What is jatropha? It's a weed whose seed produces and oil that can be refined into biodiesel. It's like corn to ethanol south of the border. Companies and farmers south of the equator are buying up millions of acres to cultivate this weed, which can grows most anywhere. It is also used to make soap, candles and animal feed. With more than million acres worldwide earmarked for cultivation, a Christian Science Monitor article chronicles the perils of jatropha ventures. A hectare or 10,000 square meters produces about only 6.5 barrels of fuel, according to Wikipedia and some claim the economics don't work. But jatropha, which is popular in India, has plenty of boosters including the Center for Jatropha Promotion.
Almost every automaker has had to 'pick a side' when it comes to alternative fuel options and ways to divest from a reliance on gasoline. Fiat is looking to back compressed natural gas or liquid propane as an interim solution.
Plastic may not be the most beloved of materials to the more environmentally minded, but Plasti 2012 aimed to mold a different opinion of the material in people's minds.
The rare earth element market has become steadily more rational, and new sources coming online will continue to reduce costs. Still, it is unlikely that prices will drop to their former lows.
Against a backdrop of mounting product complexity and a need to keep a lid on development costs, companies are recognizing a need to make simulation a more integral part of the design process. In response, vendors in the CAD world are building out CAE functionality as part of their CAD suites while simulation vendors are building tighter integrations to leading CAD tools. Keith Meintjes, Ph.D., Practice Manager, Simulation and Analysis at CIMdata, Inc., joins Design News CAD Editor Beth Stackpole in this radio program to explore the new face of integrated CAD and CAE, how companies are benefitting from this tighter partnership between platforms, and how integrating CAE earlier in the development cycle pays off in optimized product designs.
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
8 
