Prof. Xingen Lei and Prof. Charles Greene have discovered a way to use the by-product of the production of algae-based biofuels in animal feeds, making the biofuels potentially more economically and environmentally feasible.

Beer-making generates more than just tasty brew – it makes a lot of wastewater. Using a little publicized renewable energy technology that has been around for over 20 years, breweries can coax methane from the wastewater, which then can be  burned to generate heat within the breweries.

Traditionally, plants are seen as providers of oxygen, shade or food; however, they have a variety of functions ranging from protein production to biofuels. Prof. Beth Ahner, biological and environmental engineering, researches a variety of these applications within the field of environmental biotechnology.

A Cornell professor's research points to algae as a potential biofuel for the future.

In times of widely publicized environmental issues, namely global warming, the transportation sector is often bemoaned for its contribution to carbon emissions. Though diesel exhaust certainly exhibits detrimental effects on the atmosphere, its effects on the human body attract less attention. The World Health Organization estimates that urban air pollution, to which vehicles are a significant contributor, kills 1.2 million people every year.  On Sept. 9, Prof. Oliver Gao, civil and environmental engineering, who focuses on the nexus of transportation, air quality and energy, discussed his ongoing research on the effect of different fuels on air quality measurements. 

Some hail ethanol as the methadone needed to wean Western countries off fossil fuels. Others deplore it as environmental sabotage. 

The effects of Brazil’s growing sugarcane industry have prompted scientists to ask the question: are biofuels sustainable?

Why is ethanol-based gasoline creating an entirely new issue for sustainability? How is sugarcane-based ethanol hurting the Brazilian people? And can researchers truly solve the issue of fossil fuel production? An examination of the research of Prof. Luiz Martinell, from University of São Paulo in Brazil, will change the way you look at ethanol production in Brazil and the USA.

About $6 billion is spent yearly by the U.S. government to subsidize corn ethanol. Around 1700 gallons of water are consumed for every gallon of corn ethanol produced. Corn is the number one cause of soil erosion in the United States and its overdependence on nitrogenous fertilizer, herbicides and insecticides is the prime reason of the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Yet, corn ethanol produces only 1.3 percent of nation’s total oil consumption, which, according to Prof. David Pimentel, entomology, defeats the purpose of energy sustainability.