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Making the most from carbon in plants

DOE/Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

Researchers are looking for more effective ways to get at all the carbon in biomass to create more energy and biochemicals. However, a lot of the carbon is in lignin -- support tissues in plants, which makes up about a third of the biomass. International teams of scientists are utilizing EMSL's expertise and capabilities to better understand how lignin can be efficiently deconstructed to release its carbon for a more renewable and sustainable energy future.

PNNL to tackle future grid challenges through new facility, capabilities

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Business Announcement

PNNL researchers and industry are now better equipped to tackle top challenges in grid modernization and buildings efficiency with the dedication today of the new Systems Engineering Building. The facility links real-time grid data, software platforms, specialized laboratories and advanced computing resources for the design and demonstration of new tools to modernize the grid and increase buildings energy efficiency.

Energy in chemical bonds and the plant-pollution connection

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers from the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will be honored and present new work at the 250th American Chemical Society national meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, Aug. 16-20.

Meeting: American Chemical Society 250th National Meeting & Exposition

Power grid forecasting tool reduces costly errors

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

PNNL has developed a new tool to forecast for future energy needs that is up to 50 percent more accurate than several commonly used industry tools, showing potential to save millions in wasted electricity. The advancement was selected a 'best paper' at the IEEE Power & Energy general meeting this week.

Meeting: IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting

Playing 'tag' with pollution lets scientists see who's 'it'

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Using a climate model that can tag sources of soot and track where it lands, researchers have determined which areas around the Tibetan Plateau contribute the most soot -- and where. The model can also suggest the most effective way to reduce soot on the plateau, easing the amount of warming the region undergoes. The study, which appeared in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics in June, might help policy makers target pollution reduction efforts.

Journal: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy, National Defense Basic Scientific Research Program of China

Tiny grains of rice hold big promise for greenhouse gas reductions, bioenergy

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Rice is the staple food for more than half of the world's population, but the paddies it's grown in contributes up to 17 percent of global methane emissions -- about 100 million tons a year. Now, with the addition of a single gene, rice can be cultivated to emit virtually no methane, more starch for a richer food source and biomass for energy production, as announced in the July 30 edition of Nature and online.

Journal: Nature
Funder: Swedish Research Council for Environment, The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning

How clouds get their brightness

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

How clouds form and how they help set the temperature of the earth are two of the big remaining questions in climate research. Now, a study of clouds over the world's remotest ocean shows that ocean life is responsible for up to half the cloud droplets that pop in and out of existence during summer.

Journal: Science Advances
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy, NASA, National Science Foundation, US Department of Defense

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to help small 'green' businesses

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Business Announcement

PNNL named a lead laboratory for new DOE Pilot designed to give small clean energy firms more technology assistance from DOE labs.

Funder: Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Smart stuff: IQ of Northwest power grid raised, energy saved

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Smart grid technologies and approaches can improve energy efficiency and possibly reduce power costs, according to the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project's final report.

Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

Aluminum clusters shut down molecular fuel factory

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

When aluminum atoms bunch up, porous materials called zeolites lose their ability to convert oil to gasoline. An international team of scientists created the first 3-D atomic map of a zeolite in order to find out how to improve catalysts used to produce fuel, biofuel and other chemicals.

Journal: Nature Communications
Funder: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Laboratory Directed Research Development Program, Netherlands Research School Combination-Catalysis, Netherlands Research Council

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