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UW Madison chemists discover new way to harness energy from ammonia

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A research team at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has identified a new way to convert ammonia to nitrogen gas through a process that could be a step toward ammonia replacing carbon-based fuels. For a fuel cell, we want an electrical output, not input. This is the first process, as far as we know, to do that.

Energy 418
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University of Wisconsin seeking commercial partners for alkylphenol solvent-based method to convert biomass into furan derivatives for fuels and chemicals

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The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is seeking commercial partners for a novel, cost-effective method developed by University of Wisconsin, Madison researchers for producing furan derivatives such as hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), furfural, levulinic acid (LA) or γ-valerolactone (GVL) from biomass using alkylphenols as solvents.

Wisconsin 225
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Scientists develop method for direct conversion of methane to methanol or acetic acid under mild conditions

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Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory, Tufts University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have shown that mononuclear rhodium species, anchored on a zeolite or titanium dioxide support suspended in aqueous solution, can catalyze the direct conversion of methane to methanol and acetic acid using oxygen and carbon monoxide under mild conditions.

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Univ. of Wisconsin team reports on new process for converting hemicellulose to furfural and levulinic acid as renewable fuel precursors and chemicals

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Schematic representation of the conversion of hemicellulose to furfural (FuAL) through the biphasic dehydration of xylose to furfural, followed by the production of levulinic acid (LA) by reduction of furfural to furfuryl alcohol (FuOH) and further reaction of furfuryl alcohol with water in a biphasic reactor. Source: Gürbüz et al.

Wisconsin 186
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Wisconsin Researchers Devise Process to Convert Biomass Intermediate Product into Drop-in Transportation Fuels Without Use of External Hydrogen or Precious Metal Catalysts

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Reaction pathways for conversion of GVL to butenes and CO 2 , and the integrated conversion of GVL to both a liquid stream of alkenes for use in transportation fuels and a gaseous stream rich in CO 2 that is appropriate for further processing options. James Dumesic, have developed a process to convert aqueous solutions of ?-valerolactone

Wisconsin 210
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Wisconsin, GLBRC researchers use chemical genomics to engineer IL-resistant yeast to improve biofuel production

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Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) and colleagues have engineered a new strain of the yeast S. As a result, their xylose-converting strain consumed glucose and xylose faster and produced more ethanol than the wild type strain.

Wisconsin 150
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ExxonMobil, UW-Madison partner on biomass-to-transportation fuel research

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The University of Wisconsin-Madison and ExxonMobil announced a two-year agreement to research the fundamental chemistry of converting biomass into transportation fuels. The science of biomass conversion is very complicated. Researchers have used expensive precious metal catalysts such as platinum for biomass conversion.