Bits of Resources

Recycled paper waste could be used to fuel cars

It seems a bit far-fetched, producing fuel out of paper waste with the help of bacteria found in animal droppings. But it is exactly what Tulane University scientists in New Orleans have done. They managed to use a novel bacterial … Continue reading →

New catalyst developed to produce isobutene from bio-ethanol

The largest application for biomass is to burn it directly or to ferment it to produce ethanol. Converting biomass into other chemicals is often costly or inefficient, due to the many production steps needed. However a new catalyst developed by … Continue reading →

Protected areas are too few and growth too slow to prevent biodiversity loss

The current global network of protected areas is quite extensive, covering 17 million square kilometers of land and 2 million square kilometers of oceans. But the more than 100,000 areas appear to be insufficient to halt global biodiversity loss, according … Continue reading →

High mercury levels in soil near coal-fired power plants

We have known for some time that coal-fired power plants emit heavy metals into the air, among which is mercury. Most of these highly toxic particles end up in waterways, through which they sometimes spread as far as to other … Continue reading →

Saudi proven oil reserves no longer world’s largest – Latin American proven reserves grow 400 percent in 4 years

According to a release by Latin American Energy Organisation OLADE last Thursday Venezuela has toppled Saudi Arabia as the country with the largest proven oil reserves. New discoveries have raised the proven reserves of Venezuela from 98 billion barrels of … Continue reading →

Just 565 Gt CO2 to go till 2050 under 450 Scenario – 80% proven fossil fuel reserves should remain untouched

In order to limit global warming to an average of no more than 2 degrees Celsius, the official UN climate target, the equivalent of 2230 gigatonnes CO2 of proven fossil fuel reserves should remain in the ground, a report published … Continue reading →

A new hope for hydrogen energy: nanoparticle driven and solar powered

Hydrogen would be an excellent clean energy source, were it not for the fact that it costs a tremendous amount of energy to produce and is thus quite expensive. Researchers have been looking for ways to cheaply and sustainably produce … Continue reading →