- Joined
- Dec 14, 2005
- Messages
- 6,326
- Reaction score
- 855
Gasoline out of thin air.
- Thread starter Shadow Dragon
- Start date
But nothing is really free, because...
... you have to buy the tanks, and pay the people to do the research, etc.
Photosynthesis is free.
You don't have to buy tanks for algae, either. Algae are everywhere. They are overpopulated in many bodies of water, and cause fish kills, because nitrogen and phosphorus-based fertilizers run into the water and fertilize the algae as well as they would any other plant.
I see your point, though. People have been concerned with the energy costs in producing biofuels for a long time, and there would be some costs, even potentially quite high, in a commercial environment. However, biofuels can be produced from waste products and in other cost-efficient ways.
The crux of this argument, though, is what happened in the experiment. Didn't you ever wonder how trees get so big? I know I did. When I was a kid I used to think that trees sucked something out of the soil, dirt or something, and turned it into tree. But then, why didn't the soil get smaller, or sink? Hmmm. I had to abandon my theory. Especially when you think that you can grow generation after generation of trees, and the soil is still there. Well, trees generate mass "out of thin air", by joining carbon molecules in gases into sugars, and sugars can be used to make cellulose, wood, or anything else that a tree turns into (via things that eat it, etc.). So that was what I got out of this article. The energy in sugars and gasoline and wood that is burned is stored in carbon-carbon bonds that are the end result of a chemical process, photosynthesis, that it is quite expensive and inefficient to imitate, as this experiment shows. Photosynthesis generates sugars and all the potential byproducts "out of thin air".All the energy in the oil wells in Texas is there from photosynthesis--solar energy captured by plants. So, if there were ever a case of reinventing the wheel, this experiment is it.
No, no, it's not "Free."
It's just really close, because the sun is so ridoklulously energetic and huge. I think only a tiny tiny tiny percentage of the equally tiny amount that hits our planet (Rather than spewing out into space) can power every single thing in our civilization.
We just need to copy the trees!
You mean I'm paying for the photosynthesis taking place in the eucalyptus grove outside my window?
That's discouraging. The bills just keep mounting up.
Sarpedon
Banned
Photosynthesis might be free, but the land it takes place on is not.
It must compete against other crops for arable land.
It must compete against other crops for arable land.
Yes, that's true.
But the experiment that starts this thread, were it attempted on a large scale, would also need land. At least let the plants do the work for us.
I think we have to go with a combination of strategies, including conservation. I like the strategy of harvesting algae too, although I'll admit I don't know how practical it is compared to something like growing corn.
Sarpedon
Banned
I've read a bit of the algae strategy. The main problem people has is harvesting. I've seen people attempt it with big vats, plexiglass tubes, and plastic bags.
No one has yet been able to find a way to separate the algae from the oil they produce economically.
With corn, the amount of oil you get per acre of corn is relatively low, but the corn can be harvested efficiently, and the 'waste' product turns out to be a nutritious animal feed, so it is more viable at present.
No one has yet been able to find a way to separate the algae from the oil they produce economically.
With corn, the amount of oil you get per acre of corn is relatively low, but the corn can be harvested efficiently, and the 'waste' product turns out to be a nutritious animal feed, so it is more viable at present.