Garbage -> Oil?

[SagaLore]

I know that we can already produce biodiesel from used vegetable oil. But I was thinking of how oil is actually created... over millions of years... it comes from buried organic material that gets compressed. The importance of "organic" is that it's carbon based, and carbon is the primary element in the compounds that form oil.

So we have all this trash filling up landfills. We can now cost effectively produce artificial diamons, which requires a great deal of pressure and control. So could we product oil out of garbage? All that leftover food and paper and plastics... the landfills are already producing quite a bit of methane from decomposition alone, so the energy potential is there.

 

[dullard]

Yes we can. However it isn't cost effective. It probably takes ~$150 to get the same barrel of oil that you can just buy for $50. Of course when oil prices reach above $150, the picture will change.

 

[radioouman]

eventually, yes.

 

[meltdown75]

I believe oil can also be made from either hemp plants or seeds, IIRC.

 

[kranky]

These guys say they can do it quite efficiently.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Over here at my country incinerators burn combustible refuse to generate heat for electricity.

 

[K1052]

Originally posted by: kranky
These guys say they can do it quite efficiently.

Yes, thermal depolymerization.

I bet they can't wait for oil prices to climb even higher.

 

[mercanucaribe]

Originally posted by: StrangerGuy
Over here at my country incinerators burn combustible refuse to generate heat for electricity.

Thanks for mentioning what your country is. :roll:

 

[Vic]

Thermal depolymerization is real and not too many years away. We will never run out of oil.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: dullard
Yes we can. However it isn't cost effective. It probably takes ~$150 to get the same barrel of oil that you can just buy for $50. Of course when oil prices reach above $150, the picture will change.

Of course we'll have to figure out a good alternative source of energy to use to convert the trash into oil

 

[MetalMat]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: dullard
Yes we can. However it isn't cost effective. It probably takes ~$150 to get the same barrel of oil that you can just buy for $50. Of course when oil prices reach above $150, the picture will change.

Of course we'll have to figure out a good alternative source of energy to use to convert the trash into oil

They did a run recently and said that the price was a little high, like $80.00 a barrel (or around that). However, that will drop down in the future.

This is really good technology and I believe we will be using this in the future.

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
Of course we'll have to figure out a good alternative source of energy to use to convert the trash into oil

That part is easy. Burn the trash for heat, as heat is the main requirement.

 

[CPA]

My company already uses the gases out of our landfills to produce energy. We also have several Waste to Energy plants across the country. But, there still is not much profit margin in the industry.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: dullard

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
Of course we'll have to figure out a good alternative source of energy to use to convert the trash into oil

That part is easy. Burn the trash for heat, as heat is the main requirement.

I was thinking you would just use some of the output oil to generate electricity to drive the process. The trash itself already has most of the potential energy in it that we need, it's just that we need to convert it to a more usable form.