Cleantech News

RSS

Patented Breakthrough by Technion Researchers Improves Efficiency of Organic Photovoltaic Cells by 50%

A patented breakthrough by researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology improves the efficiency of organic photovoltaic cells by 50 percent, and could someday provide a huge boost for the viability of solar power as a major source of energy. The researchers recently published their findings in the Journal of Applied Physics.

22 Feb 2016

Highly Polluted Air Makes Rats Heavy, Experience Cardio-Respiratory and Metabolic Dysfunctions

Laboratory rats who breathed Beijing’s highly polluted air gained weight and experienced cardio-respiratory and metabolic dysfunctions after three to eight weeks of exposure.

22 Feb 2016

Multi-Year Droughts Significantly Alter Structure, Composition, and Dynamics of Second-Growth Tropical Forests

New research suggests that multi-year droughts will significantly alter the structure, composition, and dynamics of second-growth tropical forests, which have re-grown after cessation of agricultural activity or a major disturbance such as fire. These second-growth forests represent the prevalent tropical forest cover today.

22 Feb 2016

Warm Ocean Surface Water Prevailed During Last Ice Age in South of Greenland

New research published in Nature Scientific Reports in February indicates that a warm ocean surface water prevailed during the last ice age, sandwiched between two major ice sheets just south of Greenland.

22 Feb 2016

Griffith University Researchers Quantify Impact of Ecotourism on Threatened Species

Ecotourism can provide the critical difference between survival and extinction for endangered animals, according to new research from Griffith University.

19 Feb 2016

Anaerobic Gut Fungi Hold Potential for Cheaper Biofuels and Bio-Based Products

Nature's figured it out already, how to best break down food into fuel. Now scientists have caught up, showing that fungi found in the guts of goats, horses and sheep could help fill up your gas tank too.

19 Feb 2016

New Method to Project Future Climate Scenarios at Local Level

Global climate models are essential for climate prediction and assessing the impacts of climate change across large areas, but a Dartmouth College-led team has developed a new method to project future climate scenarios at the local level.

19 Feb 2016

MIT Scientists Find Reason for Permanent Loss of Forests in Madagascar

Stalagmites reveal huge shift in ancient Madagascar’s plant species, unrelated to climate change.

19 Feb 2016

Biologists Develop New Method for Measuring Ecosystem Sensitivity to Climate Variability

By developing this method, the international team of researchers has been able to map which areas are most sensitive to climate variability across the world.

19 Feb 2016

ABB to Supply Power and Process Electrical Systems for New Bioproduct Mill in Finland

ABB will supply the complete power and process electrical systems for Metsä Group’s new bioproduct mill in Äänekoski in central Finland, opening in 2017. The mill will produce 1.3 million tonnes of pulp per year and bioproducts such as tall oil, turpentine, lignin products, bioelectricity and bark-based solid fuel.

From ABB Power Conditioning – Electrification Products Division 19 Feb 2016

UCLA Researcher Reveals Impact of Long-Term Ozone Exposure

Adults with long-term exposure to ozone face an increased risk of dying from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, a new study suggests.

18 Feb 2016

Researchers Find Bioenergy Crops Do Best in Regions with Higher Precipitation Rates

New research has identified regions in the United States where bioenergy crops would grow best while minimizing effects on water quantity and quality.

18 Feb 2016

Experimental Pretreatments Show Promise for Cost-Effective Ethanol Production

When the Ford Motor Company’s first automobile, the Model T, debuted in 1908, it ran on a corn-derived biofuel called ethanol, a substance Henry Ford dubbed “the fuel of the future.”

17 Feb 2016

Methane-Producing Microbes Could Extend Lifespan of Coal Seam Gas Wells

UNSW Australia-led researchers have discovered a way to produce a tenfold increase in the amount of methane gas emitted by naturally occurring microbes living in coal seams and on food waste.

17 Feb 2016

Waters Surrounding Small Islands, Reefs and Atolls Support Greater Sea-Life than Near-by Open Ocean

A 60 year-old theory to explain why seas surrounding islands and atolls are particularly productive has just been proven by a marine biologist from Bangor University’s School of Ocean Science, working with a colleague at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

17 Feb 2016