Energy Science & Engineering News

Organic solar cell. Image credit: Thor Balkhed.

Newly-Developed Solar Cells Convert Ambient Indoor Light into Electricity

Sep 17, 2019 by News Staff

An international team of researchers from Sweden and China has developed organic photovoltaic cells that convert ambient indoor light into electricity. Organic...

Zhang et al studied catalytic pyrolysis of waste plastics over activated carbon catalyst. Image credit: Zhang et al, doi: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.113337.

Scientists Find Way to Turn Waste Plastics into Jet Fuel-Range Hydrocarbons

Jun 4, 2019 by News Staff

In experiments described in the journal Applied Energy, a team of researchers from China and the U.S. melted plastic waste at high temperature with activated...

Snow-TENG: (a) harnessing and sensing biomechanical movements by attaching a snow-TENG to different locations of the human body; (b) measurement of the electrical output from a snow-TENG device that uses a snowfall mode when attached on the (i) shoulder, (ii) wrist, and (iii) knee; (c-i) a photograph of the snow-TENG device assembled and attached to the bottom of a snow boot as a self-powered biomechanical sensor; (c-ii) electrical outputs from the snow-TENG as the wearer performs different movements -- running, jumping, walking, and marching. Image credit: Ahmed et al, doi: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2019.03.032.

Researchers Develop Snow-Based Energy Harvester

Apr 16, 2019 by News Staff

An international team of scientists from the United States, Canada, Egypt and Ireland has developed a snow-based triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) that...

Using electron tomography, Pellenq et al probed a sample of kerogen to determine its internal structure. At left, the sample as seen from the outside, and at right, the detailed 3D image of its internal pore structure. Image credit: Pellenq et al, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1808402115.

Researchers Finally Decode Internal Structure of Kerogen

Nov 14, 2018 by News Staff

Kerogen is a waxy, insoluble organic substance dispersed in sedimentary rocks and is the precursor of oil and gas. In a new study, published in the Proceedings...

Wind and solar farms are known to have local effects on heat, humidity and other factors that may be beneficial to the regions in which they are situated. Image credit: Erich Westendarp.

Large-Scale Solar and Wind Farms in Sahara Would Increase Rain and Vegetation

Sep 10, 2018 by News Staff

Energy generation by wind and solar farms could reduce carbon emissions and thus mitigate anthropogenic climate change. A new climate-modeling study, published...

The researchers use powerful X-rays to see inside a gas turbine combustor during ignition. Image credit: David McNally.

Scientists Conduct First-Ever Combustion Experiment with X-Rays

Apr 17, 2018 by News Staff

A team of researchers from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign made an historic first with their experiment...

Blue whirl. Image credit: University of Maryland.

Blue Whirl: Scientists Discover New Type of Fire Tornado

Aug 10, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of scientists at the University of Maryland has discovered a beautiful, swirling flame phenomenon, the ‘blue whirl,’ which evolves from a fire...