Energy & Green Tech

In climate push, German chemical maker swaps oil for sugar

At one of Europe's largest chemical complexes, German group Covestro is trialing the manufacture of a key product using sugar as a base material instead of oil, as the industry seeks to reduce its carbon footprint.

Engineering

Zero-emission ship nears finish of round-the-world voyage

A ship powered by renewable energy, including hydrogen produced onboard, is docked in the southeastern US state of Florida this week as it prepares to finish the last leg of a voyage around the world.

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Fuel

Fuel is any material that is burned or altered to obtain energy and to heat or to move an object. Fuel releases its energy either through a chemical reaction means, such as combustion, or nuclear means, such as nuclear fission or nuclear fusion. An important property of a useful fuel is that its energy can be stored to be released only when needed, and that the release is controlled in such a way that the energy can be harnessed to produce work. Examples: Methane, Petrol and Oil.

All carbon-based life forms—from microorganisms to animals and humans—depend on and use fuels as their source of energy. Their cells engage in an enzyme-mediated chemical process called metabolism that converts energy from food or light into a form that can be used to sustain life. Additionally, humans employ a variety of techniques to convert one form of energy into another, producing usable energy for purposes that go far beyond the energy needs of a human body. The application of energy released from fuels ranges from heat to cooking and from powering weapons to combustion and generation of electricity.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA