Comments on: Biodiesel from algae sounds promising. http://stephenmonrad.com/blog/energy/biodiesel-from-algae-sounds-promising/ The blog is about alternative economics and the book I am writing about my economic ideas. Mon, 12 Apr 2010 04:35:30 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: ClydeB http://stephenmonrad.com/blog/energy/biodiesel-from-algae-sounds-promising/comment-page-1/#comment-1201 ClydeB Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:53:18 +0000 http://stephenmonrad.com/blog/?p=435#comment-1201 Stephen, Gain MUST come or there is no point. Corn is less than 50% recovery, so it doesn't matter how much or how little we have or can produce, it is a loser and so is the biodiesel from soy beans. Same problems. Low yield, diverts needed food supplies, too much water and soil required. The most promising element of the seawater-algae effort is, as you pointed out, there is lots of seawater and it is well distributed with no political unit having control as is the case with so much of the remaining oil reserves. I still have hope that someday the hydrogen-oxygen bond can be broken economically but to the best I can determine, no one is even trying. I'd rate that effort as urgent the Manhatten Project was. Stephen,

Gain MUST come or there is no point. Corn is less than 50% recovery, so it doesn’t matter how much or how little we have or can produce, it is a loser and so is the biodiesel from soy beans. Same problems. Low yield, diverts needed food supplies, too much water and soil required.

The most promising element of the seawater-algae effort is, as you pointed out, there is lots of seawater and it is well distributed with no political unit having control as is the case with so much of the remaining oil reserves.

I still have hope that someday the hydrogen-oxygen bond can be broken economically but to the best I can determine, no one is even trying. I’d rate that effort as urgent the Manhatten Project was.

]]> By: Stephen Monrad http://stephenmonrad.com/blog/energy/biodiesel-from-algae-sounds-promising/comment-page-1/#comment-1199 Stephen Monrad Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:00:44 +0000 http://stephenmonrad.com/blog/?p=435#comment-1199 ClydeB We need more than just gain. We also need scalability. We need LOTS of energy. If corn provides gain, it doesn't help because we don't have enough space and water to grow it on the scale that is needed. ClydeB

We need more than just gain. We also need scalability. We need LOTS of energy. If corn provides gain, it doesn’t help because we don’t have enough space and water to grow it on the scale that is needed.

]]> By: ClydeB http://stephenmonrad.com/blog/energy/biodiesel-from-algae-sounds-promising/comment-page-1/#comment-1196 ClydeB Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:21:19 +0000 http://stephenmonrad.com/blog/?p=435#comment-1196 It sounds like a pipe dream, but sooner or later one of these ideas will develop into a viable net energy gain. Algae may do the job. Hopefully there is enough seawater contribution to the process that the resulting available energy will power the processing and leave a surplus for sale. Corn won't do it, soybeans won't do it. Solar won't do it. No one has demonstrated that wind will do it. So far none of the alternative energy schemes shows any promise for gain, maybe algae will. Let us be hopeful. It sounds like a pipe dream, but sooner or later one of these ideas will develop into a viable net energy gain. Algae may do the job. Hopefully there is enough seawater contribution to the process that the resulting available energy will power the processing and leave a surplus for sale. Corn won’t do it, soybeans won’t do it. Solar won’t do it. No one has demonstrated that wind will do it.
So far none of the alternative energy schemes shows any promise for gain, maybe algae will. Let us be hopeful.

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