Results tagged “methane” from Innovations

Powdered Methane Could Provide New Energy Source

September 18, 2008 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Methane holds a lot of promise as a fuel source---there's enough in two deposits off the coast of South Carolina to power the United States for a century---but it's difficult to store and transport. Now chemists in England have come up with a simple way to turn the natural gas into a sugar-like powder that would be cheaper and easier to store than current methods allow, the Discovery Channel reports. The researchers turned the gas to a powder simply by mixing it with water filled with fine particles of silica.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Tags: Discovery Channel, methane, natural gas, silica

There's Gold in That Thar Cow Plop

July 25, 2008 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Converting cow manure into methane and burning that instead of coal could cut greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. by about 4 percent, according to scientists at the University of Texas at Austin. The researchers tell Discovery News that the plan is a two-for-one win. Switching from coal to cow patties not only cuts the use of fossil fuel, it also keeps methane and nitrous oxide -- two very powerful greenhouse gases produced by the decay of manure -- from entering the atmosphere. Get out the shovels.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Tags: Discovery News, manure, methane, University of Texas

More Productive Cows Means Less Gas?

July 1, 2008 2:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The worldwide dairy industry is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than vehicle traffic, thanks to the land, water, and feed that go into milk production, as well as the methane produced by cows' digestive systems. Agence France Presse reports that a researcher at Cornell University found that giving one million cows a controversial growth hormone would allow dairies to produce the same amount of milk with far fewer cows. Researcher Judith Capper says the result would be the same as removing 400,000 cars from the roads.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Tags: Agence France Press, Cornell University, cows, methane