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Promising Developments in Alternative Energy
Solar power: A new anti-reflective coating developed by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute could help to overcome two major hurdles blocking the progress and wider use of solar power. The nanoengineered coating boosts the amount of sunlight captured by solar panels and allows those panels to absorb the entire spectrum of sunlight from any angle, regardless of the sun’s position in the sky. Read more here at physorg.com.
Myco-diesel: A tree-living fungus that produces a substance similar to diesel fuel has been discovered in South America. Experts believe Gliocladium roseum could potentially be a completely new source of green energy. The fungus, which lives inside the Ulmo tree in the Patagonian rainforest, naturally produces hydrocarbon fuel similar to the diesel used to power cars and lorries. Scientists were amazed to find that it was able to convert plant cellulose directly into the biofuel, dubbed “myco-diesel”.
Prof Strobel said: “We were very excited to discover that G. roseum can digest cellulose. Although the fungus makes less myco-diesel when it feeds on cellulose compared to sugars, new developments in fermentation technology and genetic manipulation could help improve the yield.
“In fact, the genes of the fungus are just as useful as the fungus itself in the development of new biofuels.”
Read more from Yahoo news here.
November 7th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Technology proves once again that it is the solution to energy problems, not the restrictions and taxes favoured by those with a ‘green’ mentality.