biomass

Rocks made of barium sulfate (known as barite rocks) from the Pilbara Craton in Western Australia. Credit: Gerhard HundertmarkTo learn about the first organisms on our planet, researchers have to analyze the rocks of the early Earth. These can only be found in a few places on the surface of the Earth. The Pilbara Craton in Western Australia is one of these rare sites: there are rocks there that are around 3.5 billion years old containing traces of the microorganisms that lived at that time.A research team led by the…

Rocks made of barium sulphate (known as barite rocks) from the from the Pilbara Craton in Western Australia. Credit: Gerhard Hundertmark To learn about the first organisms on our planet, researchers have to analyze the rocks of the early Earth. These can only be found in a few places on the surface of Earth. The Pilbara Craton in Western Australia is one of these rare sites; there are rocks there that are around 3.5 billion…

Our planet is changing. So is our journalism. This weekly newsletter is part of a CBC News initiative entitled "Our Changing Planet" to show and explain the effects of climate change. Keep up with the latest news on our Climate and Environment page.Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox every Thursday.This week: From fashion to burials: How fungi can help fight climate change 2024 has barely started and is already threatening to set temperature records World's globetrotting animals at risk due to habitat…

Distribution of above-ground biomass in the Amazon in metric tons per hectare. Riparian vegetation along watercourses can be seen to correspond to lower biomass density. Credit: Jean Pierre Ometto Publication of a new map showing all the above-ground biomass in the Brazilian Amazon is good news in the context of the severe crisis afflicting the world's largest contiguous tropical rainforest. Using airborne laser scanning and…

By Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences December 21, 2023New Approach Developed for Electrocatalytic H2O2 Production and Biomass Upgrading. Credit: Hui XuChinese scientists have created a new electrocatalyst with oxygen-coordinated Fe atoms, significantly improving H2O2 production and biomass upgrading. This catalyst marks a significant step in sustainable chemical synthesis.Scientists from Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have synthesized an…

The final mission of the European Space Agency’s Vega rocket has encountered a bizarre setback. Key propellant tanks required for its last flight were found damaged in a landfill, jeopardizing the scheduled 2024 launch.“Even AI Rappers are Harassed by Police” | AI UnlockedIt’s common for wallets to go missing. Same for car keys and mobile phones. It happens. But for two propellant tanks belonging to a 98-foot-tall rocket to go missing? That’s super strange.The two tanks belong to a set of four, and they’re needed to…

Visolis, led by Deepak Dugar, is revolutionizing manufacturing processes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by using microbes to ferment biomass waste, producing a carbon-negative molecular block for various items. The company has multiple products, is making millions in revenue, and is set to scale up operations, with sustainable aviation fuel being next in line for approval.Visolis, founded by Deepak Dugar, is working to decarbonize the production of everything from rubber to jet fuel.Reducing our reliance on fossil…

Renault Nissan Automotive Pvt Ltd Accelerates Sustainability Drive (Photo: Renault)RNAIPL aims to reduce the energy required to manufacture a car by 20 percent by 2030, compared to the energy baseline in 2019In a significant move ahead of World Environment Day 2023, Renault Nissan Automotive Pvt Ltd (RNAIPL) has announced remarkable progress in its pursuit of the 2045 Carbon Neutrality objective, unveiled earlier this year. The company is set to achieve several crucial sustainability milestones by the year 2030.RNAIPL’s…

A simplified version of the biolandfill technology used for agro-sequestration. To keep the biomass dry, it’s necessary to use two layers of high-density polyethylene with a combined thickness up to 4 millimeters. The plastic acts as a water diffusion barrier, allowing less than 1.75 micrometers equivalent water thickness to diffuse through annually. This rate of water diffusion can be accommodated for thousands of years by the dry salt-biomass mixture, which can absorb the water without increasing its own relative…

New research from the University of British Columbia has revealed that Earth’s biomass is predominantly concentrated in organisms at either end of the size spectrum. In the first study of its kind, Dr. Eden Tekwa surveyed the body sizes of all living organisms on Earth and discovered that the smallest and largest organisms significantly outweigh all others. This unexpected pattern challenges current theories, which predict that biomass would be spread evenly across all body sizes.Life comes in all shapes in sizes, but…