Petroleum News

April 19, 2024

Top Headlines

Apr. 9, 2024 — Scientists are using computer simulations and laboratory experiments to see if depleted oil and natural gas reservoirs can be used for storing carbon-free hydrogen fuel. Hydrogen is an important clean fuel: It can be made by splitting water using ...

Chemistry Researchers Modify Solar Technology to Produce a Less Harmful Greenhouse Gas

Apr. 2, 2024 — Researchers are using semiconductors to harvest and convert the sun's energy into high-energy compounds that have the potential to produce environmentally-friendly ...

New Reactor Could Save Millions When Making Ingredients for Plastics and Rubber from Natural Gas

Mar. 21, 2024 — A new way to make an important ingredient for plastics, adhesives, carpet fibers, household cleaners and more from natural gas could reduce manufacturing costs in a post-petroleum economy by millions ...

Researchers Take Major Step Toward Developing Next-Generation Solar Cells

Mar. 22, 2024 — Engineers have discovered a new way to manufacture solar cells using perovskite semiconductors. It could lead to lower-cost, more efficient systems for powering homes, cars, boats and ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:19am EDT

Clearing the Air: Wind Farms More Land Efficient Than Previously Thought

Apr. 17, 2024 — Wind power is a source of energy that is both affordable and renewable. However, decision-makers have been reluctant to invest in wind energy due to a perception that wind farms require a lot of land ...

Nanoscale Movies Shed Light on One Barrier to a Clean Energy Future

Apr. 11, 2024 — New research is shedding light on one barrier to a clean energy future: corrosion. Using nanoscale imaging techniques, researchers have captured high-resolution videos of tiny crystals of ruthenium ...

Using Pulp and Paper Waste to Scrub Carbon from Emissions

Apr. 8, 2024 — Researchers have come up with an innovative approach to improve the energy efficiency of carbon conversion, using waste material from pulp and paper production. The technique they've pioneered not ...

'Tug of War' Tactic Enhances Chemical Separations for Critical Materials

Apr. 3, 2024 — Lanthanide elements are important for clean energy and other applications. To use them, industry must separate mixed lanthanide sources into individual elements using costly, time-consuming, and ...

Engineers 'Symphonize' Cleaner Ammonia Production

Apr. 1, 2024 — Among the many chemicals we use every day, ammonia is one of the worst for the atmosphere. The nitrogen-based chemical used in fertilizer, dyes, explosives and many other products ranks second only ...

Pairing Crypto Mining With Green Hydrogen Offers Clean Energy Boost

Mar. 25, 2024 — Pairing cryptocurrency mining -- notable for its outsize consumption of carbon-based fuel -- with green hydrogen could provide the foundation for wider deployment of renewable energy, such as solar ...

Major Environmental Benefits Recycling Gold With Biodiesel

Mar. 22, 2024 — Researchers have developed an environmentally friendly method for recycling and purifying metals. Using gold earrings from a pawnshop in Gothenburg and biodiesel from the nearest filling station, the ...

The Atlas of Unburnable Oil in the World

Mar. 15, 2024 — In order to limit the increase in global average temperature to 1.5 C, it is essential to drastically reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere. This would mean not exploiting most of the ...

New Study Quantifies Health Impacts from Oil and Gas Flaring in U.S.

Mar. 12, 2024 — A new study finds that pollution from oil and gas venting and flaring results in $7.4 billion in health damages, more than 700 premature deaths, and 73,000 asthma exacerbations among children ...

Mapping the Future's Sweet Spot for Clean Energy and Biodiversity

Mar. 8, 2024 — A new study of Joshua trees, kit foxes and solar energy developments highlights the need to consider climate-induced range shifts for species as we expand clean ...

Researchers Look at Environmental Impacts of AI Tools

Feb. 27, 2024 — As artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used in radiology, researchers caution that it's essential to consider the environmental impact of AI ...

You May Be Breathing in More Tiny Nanoparticles from Your Gas Stove Than from Car Exhaust

Feb. 27, 2024 — Cooking on your gas stove can emit more nano-sized particles into the air than vehicles that run on gas or diesel, possibly increasing your risk of developing asthma or other respiratory illnesses, a ...

What Will It Take for China to Reach Carbon Neutrality by 2060?

Feb. 26, 2024 — To become carbon neutral by 2060, China will have to build eight to 10 times more wind and solar power installations than existed in 2022, according to a new study. Reaching carbon neutrality will ...

Electrification or Hydrogen? Both Have Distinct Roles in the European Energy Transition

Feb. 16, 2024 — A key step to achieving climate neutrality in the European Union is to rapidly shift from fossil fuels to electric technologies powered by renewable energies, a new study shows. At the same time, ...

Advanced Artificial Photosynthesis Catalyst Uses CO2 More Efficiently to Create Biodegradable Plastics

Feb. 16, 2024 — A research team that had previously succeeded in synthesizing fumaric acid using bicarbonate and pyruvic acid, and carbon dioxide collected directly from the gas phase as one of the raw materials, ...

'Scientists' Warning' on Climate and Technology

Feb. 15, 2024 — Throughout human history, technologies have been used to make peoples' lives richer and more comfortable, but they have also contributed to a global crisis threatening Earth's climate, ...

Benefits of Heat Pumps

Feb. 13, 2024 — Millions of U.S. households would benefit from heat pumps, but the cost of installing the technology needs to come down to make their use a more attractive ...

Greenhouse Gas Repurposed

Feb. 8, 2024 — Cutting-edge research converted waste carbon dioxide into a potential precursor for chemicals and carbon-free ...

Inexpensive, Carbon-Neutral Biofuels Are Finally Possible

Feb. 7, 2024 — When it comes to making fuel from plants, the first step has always been the hardest -- breaking down the plant matter. A new study finds that introducing a simple, renewable chemical to the ...

Japan's Electric Vehicle Transition by 2035 May Be Insufficient to Combat the Climate Crisis, but There Are Solutions

Feb. 7, 2024 — Researchers report that Japan's policy of banning the sale of new gas vehicles by 2035 may be insufficient to reduce the country's CO2 emissions. The team's analysis showed that to ...

Ammonia Attracts the Shipping Industry, but Researchers Warn of Its Risks

Feb. 5, 2024 — Switching to ammonia as a marine fuel, with the goal of decarbonization, can instead create entirely new problems. This is shown in a study where researchers carried out life cycle analyses for ...

Intensifying the Production of High-Value Compounds from Industrial Waste

Feb. 1, 2024 — New research demonstrates how glycerol carbonate, a biosourced industrial additive, can be produced in record time using CO2 and a by-product of the cooking oil recycling industry. The process relies ...

Major Climate Benefits With Electric Aircraft

Jan. 23, 2024 — Researchers have performed the world's first life cycle assessment (LCA) of an existing, two-seater, all-electric aircraft, with a direct comparison to an equivalent fossil fuel-powered one. ...

Next-Generation Batteries Could Go Organic, Cobalt-Free for Long-Lasting Power

Jan. 18, 2024 — In the switch to 'greener' energy sources, the demand for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries is surging. However, their cathodes typically contain cobalt -- a metal whose extraction has ...

Using Idle Trucks to Power the Grid With Clean Energy

Jan. 15, 2024 — Researchers are tapping into idled electric vehicles to act as mobile generators and help power overworked and aging electricity grids. After analyzing energy demand on Alberta's power grid ...

Core-Shell 'Chemical Looping' Boosts Efficiency of Greener Approach to Ethylene Production

Jan. 12, 2024 — Oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) is now one step closer to leaving the lab and entering the real world. Researchers have developed an OCM catalyst that exceeds 30 percent when it comes to the ...

Highly Durable, Nonnoble Metal Electrodes for Hydrogen Production from Seawater

Jan. 11, 2024 — The water electrolysis method, a promising avenue for hydrogen production, relies on substantial freshwater consumption, thereby limiting the regions available with water resources required for water ...

Green Ammonia Could Decarbonize 60% of Global Shipping When Offered at Just 10 Regional Fuel Ports

Jan. 9, 2024 — A study has found that green ammonia could be used to fulfill the fuel demands of over 60% of global shipping by targeting just the top 10 regional fuel ports. Researchers looked at the production ...

Building on Carbon Dioxide

Jan. 8, 2024 — The construction industry as a carbon dioxide sink? Researchers are working on this. By incorporating biochar into concrete, they are exploring the potential of CO2-neutral or even CO2-negative ...

Better Microelectronics from Coal

Jan. 3, 2024 — Coal is an abundant resource in the United States that has, unfortunately, contributed to climate change through its use as a fossil fuel. As the country transitions to other means of energy ...