[geeks] ethanol...

[Phil Stracchino]

On Tue, Apr 27, 2004 at 04:05:07PM -0500, Andrew Sydelko wrote:
> Dan Duncan <dand at pcisys.net> wrote:
> > Ethanol is a scam.  It consumes more energy in fossil fuels
> > than it produces.  Once you've plowed the fields, pumped the water,
> > and distilled the alkyhol (all done with fossil fuels) you might
> > as well have just saved the expense and used gasoline.
> 
> There's a flip side to that argument. Even though ethanol consumes 
> more energy than it produces, at least the energy it consumes doesn't
> have to come from outside of the U.S.

Neither does "fossil" fuel.  The new thermal depolymerization technology
that's currently under development can aparently process most forms of
municipal waste into semi-refined solid elements plus light crude oil,
and do it at a rate capable of ending the US's dependence both on
landfills and on foreign oil.

New Scientist did an article on it a while back.


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