Category Archives: Alternative Fuels

New book cautions against the use of invasive biomass crops

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Lauren Quinn | Leave a comment

Across the globe, efforts are being made to find sustainable, renewable, and economically-viable sources of energy. Here in the U.S., Congress passed a mandate in 2007 (the Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS) that requires refiners to blend an increasing quantity … Continue reading →

Events Promote Sustainability Awareness at Home and Far-Far Away

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Jim Dexter | Leave a comment

Director, writer and actress Angela Sun will visit the Urbana-Champaign campus at 6 p.m. on Tues., Oct. 21 for a screening of her film “Plastic Paradise: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” The documentary records the plight of the natural ecosystem of … Continue reading →

Middle Schoolers Celebrate Clean Power on Earth Day

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Jim Dexter | Leave a comment

On Earth Day, April 22, Jefferson Middle School hosted a ribbon cutting to celebrate the completion of their 3.5 kW h wind turbine project. The clean energy project was funded by the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, ISTC, and high … Continue reading →

Engineer Explains the Promise of the Other Hydrogen Fuel

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Jim Dexter | Leave a comment

Junhua Jiang, Senior Research Engineer at ISTC is featured in two Lightning Talk presentations from 2011 now available on the Prairie Research Institute’s YouTube channel. In one talk, Jiang deals with his work on improving electrochemical nanostructured microelectrodes for sensing … Continue reading →

Sustainability Seminar Series: February 2013

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Elizabeth Meschewski | Leave a comment

ISTC will host two more seminars this month.

Illinois Biochar Group Meeting – Fall 2012

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Elizabeth Meschewski | Leave a comment

The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) is getting ready to host its fall Illinois Biochar Group meeting.  Meetings are held three times a year and are usually located at ISTC.  The Illinois Biochar Group encourages research in the production and … Continue reading →

Science & Technology at the Market

Posted on September 21, 2012 by bob iverson | Leave a comment

This fall the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) at the University of Illinois will be presenting information about several of its research and outreach projects at Urbana’s Market at the Square. Topics include: • September 22 – Waste Biomass Projects: … Continue reading →

Scientists look to turning plastics into oil

Posted on August 7, 2012 by bob iverson | Leave a comment

On Midway Island in the Pacific Ocean, a mother albatross returns from a trip out to sea to feed her chick. Unfortunately, she has mistaken a few of the countless, small pieces of plastic in a floating island of garbage … Continue reading →

Campus food waste become campus soap

Posted on August 7, 2012 by bob iverson | Leave a comment

When students who produce sustainable energy generate a “waste product,” they don’t wash their hands of it. They wash their hands with it. Members of the soap group of the Illinois Biodiesel Initiative (IBI), are experimenting with recipes to create … Continue reading →