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MIT researchers advancing development of supercritical water upgrading of heavy crude; lower cost, energy use and CO2

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Findings by MIT researchers could help advance the commercialization of supercritical water technology for the desulfurization and upgrading of high-sulfur crude oil into high-value, cleaner fuels such as gasoline without using hydrogen—a major change in refining technology that would reduce costs, energy use, and CO 2 emissions.

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Sun Catalytix Signs $4M ARPA-E Contract and Forms Scientific Advisory Board; Affordable Catalysts for Water Splitting

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The SAB is chaired by John Deutch, Institute Professor at MIT, whose government experience includes service as Director of Energy Research and Undersecretary of the Department of Energy, and Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology. Earlier post.). —John Deutch.

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New self-propelled robotic device pinpoints leaks in pipes more accurately than existing methods

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Researchers at MIT and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Saudi Arabia have devised a robotic system that can detect leaks in gas, oil and water pipelines at a rapid pace and with high accuracy by sensing a large pressure change at leak locations. Top ]: Solid model side view of Leak Detector.

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Separate MIT, IEA reports both outline major expansion in role of natural gas; caution on climate benefits

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” The MIT report said that natural gas should be seen as a “ bridge ” to a low-carbon regime, rather than as the ultimate long-term solution itself. MIT: The Future of Natural Gas. Separately, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released its own report exploring the potential for a “golden age” of gas. Source: IEA.

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MIT Report Finds Natural Gas Has Significant Potential to Displace Coal, Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Role in Transportation More Limited

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Natural gas will play a leading role in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions over the next several decades, largely by replacing older, inefficient coal plants with highly efficient combined-cycle gas generation, according to a major new interim report out from MIT. The first two reports dealt with nuclear power (2003) and coal (2007).

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MIT Energy Initiative Publishes Report on Reducing CO2 Emissions from Existing Coal Plants

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The MIT Energy Initiative has released a new report on reducing carbon dioxide emissions from existing coal plants. Professor Ernest Moniz, director of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI). This is essential if retrofits are to be affordable in developing countries. We may not see a strong CO 2 price signal for many years.

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Maugeri: Natural Gas to Become #1 Electricity Source for This Century

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a leading energy company and a founding member of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI). The advent of plentiful natural gas is a recent and sudden development, he explained, driven in part by a major technological advance: the ability to fracture “tight” shale deposits to let trapped gas be affordably extracted.