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New photocatalytic system converts carbon dioxide to valuable fuel more efficiently than natural photosynthesis

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The new system mimics a natural chloroplast to convert carbon dioxide in water into methane, very efficiently using light. Photosynthesis is the process by which chloroplasts in plants and some organisms use sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to create food or energy.

Convert 369
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UNIST team develops novel hydrogen production process using biomass oxidation instead of water oxidation as electron source

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Korea’s Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) have developed a novel process for the production of hydrogen using various types of biomass, including lignin, as an efficient alternative to water oxidation as an electron source. Conventionally, water is considered a cheap and clean source of electrons; 2H 2 O ?

Water 371
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Researchers use melamine to create effective, low-cost carbon capture; potential tailpipe application

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Using an inexpensive polymer called melamine, researchers from UC Berkeley, Texas A&M and Stanford have created a cheap, easy and energy-efficient way to capture carbon dioxide from smokestacks. We distinguished ammonium carbamate pairs and a mix of ammonium carbamate and carbamic acid during carbon dioxide chemisorption.

Low Cost 243
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Oleophobic hydrophobic magnetic sponge selectively soaks up oil, sparing water and wildlife

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A Northwestern Engineering-led team has developed a highly porous smart sponge that selectively soaks up oil in water. Currently used solutions include burning the oil, using chemical dispersants to breakdown oil into very small droplets, skimming oil floating on top of water and/or absorbing it with expensive, unrecyclable sorbents.

Water 243
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BNEF report finds hydrogen promising decarbonization pathway, but carbon prices and emissions policies required

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Note: Clean hydrogen refers to both renewable and low-carbon hydrogen (from fossil-fuels with CCS). Renewable hydrogen can be made by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, using electricity generated by cheap wind or solar power. Renewable energy has paved the way to carbon-free electricity. Source: BloombergNEF.

Hydrogen 221
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UCSC team develops high-performance nanostructured composite catalyst for water-splitting to produce hydrogen

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A low-cost, nanostructured composite material developed by researchers at UC Santa Cruz has shown performance comparable to Pt/C as a catalyst for the electrochemical splitting of water to produce hydrogen. Carbon-based materials (such as graphene, carbon nanotubes, and amorphous carbon) have also been explored as viable catalysts for HER.

Hydrogen 170
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Penn State, FSU team develops low-cost, efficient layered heterostructure catalyst for water-splitting

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A team of scientists from Penn State and Florida State University have developed a lower cost and industrially scalable catalyst consisting of synthesized stacked graphene and W x Mo 1–x S 2 alloy phases that produces pure hydrogen through a low-energy water-splitting process.

Low Cost 170