Producing Diesel from sun, water, and CO2?

[E30Kaiser]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110227/ap_on_bi_ge/us_growing_fuel

Joule Unlimited has invented a genetically-engineered organism that it says simply secretes diesel fuel or ethanol wherever it finds sunlight, water and carbon dioxide.
The Cambridge, Mass.-based company says it can manipulate the organism to produce the renewable fuels on demand at unprecedented rates, and can do it in facilities large and small at costs comparable to the cheapest fossil fuels.
What can it mean? No less than "energy independence," Joule's web site tells the world

Looks to be miraculous to say the least, but if they can scale it up to industrial levels, it will be a true game changer. Apparently they plan on taking it to the commercial level by the end of 2012 so at least we will know relatively soon how real this really is.

[george graves]

They've been talking about this for a long time. There is also claim of one that will turn raw sewage into oil, ect...I'm not saying it's not possible, but the guys that start up these companies like to talk it up big.

[b*saint]

How can they even afford the real estate in Cambridge? Right there you know something is up.

[Nairb]

Either Henry Ford will reincarnate and kill everyone on the team and shred the evidence, or the auto/gas companies will buy this out immediately.

[Kershaw]

^ this.

but this guy kind of sounds like an idealist.

lets hope it works.

and is he really going to put diesel in a ferrari?

[NigelStu]

turn raw sewage into oil, ect....

a Poo-poo choo-choo?

Would septic tank trucks become self-powered?


and


Soon to be seen at Shell gas pumps around the country:
87, 89, 93 and the new Shell poo-power, sponsored by Mr Hankey.



Funniness aside, I'd like to see more ideas like this move forward and become a reality. This idea is not much different than current bio-mass based diesel, and would be a good addition to the fuel supplies.

[Bene]

Either Henry Ford will reincarnate and kill everyone on the team and shred the evidence, or the auto/gas companies will buy this out immediately.

this would be bad for oil companies. It's a market they can't control.

[Nairb]

this would be bad for oil companies. It's a market they can't control.

Exactly.. they buy it, sit on it and let it die. It CAN be bad, if you don't own it.

[E30Kaiser]

a Poo-poo choo-choo?

Would septic tank trucks become self-powered?


and


Soon to be seen at Shell gas pumps around the country:
87, 89, 93 and the new Shell poo-power, sponsored by Mr Hankey.



Funniness aside, I'd like to see more ideas like this move forward and become a reality. This idea is not much different than current bio-mass based diesel, and would be a good addition to the fuel supplies.

Most things like that produce Bio-diesel though, not diesel. The stuff this company says it produces is something that could be straight into your diesel car, not mixed with something and no special equipment or modification needed.

I for one am all for this as it would push down the price of most fuel, as more people would switch to diesel DDs with the price of diesel plummeting.

[Fusion]

Diesel has always been shit.

[NigelStu]

^
I see what you did there.

something that could be straight into your diesel car, not mixed with something and no special equipment or modification needed.

This is the part that I am most curious about. I have a hard time believing that whatever these little microbs are shitting out would be an exact copy of the current oil-based diesel fuels; I expect them to be more like the current bios. Regardless, this could help make more bio-mixed fuels in the near future.

I for one am all for this as it would push down the price of most fuel, as more people would switch to diesel DDs with the price of diesel plummeting.

Agreed - although I don't see a mass exodus to the diesel powerplants - but at least having another supply base for diesel would allow more gasoline to be made from each barrel of oil, driving down the prices.

[scabzzzz]

I wouldnt doubt we've been close to this sort of technology for years within our own government. Big business could care less about our planet and the people in it though.

[mrsleeve]

I read this earlier I wonder what the "CATCH" is, there is always a catch

[tjts1]

Old news.

[emoshun]

With gas approaching $4 gal, I welcome this kind of thinking.

I'd buy a turbo diesel if this becomes a reality.