The scientific concept that microbes living in extreme temperatures or toxic conditions could yield more effective industrial enzymes has moved several steps closer to reality. Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) have produced enzymes from these microbes, called extremophiles, that can replace chemicals used in biofuel production, paper pulping … [Read more...] about CinderBio – Industrial Enzymes from Nature
Success Stories
UltraClean Low Swirl Combustion
This low-swirl burner uses small air jets to swirl the premixed flow inside the burner tube, providing a stabilized lean premixed combustion. This ring stabilizer keeps the flame steady under both fuel-rich and lean conditions and helps produce more complete combustion, which increases efficiency and reduces pollution. Burning a Cleaner Flame Humankind has been … [Read more...] about UltraClean Low Swirl Combustion
Licensed Technologies – EnergyPlus Software
EnergyPlus Saves Federal Building $9 Million in Energy Costs By Robin Johnston, June 2002 EnergyPlus software — a building energy simulation program distributed by Berkeley Lab — has been integral to the design of a new federal office building to be built in San Francisco. EnergyPlus contributed to nearly $9 million in energy costs savings projected over 20 years, according … [Read more...] about Licensed Technologies – EnergyPlus Software
Sealing in Energy Savings
If every home in the United States sealed its leaky HVAC ducts, the nation would save $5 billion annually in energy costs. Typical ductwork systems, both residential and commercial, lose 25-40 percent of heating and cooling energy; even newly installed systems experience 10-30 percent leakage. Solving this energy-wasting problem, once a costly, labor-intensive process, can … [Read more...] about Sealing in Energy Savings
Materials Discovery
Until Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientist Peter Schultz thought of a better way, materials discovery was a costly, slow, and laborious process. In the early 1990s Dr. Schultz and colleagues invented a super efficient materials research process that combined minaturizing with parallel processing. In 1994 the start-up company Symyx Technologies, Inc. licensed the … [Read more...] about Materials Discovery