New Bacteria Replaces Need For Gasoline

[The Unworthy Gentleman]

Ah yes, another wonderful miracle creation of science that will never see common usage because the oil companies have far too much money and power, and plan to keep it.

Capitalism.

The beauties of a democratic oligarchy, everyone has the vote and big business stays in power.

OT: Yeah, this'll sink like all the other oil solutions did. There will never be a replacement to oil until there is no oil left, even then it'll not be something as simple as feeding the contents of your bin to your pet bacterium every week.

 

[GWarface]

Until every single drop of oil is gone there will be no replacement. There's too much money involved and those oil pricks don't give a shit about anything other than oil. There are already a lot of better and safer oil replacements. You can make fuel from marijuana. Henry Ford did it. And he said that it's so easy anyone can do it. It's probably why they banned that plant in the first place.

Humanity is stupid, and that's why I despise it. We still fight wars over oil, KNOWING that oil won't last forever. Smart people would embrace all of these oil replacements and push humanity into a new era of unlimited energy.

Then there is just one problem.. Many scientists have went out and said that oil is NOT finite, its abiotic and more or less a product of our earth..

So the Earth keeps producing oil, we are being told that the Earth never produced any oil on its own and thus the prices continue to rise.
False scarcity, just like with diamonds..

And all because we keep believing in the men in black suits and white coats..

OT: its a great idea, like the thousands of other techs that could save this planet... Sadly, it wont be put to good use anytime soon..

 

[instantbenz]

Big oil will kill it. They'll kill those scientists, they'll destroy the plans and they'll keep selling fuel for your left arm ... yes your left arm.

There have been hundreds of fuel alternatives over the past 60 years and vehicles that were only slight modifications to your own that could get 200 mpg. Big oil killed off the people who made it or they at least destroyed the plans and let the people know they'd die if they tried again.

Hopefully this works and I don't have to spend $50 per month on gas on a low-travel month. Forgive the skepticism.

 

[Maclennan]

Hasn't this been solved before, or was hydrogen power just another environmentalist fad?

The problem with hydrogen is the amount of electricity needed for electrolysis. Basically every available shore line on earth would have to have a line of windmills just to power cars. We could always just use coal plants but that is self defeating. Electricity is a better option those wind mill could power every car and have some power left over. thermo 101

I see, that would make sense. Sorry, forgive my ignorance in this matter.

No worries, every environmental solution has serious issues. Nuclear power has nuclear waste, solar takes too much land area, wind is intermittent, and using batteries in cars requires dangerous chemicals like cadmium or lithium in relatively large amounts while fusion isn't yet viable where the most advanced test reactor can only provide flash reactions and cannot sustain it.
Hydrogen would bypass the need for cadmium or lithium but requires very rare platinum or somewhat less rare but somewhat toxic palladium catalysts to work.

Even this proposed bacterium they are talking about would require huge amounts of cellulose which would be largely provided by plant material that is usually left in farm fields or in the forest, or manure which could be used as fertilizer and would deplete the soils which would lead to people using more artificial fertilizers which require energy to make and transport. If we are talking about North America a large percentage is imported all the way from Australia because of the pressure from local laws

 

[Stammer]

That guy was either confused about thermodynamics or an outright fraud. It takes more energy to shoot it with microwaves than you can get from the burning reaction. The whole salt+microwaves thing was just a fancy wiggle around basic electrolysis of the water.

It's impossible to power anything that way because separating the oxygen and hydrogen will ALWAYS take more energy than you get from burning it.

Probably fraud. But that's my point. Everyone comes up with these cool ideas and it ends up being complete BS.

Like this one guy came up with a cure for cancer using a special radiation that he claimed ONLY killed cancer cells.

Again, it's been like 5 or 6 years since he claimed that and there's nothing of it.

Now this has been announced. Nothing more will come of it.

 

[Mike Kayatta]

WHAT HAS SCIENCE DONE?

Done something pretty good.

By the way Mike, you're a really entertaining news writer.

Thank you! You have no idea how much that makes my day.

 

[A Gent of Villainous Intent]

I don't think they should've announced this now.

They should've waited until it was done, THEN announced it, so Big Oil can't send in anyone to sabotage it.

ESCAPIST MEMBERS!

Call Your Bannerman and prepare them to march! We will protect this new fuel at any cost!

 

[tthor]

There probably is some catch to it.
Like with Soylent Green.

that it's delicious??

 

[A Gent of Villainous Intent]

WHAT HAS SCIENCE DONE?

Done something pretty good.

By the way Mike, you're a really entertaining news writer.

Thank you! You have no idea how much that makes my day.

And I'd like to say your avatar is a puppet and I love you for it.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

There probably is some catch to it.
Like with Soylent Green.

I was just thinking that...that bacterium could work wonders for...waste disposal...capiche?

 

[Veylon]

Big oil will kill it. They'll kill those scientists, they'll destroy the plans and they'll keep selling fuel for your left arm ... yes your left arm.

There have been hundreds of fuel alternatives over the past 60 years and vehicles that were only slight modifications to your own that could get 200 mpg. Big oil killed off the people who made it or they at least destroyed the plans and let the people know they'd die if they tried again.

Why do people keep buying into this nonsense? If oil companies really had patents worth billions, they'd cash them in. Being able to scrap all those expensive derricks and lay off hundreds of thousands of workers and be the sole producer of something everyone needs via patent law fiat? Jackpot!

 

[mrc390]

So we can get rid of our oil problem AND our trash problem AND our enviromental problem??

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

WHAT HAS SCIENCE DONE?

Done something pretty good.

By the way Mike, you're a really entertaining news writer.

Thank you! You have no idea how much that makes my day.

Back to the Future and Airplane!? Well done.

But...

and definitely not in that grass-green 1995 Pontiac Bonneville you unsuccessfully try to get dates with.

...Not this one, surely? [http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2011/04/20/news/nh3907401.txt]

 

[Mike Kayatta]

Oh and stop insulting my Pontiac damn it! It got me lots of dates.

Really? Mine never did. Oh, no. Does that mean there was a different reason girls in high school didn't like me?

 

[standokan]

Hmm, I'm interested in how this will be used this for evil.

 

[instantbenz]

Big oil will kill it. They'll kill those scientists, they'll destroy the plans and they'll keep selling fuel for your left arm ... yes your left arm.

There have been hundreds of fuel alternatives over the past 60 years and vehicles that were only slight modifications to your own that could get 200 mpg. Big oil killed off the people who made it or they at least destroyed the plans and let the people know they'd die if they tried again.

Why do people keep buying into this nonsense? If oil companies really had patents worth billions, they'd cash them in. Being able to scrap all those expensive derricks and lay off hundreds of thousands of workers and be the sole producer of something everyone needs via patent law fiat? Jackpot!

It's easier for them not to and just bully people. I get where you're coming from but if you're saying it didn't happen you're wrong. Big oil's current MO is a mystery except to jack the prices and fill their pockets via making a lack of their product.

 

[devotedsniper]

If this can be used in any regular car my only question is diesel or petrol? it would certainly be nice not having to spend a minimum of £160 to £300 a month on petrol driving to and from uni 4 days a week (would also mean i could spend more of that money on my new rig).

 

[JochemDude]

Does it make more money than normal gasoline? No? Then it shall not replace gasoline.

 

[Dutch 924]

This sounds almost too good to be true.
The oil companies aren't going to like this one bit.