tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915720554939410574.post3152550085567170189..comments2015-06-24T13:04:56.225-07:00Comments on Recall Not Earth: The Death of GrassErik Lundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728486209757153685noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915720554939410574.post-616761090147970462015-06-24T13:04:56.225-07:002015-06-24T13:04:56.225-07:00I have a soft spot for internal combustion engines...I have a soft spot for internal combustion engines, but that doesn't change the fact that chemical heat engines beat electrical for efficiency. In the long run, I'm enamored of a vision of the world in which solar/wind/hydoelectric plants make air into hydrocarbons (and ammonia, but ammonia has no carbon chains) with their slack power. Chemical energy stores better than electrical.<br /><br /> In the short run, we have a huge, dedicated infrastructure running on diesel. That's a pretty big argument for biodiesel <i>now.</i> And whereas a air-to-methane cycler hooked up to the W.A. C. Bennett dam is a vision for the future, a sunflower/canola/hemp/peanuts greenhouse similarly located could go up tomorrow.<br /><br />And should! Time's wasting while we're talking. Hydroponics magazine claims 1kg seed gives 5kg grass/square meter of bench every two weeks. Sold! Well --the yield could be better, but still, a hectare under glass sequestering 330 tons of cellulose a year? <br /><br />You're right that making biodiesel out of butter is a bit crazy, though. I'm thinking more in the traditional lines of grabbing part of that sweet margarine market away from palm oil. Again, every barrel of oil we leave in the ground <i>right now</i> pays a dividend a hundred years down the line. So does every barrel we leave there in 2050, but the dividend doesn't start being paid until 2050.<br /><br />In conclusion, in 1939--45 we beat the Nazis. In 2015, can't we at least try to beat global warming?Erik Lundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05728486209757153685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915720554939410574.post-81249026413628061122015-06-23T19:16:10.633-07:002015-06-23T19:16:10.633-07:00Biology consists of food. That's it's mai...Biology consists of food. That's it's main advantage.<br /><br />Diesels, like all internal combustion engines, are something of a mistake. We just got ICEs because they were the first path to the power to weight needed for aircraft when there was a really big war.<br /><br />Terrestrial photosynthesis really does top out around one percent; the contention is made algae can get up to five. Standard PV is around 20 and you can get 30 commercially. Ammonia makes an excellent energy-dense pumpable fuel, synthesizable with air, water, and electricity at about 70% efficency. (Sailboats. Drag the prop, generate power, return ashore and pump out ammonia. Lots more wind over water. )<br /><br />In the meantime, the NorAm herd is at a fifty year low and not because producers want out of the market. Better money there than ethanol the way the rain curve is going if they keep their grass.<br /><br />And you can't eat biodiesel. I'd hate to bet that won't matter.Graydonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374676813519438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915720554939410574.post-18087911038235246102015-06-23T01:28:34.841-07:002015-06-23T01:28:34.841-07:00I've seen higher estimates, especially when al...I've seen higher estimates, especially when all crop residues are included. In any case, it's pretty hard to run a Diesel-cycle engine with electric power. At the point where land-under-cover becomes the limiting factor on energy production, it is hard to argue with the advantages of photovoltaic installations. <br />Until then, biology has its advantages. Erik Lundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05728486209757153685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915720554939410574.post-8999639091162401892015-06-22T20:23:28.224-07:002015-06-22T20:23:28.224-07:00Boisourced hydrocarbons suffer from the really low...Boisourced hydrocarbons suffer from the really low efficency of photosynthesis, less than 1 percent. Even terrible solar photovoltaic and lead-acid batteries can beat that, and current solar and batteries can beat it by orders of magnitude, plural.<br /><br />Much better to eat the butter.Graydonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09839374676813519438noreply@blogger.com