Killing germs, reducing waste, making oil: TDP might be the next big thing

USA Today ^ | 1/22/2004 | Andrew Kantor

[Husker24]

If it really could produce as much oil as it says, then it should become self sufficiant after a short while.

[norraad]

Yeah, I understand, I also understand industrial chemical processing is futurizing by leaps & bounds beyond what the old fogies thought was possible.

It's very exciting & I wish them good luck.

[Zeroisanumber]

Hmmmmm....Gonna run this by the local Chemistry brain, see what he thinks.

[JosephW]

There was an article on this about a year ago posted here on FR. The system is only about 50-70% efficient. However we're talking trash here. If 30-50% is used to generate the power and 50-70% become oil (and other materials), do we really care about the lost 30-50%?

It's not a free lunch, but the cost is something we want to get rid of anyway. It would be a good deal if it was on 20% efficient.

[Bobber58]

Kantor of USA today on TDP(link to Discover article in PDF)

[leadpenny]

I wish that person had decided to not have children also.

[wita]

I saved the one you remember reading, remarking that time would tell if this was an inefficient source or, if it was a technology before it's time. Hype does not overcome reality. This is the first article on the subject that I've seen since the first one, and it remains to be seen what sort of technology this is. The first article even went so far as to say the facility itself was not very expensive to build, or would be recouped easily by profit of production.
So, one article every six or eight months to describe a miracle. I'm waiting.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!

[Wonder Warthog]

"Dioxins and PCBs are two particularly nasty kinds of chemical. Right now, we don't really dispose of what we make; we burn or bury it, which means it ends up forgotten but not gone."

This article has more inaccuracies per square inch than any "science" article I have seen in quite a while. The sentence above is just one example. Sorry, Mr. Kantor, but properly burning dioxins and PCB's DOES destroy them, and they are indeed GONE.

This isn't to say the TDP is not a good idea, but, please, folks, lets not let the hyperbole get out of hand.

[laredo44]

I wish that person had decided to not have children also.

The real shame is his/her parents didn't make the decision not to have children. Then this poor soul wouldn't be spending his/her adulthood regretting his/her children. Can anything be worse?

[G.Mason]

Good Sunday morning laugh.

I did the same thing with coal, a few years back. Now I have all the diamonds I will ever need.

And no, you can't have any

[grundle]

The original article from last year should be able to answer your questions:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/897232/posts

[DuncanWaring]

The article "Anything into oil" is over at Discover.com but you need to be a subscriber or pay for the article.

Here's another article that looks very much like the original "Discover" article".

Here's an old FR thread discussing it at the time the article originally came out.

For more, search on titles containg both the words "turkey" and "oil".

[Jimbaugh]

WOW !

[Gritty]

The article "Anything into oil" is over at Discover.com but you need to be a subscriber or pay for the article.

Here's an old link to the same article posted on FR... Anything Into Oil

[XBob]

Apparently the Conagra Turkey processing plant was to be on line about the end of July, last year. And there is no word anywhere I can seem to find out about it since then, except some management changes at its process developer's company in February.

Strange - perhaps it is going the way of the Fish carbuerator.

From all kinds of anticipation, to not even a mention or link between Conagra and Carthage on the web.

[TheLion]

"The only thing this process can't handle is nuclear waste," says Appel. "If it contains carbon we can do it."

http://www.sovereignty.org.uk/features/footnmouth/zwaste2.html

[HiTech RedNeck]

Oh, that pesky periodic table. Oil is carbon and hydrogen. Lotsa other elements to deal with, and for that matter a dearth of hydrogen to go with all the carbon.

[TheLion]

Thanks for the link. The posts were interesting to read!

[TheLion]

Thanks for the links. Lots of interesting reading! Looks like they kept this private to prevent take-overs. Too bad we can't invest in it.

I have yet to find any downside outside of man-made regulations and wacko groups who may not approve of it.

Oil companies don't need to fear it because they can buy the oil cheap.

Waste disposal companies can sell them waste to go though the process. Companies that have waste will gladly give it to these guys rather than paying a fortune to dispose of it.