Scientists in Dubai are growing a new kind of food crop in salt marshes along the Persian Gulf coast. A variety of salt-resistant succulent, Salicornia are typically sold in gourmet shops in Europe, but they have other uses as well.
Lebanon and Pakistan have each announced new biogas projects, tapping into a sustainable energy source that, unlike other renewable energy streams, solves two municipal problems – energy creation and waste processing. Biogas, primarily a mixture of carbon dioxide, methane, and hydrogen, is produced by decomposing organic matter. Add oxygen and create a high-efficiency fuel for[.....]
In Egypt, people often have to line up for hours to fill their cars and trucks with diesel fuel – particularly during summer months when it comes at a premium. Concerned to ease these shortages, as well as pollution and climate change, Egyptian agricultural engineer Wadad Khaireddine is pushing to grow a desert full of[.....]
Ahmed Abdel Azim and his team at Suez Canal University advance research in mycology (fungi) Its not the first time that Green Prophet covers stories on how Egyptian scientists are applying science to public policy. In 2011 Azza Abdel Hamid Faiad, winner of the European Union Contest for Young Scientists, found a new way of turning[.....]
Look! Up in the sky! Is it an office complex? A concert hall? A Turkish bath? Or a parking garage? No, it’s the new ride of an Arab prince – a King-sized jet – one that could hold 800 people. Will you step aboard this airborne greenhouse gas factory? Stuffed inside the fuselage of Prince Alwaleed bin[.....]
Egyptian model for the Zabaleen could help heat Syrian refugees. Green Prophet’s Joseph reports from Jordan. Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan: Walking through the vast expanse of white tents, dirt “roads” and masses of families huddled closely together for warmth, if you ask what they most need, the answer, without pause, is simple: blankets. In[.....]
Cheaper flights for all? If Qatar’s “Pearl project” can develop the natural gas industry for planes, it could translate into reducing overall costs for US carriers. Qatar Airways ambitious new plan to erect a $19 billion Pearl project that will be the largest gas-to-liquids plant in the world, is receiving massive praise and optimism over its future[.....]
Falafel anyone? Saudi Arabia and Indian company will erect a biofuel plant based on used cooking oil. Biofuel is coming to Saudi Arabia. After much success in neighbor Egypt in low income areas, Saudi Arabia hopes that a new joint venture between Jeddah-based Middle East Environment Protection (MEEP) and the India-based Biomax Fuels will help[.....]
Even a non-food plant substance like algae may not be that efficient for fuel says Nobel Laureate We like to report on about various ways to produce biofuels from plant and other organic substances. These substances have ranged from using “turd timber” to produce biofuel from human and animal excrement to growing algae on large hydroponic [.....]
Is this McLaren SLR Mercedes Sports Coupe Really White Gold? It Must be at US$ 2.5 Million Super luxury sport cars such as solid gold Mercedes sport coupes , gold plated Porche 997 GT-2 coupes; and especially a gold trimmed armored plated Rolls Royce are not what one might call environmentally friendly vehicles. Even if[.....]
Azza Abdel Hamid Faiad was the winner of the 2011 European Union Contest for Young Scientists for finding a new way of turning plastic into biofuel. A sixteen-year-old Egyptian student, Azza Abdel Hamid Faiad from the Zahran Language School in Alexandria has identified a new low-cost catalyst which can generate biofuel by breaking down plastic waste. The idea of breaking down[.....]
GreenFuel, a US algae-to-biofuel business founded by Israeli Isaac Berzin more than 10 years ago, most likely failed because it was a bit ahead of the zeitgeist. Hoping to reach the market when the product and timing is right, the young Israeli company Univerve plans to turn algae — the green slimy microorganisms you skim[.....]
In wealthy Western countries, renewable energy developments are a source of progress, pride and smart business. For Israel and Jordan, two Middle Eastern countries severely lacking in water and energy resources, renewable energy is a matter of survival. That’s why there’s been a new green twist to the Trilateral Industrial Development Foundation (TRIDE), founded in 1996 as[.....]
I catch up with Applied Clean Tech to know more about their recycled toilet paper project Above: recycled poo pellets that serve as raw material for recycled paper It will probably take a certain market approach and finesse to get people to accept, let alone truly appreciate, recycled toilet paper. But Refael Aharon, the CEO[.....]
Every day we flush energy down the toilet. Here are 5 projects that prevent such shameless waste by turning poop into power. The COP 17 debacle is droning on and it is starting to look like the whole planet is going down the toilet because of America’s shortsighted inaction, but don’t worry, there’s[.....]
Karin speaks with HCL Clean Tech CEO Eran Baniel (above) about wood to sugar developments in Mississippi. It’s not every day that an Israeli company based on the science of a Nazi collaborator wins a huge US contract. But HCL Clean Tech, which offers a process to turn wood chips into biofuel, just received a[.....]
Seambiotic, an Israeli clean-tech company is enlisting algae in the business of carbon capture. While bureaucratic red tape has stymied Seambiotic’s commercial success in Israel, the pilot plant there has led to some positive developments for the company and the environment. Now, the company has five business deals in the works in the United States,[.....]
Climate change hits America’s Red States hard – but there’s plenty of wood waste there for clean biofuel energy production – that could head off even worse climate change Politicians in America’s Southern Red States are notorious for decrying clean Renewable Energy Standards on the grounds that they have no solar or wind resources, and[.....]
Virent energy, Israel’s green police, renewable energy sources and more headlines related to Israeli cleantech and the environment. Collaboration between Israel and Virginia is set to grow with Virginia’s plans to meet with and provide financial assistance to some Israeli cleantech companies. Israel’s Clean Air Act that was signed in 2008 finally went into effect[.....]
Is using human fat as lipo-diesel going too far in the name of environmentalism? In general, most people look for ways to trim the fat. Trim some fat out of your diet, or your budget, or, if you’re “green”, trim some fat out of your carbon emissions. But how do you know if you’re going[.....]
Thinking heads from two countries are better than from one. French and Israeli scientists meet to discuss renewable energy. A two-day Energies Renouvelables Colloque franco-israelien (or Israel-France Renewable Energy Conference) has been taking place this week in Tel Aviv, in order to bring scientists and developers from both nations together. Spread over November 10th and[.....]
Engineering students from Israel’s Technion have developed an anaerobic digester to help solve fuel and pollution problems in Nepal. Inspired by a lecture from Bernard Amadei, a US engineer from Colombia University who founded Engineers Without Borders, a group of 30 Israeli engineering students decided to open a chapter and a goodwill project of their[.....]
Looking at the proteins that “talk” between shoot and root of plants, Tel Aviv University unlocks a new tool for the biofuel industry. Plant geneticists are on a quest: they want to find out how to control auxin, a plant growth hormone which is very powerful. Auxin tells plants where to lay down roots, how[.....]
The algae for biofuel company TransAlgae is developing a new superbreed of algae for biofuels that is more resistant to the pests and the diseases that plague algae producers today. New varieties of wheat, oats and barley are constantly being produced to meet the world’s demands for grains that can grow faster, be hardier and[.....]
Quick, name the scarcest natural resources in Israel. I’m sure that “land” and “water” would feature prominently in most people’s answers. Israel is, to all intents and purposes, a “desert island’, with finite – very finite – natural resources. Not your romantic desert island, and not an island geographically, but rather politically. Not a desert[.....]
Honeywell launches project that converts the oil from salicornia plants, commonly known as samphire into biofuel at Dubai’s AGRAme conference later this month. Image via me’enthedogs. Global issues concerning green agriculture and energy sustainability have raised many viability questions during the early 21st century. Collaborate efforts of world leaders, non-profits, and research institutes have made great[.....]
How un-green? Not only an over-the-top luxury car, but made from white gold! So what if it can run on biofuel. Are the United Arab Emirate states being over-the-top extravagant when purchasing super luxury cars? Word has it that an Abu Dhabi billionaire is the proud owner of a Mercedes V10 Quad Turbo sports job[.....]
Partners shake hands on a new seawater-desert biofuel system to be located in Abu Dhabi. This news in from Dubai: The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Boeing [NYSE: BA], Etihad Airways and Honeywell announced at at press conference today that they will establish a major research and demo project in Abu Dhabi dedicated to[.....]
(The Arrow Ecology solid waste treatment facility near Tel Aviv processes up to 150 tons of garbage a day. Photo courtesy Chen Leopold/ Flash90) Like death and taxes, garbage is inevitable. And with environmental concerns growing, cities across the globe are searching for smarter ways to dispose of their trash. Sydney and Santa Barbara are[.....]
Israeli-Arab Dr. Sobhi Basheer of TransBioDiesel: using his experience with enzymes to replace conventional polluting practices. Many people today know that science can make biofuel from organic waste. But what a large percentage of people don’t realize is that the biofuel process actually creates pollution and waste. Looking to minimize the damage, and set an[.....]
Applied CleanTech’s Sewage Recycling System is turning sewage into a fertile source of energy. It may not make for dinnertime conversation, but sewage – human, agricultural and industrial – is an enormous untapped energy source. It represents some of the world’s finest biological matter, and in America, as elsewhere, it is literally going down the[.....]
Hughes’ Spruce Goose and the 1933 Soviet Kalilin K7 (above) are some flying ungreen monsters from the past. Green Prophet was at the last Paris Air Show looking for green innovation in the sky. Now we take a look at some of the old flying monstrosities that got us to where we are today: The[.....]
Last week we had news that Gaza and Israel are smoking a peace pipe for water. Now this is more news that should bring a smile to the face of every leader in the Middle East: A true regional partnership, brokered by three peace foundations – that is about to reduce biomass pollution for Israelis,[.....]
Being oil-poor may be more of a blessing than a curse for both Israel and Jordan. A joint Israeli-Jordanian project-based on the production of biofuel from agricultural waste-will take center stage at Israel’s Water Technologies and Environmental Control Exhibition, WATEC this November. Biofuels received a great deal of negative publicity last year after they were[.....]
Biofuels are alternative energy fuels produced from living organisms or metabolic byproducts . If we could just find a more efficient way to unlock their energy, and to minimize the amount of land and water resources needed to grow them, they could replace the polluting and limited reserves of fossil fuels currently in use. Now Kaiima[.....]
There are numerous start-up companies in Israel today, but finding investors to fund the new technology is often a challenge. In the field of Greentech, Terra Venture Partners (TVC) has made it their objective to fund and invest in promising seed and early-stage start-ups led by top entrepreneurs in energy, water and other environmental sectors.[.....]
Algae could be a viable source of biofuel if it can be produced efficiently. Read our recent story on Algaenesis. Now Seambiotic, an Israeli company that develops marine microalgae for the nutraceutical and biofuel industries, has just announced that it will work with the NASA Glenn Research Center to develop an on-going collaborative R&D program[.....]
Algae biofuel is now being developed as a source of energy for the future, but really algae has been fueling society for a long time. When looking at the components of coal, oil, and natural gas that power our world today, they are all originally comprised of organic materials such as algae. As we currently[.....]
There is a lot of debate around the use of ethanol and other plant-based fuels. Many claim that the energy required to produce ethanol (including fertilizers, farm equipment, transformation from plant materials, and transportation) just doesn’t sufficiently counteract all the environmental damage caused by the fossil fuels that is replaces. So as if the discussion[.....]
Cellulosic ethanol has often been viewed as the class of ethanol with the most promise, as it converts agriculture and forestry wastes, city sewage treatment wastes, and free growing and specially grown grasses, into usable fuel. While cellulosic ethanol has the advantage of using a variety of materials that would otherwise be waste products, the[.....]
“We call it pollution, they call it gourmet food,” so says algae-for-fuel missionary Isaac Berzin, who sent Green Prophet a new video, an advertisement touting the benefits of this alternative energy source for our planet. Berzin, a Ben-Gurion University and MIT-trained chemical engineer, and Boston-based Greenfuel Technologies have developed a revolutionary technology to produce biofuels[.....]
Last week, Israeli company Netafim, a pioneer in drip irrigation technology, signed a $22 million deal to supply irrigation for a large-scale sugar cane project in Peru. In conjunction with Maple Energy, a Peruvian company that produces energy for industrial clients, the project will cultivate 20,000 acres of sugar cane for the creation of ethanol,[.....]
(In 1922 Jerusalem gets its first sewage system. YNet) Jerusalem is a holy city which houses the country’s holiest people. Now their excrement will continue doing good work: In the first deal of its kind for the country, the Israel Electric Company (IEC) signed an agreement on Sunday with Gihon, Jerusalem’s water and sewage firm,[.....]
Sunday’s New York Times featured an environmental article (“Extreme Approaches Toward Living a Green Life”) with an interesting twist. After describing what many everyday Americans, such as fellow green bloggers Sharon Astyk (of Casaubon’s Book) and Colin Beavan (of No Impact Man), do in their daily lives to alleviate their negative impact on the environment[.....]
Ernst & Young has announced Clean Tech investment is at record levels as a new investment fund is looking to focus on Israel’s clean tech. International accounting firm Ernst & Young estimates fully 11% of global venture capital funding will go to clean technology in 2008, up from just 1.6% of VC investments five years[.....]
A jatropha nursery in Kaffrine, Senegal It will take dedicated visionaries to help stop America’s addiction to foreign oil. And that’s what Doron Levi, the COO of alternative energy company Galten Global Alternative Energy has his heart set on doing. The telephone line was shaky and his Internet connection unreliable, yet Levi spoke with me[.....]
An Israeli Real Estate mogul partners with Ormat and gene company Evogene to investigate castor oil crops in Africa. L.L Biofuel Namibia of the Leviev Group and Evogene (announced yesterday) that together with Orfuel, a subsidiary of geothermal power giant Ormat, they will establish a new company focused on the growth of specialized castor plants[.....]
While Israel has some of the world’s most promising clean technology companies for producing renewable energy — consider Ormat and its geothermal power station in Nevada or Solel’s solar energy plant in the Mohave Desert – proving viability on Israeli turf has been a sore spot for inventors and would-be international and local investors. Lack[.....]
Dr. Isaac Berzin, founder of Greenfuel Technologies, was recently profiled in Ha’aretz. Berzin, a Ben-Gurion University and MIT-trained chemical engineer, and Boston-based Greenfuel Technologies have developed a revolutionary technology to produce biofuels from algae that are bred on gases emitted by power plants. Time Magazine included Berzin in its list of the 100 most influential[.....]
For better or for worse, Israel has become a leader in the technology industry. Innovations like solar power and drip-irrigation help to conserve scarce natural resources. But on the other hand, chemical-dependent intensive farming has polluted Israel’s soil and groundwater, not to mention putting the safety of farmers at risk of exposure to pesticides. So[.....]
