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Originally Posted by Lazlo  The algae thing is really neat. But the main problem I see with it is producing enough of it to worth wile. The up and running costs would be out of sight. Although, once a rig large enough to mass produce oil was up and running, it would pay for itself in a short time. The guy I saw on t.v. said that if he had the funds to get a rig up and running that covered the deserts of Arizona, enough oil from that facility alone could produce the U.S.'s yearly oil use. |
Compared with soybeans or switchgrass, algae is far more efficient. The initial capital required is vast, but the output is two orders of magnitude greater than soy and one greater than switchgrass.
Since tanks and other components are required for growing/processing algae, and this algae is producing bio-crude, my futuristic fantasy vision is to combine this tech with the emerging
reprap tech to make self-replicating fuel factories. Oil from the starter facility is used to make the plastic for the components of the 2nd facility, and the equipment is powered by the bio-crude as well. The first thing people are supposed to do who build a reprap is program it to replicate itself and hook up a friend with one.
If there's a genuine, sustainable solution capable of being scaled up to the level required to address the currently degenerating energy situation, this may well be it. Self replicating bio-refineries, no longer science fiction...
