I saw this on Abraham Lincoln's Blog. It's about a man in Japan who has discovered a way to convert plastic to oil.
I'm as perplexed as Abe as to why this isn't in the news and why we're not buying it up right away. We could really use this in Hawaii if it is a viable option.
I just showed this to Art who worked for the U.S. EPA and is an environmental engineer. He had quite a few questions:
* "How much energy would it take to convert the plastic to oil or whatever since it looks like he does have to plug his machine into something?
* What kind of waste product is left after this process?
* What is the chemical composition of the liquid once gas has been pumped into it?
* Because there are different kinds of plastics being put into this process, would there be inconsistencies in the final product?
* How much more processing or refining would it take to make the liquid into a standard fuel such as auto gasoline, kerosene, etc.?
* What would that cost be in energy, material and money? Would that create even more waste?
* Is there any sort of toxic gas that is released from this process?
* Has this scientist submitted his invention to a peer review? Hopefully he has patented it.
If this is an economical and safe alternative, go for it!"
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
16 comments:
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It looks a bit Heath Robinson to me!
ReplyDeleteI don't know! My kids run their car on cooking oil. 'Smells like fries'! I suppose it is possible, but I have questions, too!
ReplyDeleteI hope the nice inventor can answer all of Art's questions well.
ReplyDeleteWith Gaddafi on the rampage, car drivers are going to pay a lot more at the pump.
If it isn't on the news, it's because the big oil companies don't want it to be on the news. The machine does look rather simple, and probably the inventor hasn't taken Art's questions into consideration yet, but the basic principle might be sound. And, if it is, it might mean too much competition for the big oil companies and therefore a loss of profits. You can be sure they don't want that. Did you ever see the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car?"
ReplyDeleteVery often, big companies will buy an inventor's idea in order to suppress it.
I love Jenn's comment, however, about the car that smells like fries. Sounds delicious.
-- K
Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel
I assume the oil cannot be swallowed as food? It is only for industrial use?
ReplyDeleteI always admired the Japanese, very smart people and I believe in this video. Have a nice week and thanks for sharing, I am so discussed with our gas prices, we pay over three dollars a gallon.
ReplyDeleteFascinating. Isn't plastic made from oil in the first place? I think Art has raised lots of important questions which would need answering before it could become a commercial product, and as Kay says above, it would have a hard job claiming a place in the market if the big boys didn't want it to play.
ReplyDeletecheck it out on snopes.com
ReplyDeleteHi Kay!
ReplyDeleteI watched it in the news on TV before.
Yeah, we want it!
In Japan we have to reduce the amount of waste.
Japanese island is small but garbage is too much!
because it's easy to get something cheap. and if you don't want to have it anymore, you could throw away it.
we need it!
but I don't know where I can get it!
Kay Davies: I didn't see that movie. It sounds depressing. Somebody told me that there was an American who also came up with some kind of device to turn plastic into oil, but that the oil industry squelched it.
ReplyDeleteGigi: I believe it is only to be used for energy/fuel, not food.
Lin: I did look it up on Snopes and couldn't find it.
Ayamlin: Aha! So you did see it on TV. That's great! So it must have some legitimacy to it. They must have checked the facts on it. There's hope!
This is quite interesting. I guess we will see what comes of it.
ReplyDeleteYes, will have to see where this one goes.
ReplyDeleteI love Art's analytical mind!
ReplyDeleteIsn't plastic derived from petroleum products?
ReplyDeleteKathyA: Yes, it is. I guess he's trying to reverse the process.
ReplyDeleteWe had ever valued the word 「mottainai」
ReplyDeleteHowever, we tend to dismiss the valuable idea now.
quote from Catch a wave
◆URLhttp://catchawave.jp/〕
The Japanese word 「mottainai」 comes from the Buddhist word mottai.
The 「mottainai」 concept perfectly expresses the idea that human beings are totally dependent on the ecosystem and should not waste natural resources.