Renewable gasoline?

[kyra_neko_rei]

Oh my fucking Goddess WOW.

From the site:

Sapphire Energy has built a revolutionary platform that uses photosynthetic microorganisms to produce a renewable, high-value replacement for fossil fuel petroleum. This domestic crude oil requires only sunlight, CO2 and non-potable water - and can be produced at massive scale on non-arable landSapphire’s

Comments

[immortal_jedi]

that, is really cool. I mean, really, really cool. Renewable gas.

Now, while, like you, I'm going "oh, shiny!" I do have to wonder how the "gasoline" or whatever they're going to call it does on the air pollution side of things. Though the fact that it takes CO2 from the air might make up for whatever pollution that it creates.

I'm also worried about cost- will it be as cheap or cheaper than Fossil fuel gas? If not, very few people will go for it.

I would need more information before I say that this is the answer to a lot of problems, but this does look promising.

[immortal_jedi]

Also, big oil would probably hate this.

(I wish I could edit comments)

[kyra_neko_rei]

Gas is $4 per gallon. I will be gleeful if they hate it. (Although more likely they'll just arrange to run it, I suspect.)

[immortal_jedi]

it's only 4? I paid 4.35 yesterday, and that's at the cheapest gas station for 50-100 miles.

Yeah, I'd love it if they hated it too, but they'd also probably try to do everything they can to keep it from being made if they can.

[kyra_neko_rei]

Point.

It's $3.999 where I live. And I remember maybe a decade ago, it being $0.859, for maybe a night. Good times.

[kyra_neko_rei]

I suspect it might be just added to the supply, with minor effect on costs.

Or, if it's too expensive to be economical at present, it might well become economical when the oil deposits run out, if we haven't switched over to other sources, and we have to have gas and diesel for things like harvesting and transporting food.

It seems to me like most of the expense would be in developing the organisms. Production, unless careful monitoring and fine-tuning of the environment were required, would likely be just "plant, watch grow, harvest." But, I don't know.

This does look cool. Hydrocarbon fuel that's made from the CO2 in the air rather than dug up from the ground = win.