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We can, make new hydrocarbon fuels. Grow plants that are high in fatty acids that we can run catalytic cracking processes on to make usable fuels. Or, use ferme
by Sanddancer 12y ago
We can, make new hydrocarbon fuels. Grow plants that are high in fatty acids that we can run catalytic cracking processes on to make usable fuels. Or, use fermentation and the like to make alcohols from plants with a high sugar content. Again, slower, but at the same time, it would be part of the process.
- ars 12y agoYou can just dry and burn the plants directly. You can replace coal almost directly with dried plants.
- Sanddancer 12y agoIndeed you can. It's definitely the simplest way of doing it. However, by pulling the fatty acids out, etc, you can also pull out a lot of other useful products, like ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. Additionally, a fire will produce a lot of ash and smoke, which both will need to be mitigated in one way or another.
- jhallenworld 12y agoYeah, low tech wood fires are an air-pollution disaster: http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-fireplace-delusion http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-fireplace-delusion
- ars 12y agoIt's possible to burn plants cleanly - you need lots of air, and possibly a catalytic converter. Not something you would do at home, but a power plant can. We should, today, switch from burning coal to burning switchgrass.