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This is one of those things that come up and get buried. Like the $1.00/watt photovoltaic cells developed by Stanford in the late 70's. This gem, however, might actually survive because we are desperate, and the infrastructure is already in place.
1 posted on 05/06/2008 8:04:45 AM PDT by Republic Can
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To: Republic Can

It will remain buried until the gubbmit figures out how to tax the hell out of it.


2 posted on 05/06/2008 8:06:56 AM PDT by mgc1122
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To: Republic Can

A use for kudzu?


4 posted on 05/06/2008 8:09:53 AM PDT by wordsofearnest ("That government is best which governs least" & Zachary Taylor s/h finished the job.)
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To: Republic Can

Why would it get buried? All the guy has to do is start producing oil and selling it. When these things dont happen its usually because the original claim was bogus.


5 posted on 05/06/2008 8:10:07 AM PDT by Ron Jeremy
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To: Republic Can

Send public funding. Cash infusion needed immediately.


6 posted on 05/06/2008 8:10:27 AM PDT by RightWhale (It's still unclear what impact global warming will have on vertical wind shear)
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To: Republic Can

BTTT


8 posted on 05/06/2008 8:14:47 AM PDT by kellynla (Freedom of speech makes it easier to spot the idiots! Semper Fi!)
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To: Republic Can

I doubt seriously it can work on the scale he’s imagining. The biomass conversion efficiency may not be as good as he thinks on a large scale, and this will also have unintended consequences. For one I can see the biomass not being plowed back into the soil for decomposition, increasing fertilizer usage.

WTF on the Stanford solar cell? Sounds like all the 100 mpg carburators urban legends. I’ve seen a lot of photovoltaic claims since graduating from engineering school in 1979, and NONE of them were able to stand up under real world conditions. Mass production either did not lower the cost enough, or the cells deteriorated badly under the UV radiation in sunlight too fast.


9 posted on 05/06/2008 8:17:28 AM PDT by nuke rocketeer (File CONGRESS.SYS corrupted: Re-boot Washington D.C (Y/N)?)
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To: Republic Can

So we would use Methane gas? Isn’t this the process he perfected? And doesn’t methane gas increase CO2? I’m so confused.


11 posted on 05/06/2008 8:26:52 AM PDT by Southerngl
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To: Republic Can

FWIW, it looks like they are a legitimate company

http://bellplantation.com/

involved in peanut-based products. (Powdered peanut butter?)

J.C. Bell...Peanuts...Could J.C. have been named after our old friend Jimmah Carter?


12 posted on 05/06/2008 8:29:35 AM PDT by chrisser (The Two Americas: Those that want to be coddled, Those that want to be left the hell alone.)
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To: Republic Can
Sounds suspiciously like a perpetual-motion scam to me.
13 posted on 05/06/2008 8:33:29 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Islam is a religion of peace, and Muslims reserve the right to kill anyone who says otherwise.)
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To: Republic Can

Now if they could find a way to convert human waste into oil, there would be no limit.


18 posted on 05/06/2008 8:42:57 AM PDT by brooklyn dave
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To: Republic Can

They have applied for a patent, a good thing, They claim that a pilot plant will be operational, if this works he will have NO problem getting VC money. Whether the process can be scaled to industrial levels and produce oil at competitive prices remain to be seen.

IF this can work at an industrial level expect to see some short selling of oil futures. Using garbage, and stuff thrown in landfills currently would be a good thing.


20 posted on 05/06/2008 8:44:19 AM PDT by Leto
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To: Republic Can

Kudzu. Might be the only thing Carter and I would agree on.

Didn’t he have an emergency disater plan against Kudzu when he was Pres??? and to think it might havce saved his presidency if only he had enbraced his inner Kudzu and converted it into oil.


21 posted on 05/06/2008 8:45:14 AM PDT by rod1 (u)
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To: Republic Can

I wish our GOP leaders would grow a set and drill here.


24 posted on 05/06/2008 8:56:47 AM PDT by WOBBLY BOB (Conservatives are to McCain what Charlie Brown is to Lucy.)
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To: Republic Can

“We have all this really cool stuff that we’ve invented and are going to show everyone, but we can’t quite manage to put up our web site.”

That’s how I read the article at least. I don’t know sounds a lot like a bunch of the zero point energy guys. “We have free energy, but we can’t power our computers to put up a web site”.


25 posted on 05/06/2008 9:03:37 AM PDT by Domandred (McCain's 'R' is a typo that has never been corrected)
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To: Republic Can
Why not just use Thermal Depolymerization?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_depolymerization

They have had one outside a chicken pluckin plant in missouri for a while now.

It is really interesting technology.

Basically anything carbon based can be broken down into oil, water and gas.

It was supposed to be around ~85% efficient.
26 posted on 05/06/2008 9:28:34 AM PDT by IronKros (The pig put foot. Grunt. Foot in what? ketchup)
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To: Republic Can
After three years of clandestine development, (Bell Bio-Energy) is now going public with a simple, natural way to convert anything that grows .... into oil.

(Cue Charlton Heston) ITS PEOPLE!!! Bell Bio-Energy is using PEOPLE!!!!!

;)

28 posted on 05/06/2008 10:37:58 AM PDT by Dr._Joseph_Warren
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To: Republic Can

“Soylent Oil is People!!!!”


29 posted on 05/06/2008 10:57:49 AM PDT by CharlesWayneCT
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To: Republic Can

I believe that this might turn into a viable technology, although I think that bioengineered algae might be a more direct route to usable vehicle fuels.

This depends on bacterial digestion of organic feedstocks, which might not be available in the quantity and quality required to be self-sustaining. By “quality” I mean that the feedstock would need to be free of toxins that might kill the bacteria - such as heavy metals or pesticides. That means that the process would require crops grown for the purpose.

I do think this is well worth pursuing, if only for the purpose of recovering useful energy from what would otherwise just become excess landfill. Algae would more directly harness sunlight and CO2 to create the feedstock, but if bacteria can be engineered to produce hydrocarbons, why not algae?

Yeah, I know. If I’m so smart, why ain’t I rich?


32 posted on 05/06/2008 3:49:58 PM PDT by MainFrame65 (The US Senate: World's greatest PREVARICATIVE body!)
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To: Republic Can

It’s only in the lab so far, scaling it up is always the problem.

Plus this is a biologic approach, so any contamination introduced by the feedstock can FUBAR the whole system.

Wish them luck, they will need it.


33 posted on 05/07/2008 1:07:20 AM PDT by PaidByWord
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