Technology : Oil
Saving the environment by helping companies save money
Yoav Ben-Yaacov and his team at Netanya's Phoebus Energy have developed a system that can cut use of heating (distillate) oil or gas by large institutions - and eventually households and even entire cities - by more than half. And the best part? You don't even have to touch the thermostat. Phoebus' device does all the work, regulating use of energy that provides heat and hot water, with no interruption or impact on the services themselves. Ben-Yaacov claims Phoebus addresses all these needs. "With Phoebus' device, and its built-in intelligent software which utilizes a very sophisticated set of computer algorithms, a large institution such as a hotel, hospital or factory, could cut its distilled oil use by as much as 60 percent," he says. The device deploys algorithms that evaluate at least nine separate parameters, including temperature, humidity, price of oil, electricity kilowatt hourly price, user demand, etc., which regulate which source - oil, electricity or both - should be used to generate heat and hot water.
Mar 6, 2008, 16:07

Technology : Oil
Turning shale and asphalt into oil
An Israeli company intends to revolutionize oil production by recycling oil shale rock into high quality fuel. Haifa-based A.F.S.K Hom Tov recently demonstrated its patented method of extracting high quality oil and natural gas from a mixture of bitumen and oil shale rock. Bitumen - or asphalt - is the residue obtained by distillation of crude oil. Experts predict the process will return oil at just $25 dollars a barrel and the additional natural gas produced would further boost the financial feasibility. With crude oil prices currently floating over the $50 a barrel mark, this proposed method is generating interest around the world.
Jan 14, 2007, 09:39

Technology : Oil
Israeli startup transforms sewage sludge into fuel
BioPetrol's technology provides a solution for recycling sewage sludge via a thermo-chemical process called pyrolisis. This recovers the hydrocarbons in the sludge, producing oil, gas and char products. In addition the process also extracts valuable chemicals that can be used as chemical feedstock.
Dec 7, 2006, 10:41

Technology : Oil
Pumpkin power dawns for African cell phone networks
Reuters - Palm and pumpkin seed oil could soon be generating electricity to help power mobile phone networks across Africa under a plan to replace fossil fuels with sustainable biofuels made from crops grown by local farmers. Swedish telecoms networks group Ericsson and South African cellphone operator MTN said on Wednesday they want to start replacing diesel with biofuels in electricity generating stations powering mobile phone base stations in rural Africa. Supported by the GSM Association's development fund, they will start with a project in Nigeria to use biofuels for power generators supplying mobile base stations located beyond the reach of the electricity grid.
Oct 11, 2006, 10:17

Technology : Oil
Israeli researcher: Forget gas, fill your tanks with water
Dr. Tareq Abu-Hamed, an Israeli scientist currently at the University of Minnesota, and colleagues, Professor Jacob Karni, and Michael Epstein, head of the Solar Facility at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, have developed a new method to produce hydrogen fuel cheaply, efficiently and safely while at the same time addressing current onboard storage or transportation problems. The scientists use the element boron, a lightweight semi-metallic element, to react with water to produce hydrogen that can be burnt in an internal combustion engine or fed to a fuel cell to generate electricity. The goal is to create hydrogen on demand - enough hydrogen to match the needs of the car's engine.
Sep 17, 2006, 11:45