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MIT team engineers yeast to be more tolerant to toxic byproducts, boosting biofuels production; “tolerance module”

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To try to expand biofuels’ potential impact, a team of MIT engineers has now found a way to expand the use of a wider range of nonfood feedstocks to produce such fuels. The MIT researchers developed a way to circumvent that toxicity, making it feasible to use those sources, which are much more plentiful, to produce biofuels.

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NREL, MIT, WSU team develops process to convert lignin to aromatic blendstock for 100% sustainable aviation fuel

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Although electrification has shown promise toward reducing the carbon footprint of passenger vehicles, aviation remains dependent on hydrocarbon fuels due to their high energy density relative to even the most advanced battery technologies available today.

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MIT and IEA reports take different views of the future of natural gas in transportation

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MIT and the IEA both have newly released reports exploring the potential for and impact of a major expansion in global usage of natural gas, given the current re-evaluation of global supplies. MIT: leaning toward conversion for light-duty vehicles. million bpd of oil. Earlier post.) Tcf/year, equivalent to 1.3

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New MIT metal-mesh membrane could solve longstanding problems with liquid metal displacement batteries; inexpensive grid power storage

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A new metal mesh membrane developed by researchers at MIT could advance the use of the Na–NiCl 2 displacement battery, which has eluded widespread adoption owing to the fragility of the ?"-Al The work was supported by the French oil company Total S.A. through the MIT Energy Initiative. Al 2 O 3 membrane. Sadoway (2018).

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MIT/RAND Study Concludes Three Types of Alternative Jet Fuel May Be Available in Commercial Quantities Over the Next Decade

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The focus of the work was on alternative jet fuels that could be available commercially in the next decade using primarily North American resources. Canadian oil sands and Venezuelan VHOs have the largest potential of several hundred thousand barrels per day of jet fuel, but their use would result in increased GHG emissions.

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MIT study says combustion emissions cause ~200,000 premature deaths/year in US; vehicles and power generation top sources

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Source: MIT. Researchers from MIT’s Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment have concluded that ground-level PM 2.5 Steven Barrett, an assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT, and colleagues have published their results in the journal Atmospheric Environment. Click to enlarge.

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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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