From: spike66 (spike66@attbi.com)
Date: Tue Apr 22 2003 - 21:27:41 MDT
Robert J. Bradbury wrote:
>
> On Tue, 22 Apr 2003 Spudboy100@aol.com wrote:
>
>>For sure! That is why we need a chemist or chemical engineer to validate this
>>endeavor. We need an economist to assess the likelihood of profitability.
>>Just the facts, ma'am; as Jack Webb often intoned.
>
> It isn't entirely implausable. I'd like to see more about how the
> chemistry works.
The chemistry makes sense. A turkey or any other animal
is essentially long chain hydrocarbons. It isn't such
a big trick to convert one to another. But keep reading:
> The "offal" it seems should consist of DNA, proteins and
> fats. Now the "fats" are easy since they are more or less C-14 to C-20
> chains...
Ja. We are oil.
> ...DNA is much more difficult.
Nah, the amount of the cell that is DNA is negligible.
Most of it is protoplasm.
> So either they are losing a lot of the material in the process
> or there is some really fancy chemistry going on that isn't
> immediately obvious... Robert
It looks like this could be done, however it seems to be
asking the wrong question. They propose turning turkey
guts into oil. How much is the end product worth? I googled
and found that crude closed today at 25 bucks a barrel.
159 liters to the barrel? So oil is worth less than
16 cents a liter. How many substances can you think of
that can be purchased so cheaply as oil?
Turkey guts are already balanced with the right elements
and minerals to be used to feed living organisms, so the
stuff can be ground up and added to livestock feed, used as
fertilizer, or hell, even use it to feed shrimp on the many
prawn farms that are springing up. I can't see converting
*anything* that might have some value into something that
comes out of the ground free. Oil is so cheap it is holding
back alternative energy sources.
spike
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