Grad Student Believes Wood May Replace Oil

YAHOO NEWS ^ | 08/03/2005 | AP

[sportutegrl]

There is a huge new development being built across the road from where I live. Step one seems to be bulldoze all of the trees down, while Step two is pile them up and burn them. I guess the air wasn't dirty enough or maybe it was too cool at 90 degrees.

[Bear_Slayer]

IIRC - Years ago, American Timber, In Olney, MT, started by collecting the scrap that was left from logging operations. They could take the smaller trees and get 2x4s out of them. Most bigger operations, Plum Creek found that it was not cost effective.

[BallyBill]

We have Penn State students working on coal alternatives to even process jet fuel. Wait till the anti everything eco nuts find out about these type things. We aren't even allowed to get our own oil out of the ground in the USA. Thanks AlGore!!

[Old Professer]

At ~$2.50/gallon, methanol ain't exactly cheap as a feedstock.

[Old Professer]

Probably an electric furnace.

[hawkaw]

LOL!!!!!!

Great post

[mugs99]

The only problem is that another name for hemp is marijuana.

Which is why marijuana will never be legal. Fuel oil can be cheaply extracted from hemp seed. Hemp competes with both fuel and paper, and legal hemp threatens both of those industries.

It's not about dope, it's about protecting old industry from new competition.
...

[E. Pluribus Unum]

It's not about dope, it's about protecting old industry from new competition.

Starting with William Randolph Hearst's campaign to criminalize hemp when a hemp gin was perfected that threatened his newsprint empire.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

HEMP BUMP

[biblewonk]

energy ping.

Same as bio diesel but a different plant.

[biblewonk]

Perhaps you think normal oil is refined without heat?

[from occupied ga]

Grad Student Believes Wood May Replace Oil

In related news, grade schooler believes that people can all walk to work, high school student believes that solar powered vehicles are practical, Democrats believe that wealth should be distributed rather than earned.

[rollo tomasi]

I hope Eileen Collins does not have a heart attack after she reads this theory.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1456822/posts

[newgeezer]

After reading this, I envision the little lady having a half-baked design for a perpetual-motion machine lying around somewhere.

[newgeezer]

Oh, Soria is a guy. So, strike that "little lady" remark, and replace it with any of a number of nutty-professor epithets. :)

[Nonstatist]

What do you heat it to 900 degrees with?

Firewood ?

[biblewonk]

I think it's probably not the most efficient way to get your bio product for conversion. I'm sure there is an optimum in converting sunlight to the right plant and converting that plant into oil with the least energy.

[newgeezer]

Certainly, the idea of turning a waste product into energy can be even more intriguing than that of growing and harvesting a plant. But, in either case, the bottom line has to take into consideration weighing the output (benefits) against all of the inputs (costs).

I'm no scientist but, this one sounds silly (even if oil is $80/bbl).

[biblewonk]

I don't see why it sounds silly, except I think it would take a ton of energy to convert wood to sawdust. Why not just grow that crack grass or whatever that one kind of grass is that is grown for burning?

[newgeezer]

What do you heat it to 900 degrees with?

Firewood ?

Of course. That's where he got the sawdust in the first place.

BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-...