article thumbnail

Study finds the wettability of porous electrode surfaces is key to making efficient water-splitting or carbon-capturing systems

Green Car Congress

As water-splitting technologies improve, often using porous electrode materials to provide greater surface areas for electrochemical reactions, their efficiency is often limited by the formation of bubbles that can block or clog the reactive surfaces. As a result, there were substantial changes of the transport overpotential.

Water 418
article thumbnail

MIT researchers develop optimized sulfidation separation process for rare earth and other key metals

Green Car Congress

New processing methods developed by MIT researchers could help ease looming shortages of the essential metals that power everything from phones to automotive batteries by making it easier to separate these rare metals from mining ores and recycled materials. —Antoine Allanore.

MIT 396
article thumbnail

MIT researchers propose mechanism for overcoming bottleneck in electroreduction of CO2

Green Car Congress

Researchers at MIT have identified , quantified, and modeled a major reason for the poor performance of electroreduction processes to convert CO 2 to fuel or other useful chemicals. For the latter, two main contributions are distinguished: gas depletion due to CO 2 consumption and ion generation in areas close to the electrocatalyst surface.

MIT 284
article thumbnail

A New Energy-Efficient Hydrogel Pulls Water From Air

Cars That Think

Using a new kind of hydrogel material, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have pulled water out of thin air at temperatures low enough to be achieved with sunlight. Atmospheric water harvesting draws water from humidity in the air. The material is a hydrogel, a polymer network that naturally retains a lot of water.

Water 129
article thumbnail

Coating developed at MIT could stop buildup of hydrate ices that slow or block oil and gas flow

Green Car Congress

A team of researchers at MIT has developed a coating that could stop the buildup of hydrate ices that slow or block oil and gas flow. The coating may also prevent blockages inside oil and gas pipelines that can lead to expensive shutdowns to clear a pipe, or worse, to pipeline rupture from a buildup of pressure. 7b00223.

MIT 150
article thumbnail

MIT team proposes flex-fuel gasoline-alcohol engine PHEV long-haul trucks

Green Car Congress

In a paper being presented at WCX SAE World Congress Experience in Detroit this week, a team from MIT is proposing the use of a flex-fuel gasoline-alcohol engine approach for a series-hybrid powertrain for long-haul Class 8 trucks. The research was supported by the MIT Arthur Samberg Energy Innovation Fund. and Bromberg, L.

MIT 247
article thumbnail

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

Green Car Congress

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.

MIT 150