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Erik
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Joined: 12 Feb 2008
Posts: 3089
Location: Big Island of Hawaii On the slope of Mauna Loa 4500 feet mag 7 sky :)
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 Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 8:00 pm Post subject: Biodiesel production in Hawaii |
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http://westhawaiitoday.com/articles/2008/11/16/local/local04.txt
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-Erik Wilcox
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Evolution is both fact and theory. Creationism is neither. -Anonymous |
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snorkler
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Joined: 13 Feb 2008
Posts: 2428
Location: Bay Area, California
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| Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 10:29 am Post subject: |
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I wonder if this is practical, or just another scheme to suck taxpayer money away on pipe dreams, like the California energy proposal in the recent election?
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Ah, but I was so much older then.
I'm younger than that now
Bob Dylan
Mileage above accumulated over 5000 miles!
Best trip 163 miles @ 52.6 mpg = 219% of EPA est. mileage!
Wife's car, driven by me only on long trips |
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MMICKELS
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Joined: 24 Feb 2008
Posts: 153
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| Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 11:24 am Post subject: |
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| Thye found a fungus in South America that can convert cellulose into some sort of petroleum product. That might be a promising find if it works well and enough juice can be produced. |
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Seantóir
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Joined: 05 Mar 2008
Posts: 2076
Location: Area 14, Kildare, Ireland
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| Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 11:47 am Post subject: |
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That shouldn't be a big problem here in Ireland. According to my favourite scientific reference one of the best sources of cellulose for ethanol production is industrial hemp. That doesn't grow particularly well here in Ireland but the Gardaí and Customs Service regularly harvest large crops of its cousin, cannabis sativa indica. On an annual basis they probably confiscate enough to keep at least one small production plant going.
Several others could be supplied by hardy non-food crops grown on the thousands of acres of remnants of exploited peat bogs that are no longer in production and are pretty useless for growing food crops.
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John
Life is a temporary assignment. |
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Seantóir
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Joined: 05 Mar 2008
Posts: 2076
Location: Area 14, Kildare, Ireland
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| Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 11:57 am Post subject: |
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For a really important advance look for bacteria that can break down plastics into a kind of petroleum oil. We could mine landfills and trawl the Great Pacific Garbage Patch for raw materials for years to come.
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John
Life is a temporary assignment. |
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Square_peg
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Joined: 16 Feb 2008
Posts: 668
Location: Maple Valley, WA
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| Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 8:44 pm Post subject: |
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Erik, I have 2 concerns with that. First, I'd want to know who those companies are and what experience they have with biodiesel. Second, I'd want a performance guarantee in place with the lease so that if they don't produce and sell a specified amount of fuel the leases could be withdrawn and resold to other producers. Any public resource being granted to a private entity should have a use-it-or-lose-it clause attached. For all we know those companies are fronts for the oil companies who want to lock the land up to prevent others from producing fuel with it. Or they could be coerced at a later time by other energy interests to minimize production. Use-it-or-lose-it is a must.
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snorkler
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Joined: 13 Feb 2008
Posts: 2428
Location: Bay Area, California
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| Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 9:57 pm Post subject: |
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Well said, Tom. Use or lose needs to be there to protect the public interest.
_________________
Ah, but I was so much older then.
I'm younger than that now
Bob Dylan
Mileage above accumulated over 5000 miles!
Best trip 163 miles @ 52.6 mpg = 219% of EPA est. mileage!
Wife's car, driven by me only on long trips |
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