Posted on 11/22/2011 7:37:59 PM PST by Razzz42
No more war, no more tree-hugging hippies lecturing you
There are (at least) around 60 startups hoping to produce oil and diesel biologically, with accelerated fermentation or photosynthesis techniques to produce an end product that is 100 per cent compatible with the existing infrastructure. Some, for example, tweak the algae to make them do photosynthesis anything from 40 to 100 times more efficiently. LS9 received $30m in funding and has a one-step process to convert sugar to create renewable petrol. It expects production within five years. If oil prices remain high, say over $40 or $50 a barrel, then it's viable.
Craig Venter is proposing an even more radical way of creating biofuels. He's genetically modifying algae to take CO2 and convert it to renewable, compatible fuels. The algae can't survive in normal conditions, but need around 20 times the concentrations of the trace gas to start work. The idea is that CO2 will be pumped out from power stations directly into his plants
(Excerpt) Read more at theregister.co.uk ...
“Venter’s renewable oil kills two birds with one stone: ....”
And that bird killing will be the end of the story, once the envrionmentalists team up with PETA to oppose the product.
Maybe it’s doable, and maybe not. But off the top of my head, I’d be a bit worried about lab-created algae that is 100% more efficient than natural algae. What happens if it gets loose on all our lakes and ponds?
...Well, if killing pigeons, they too can be converted to synthetic fuel.
Sorry. A hundred TIMES. That’s a lot more than 100%.
Algae can’t work efficiently, in this case, unless it is heavily doped with CO2.
No it won’t. Next!
Environmentalists hate this fuel because it "causes global warming," so I'm inclined to like anything they hate. Still, we'll never know the true viability until it can compete with no government subsidy.
And if it ever meets the oil-eating algae, we may get buried in them...
And if it ever meets the oil-eating algae, we may get buried in them...
Can’t win, huh?
Capitalism....gotta love it.
If ventor is figuring that his strains won’t be viable for a decade—then he is going to be completely shut out by his friend Church who is currently advisor to a company called joule that is building a 1000 acre farm in New Mexico that is expected to go into production late next year. They say their initial trials produced oil for 1.20 a gallon. They expect to their volume production to do the job for .6@gallon
‘joule’ must be a private company, can’t find it listed in the stock markets so I could track it.
yeah its private. venture capital. not listed. you can look it up on google by typing in “joule unlimited”
yeah its private. venture capital. not listed. you can look it up on google by typing in “joule unlimited”
Hard to beat mother nature and a good lens.
Theoretically it makes sense (on the sense of “it doesn’t make no sense”). But this article quotes no papers and the single name (Elbert Branscomb) is from the Department of Energy. I’ll be skeptic about what do they really have.
Hm, sorry, I kind of missed Craig Venter.
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