Texas Interstate 35 between San Antonio and Dallas, at a weight of 65,000 lbs (29,484 kg) GVWR at a speed of 65 mph (105 km/h), where it achieved an average result of 12.2 engine brake thermal efficiency. mpg (19.26 Fleet: Schneider, Walmart.

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Atomic cobalt on nitrogen-doped graphene catalyst shows promise to replace platinum for hydrogen production

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The Rice lab of chemist James Tour and colleagues at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of Texas at San Antonio and the University of Houston have developed a robust, solid-state catalyst that shows promise to replace expensive platinum for hydrogen generation. —Fei et al. Huilong Fei, Juncai Dong, M.

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