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> " It isn't profitable because fossil fuels are artificially cheap " Not that cheap. In the aforementioned metal recycling example, the energy is typically
by darkpuma 8y ago
> " It isn't profitable because fossil fuels are artificially cheap "
Not that cheap. In the aforementioned metal recycling example, the energy is typically coming from fossil fuels too; refining aluminum from ore takes an insane amount of electrical power. Even if you do that with renewable energy, that's still that much power that can't be used for other things that must be supplied by another power source (e.g. fossil fuels.)
- azernik 8y agoThat just indicates that metal recycling is super advantageous, to be profitable even with the abnormally low price of energy.
- Scoundreller 8y agoA lot of natural gas is stranded or considered a waste product of oil production. So fertilizer plants in those areas suck up that cheap CH4 to reform it into H2 and heat up the Haber-Bosch process to make ammonia and then into more transportable fertilizers like urea.
- emj 8y agoYou place aluminium plants where the energy is cheap e.g. Iceland, it is often cheap because it's hard to export energy.