In September, a privately held and highly secretive U.S. bio-tech company named Joule Unlimited received a patent for “a proprietary organism” – a genetically adapted E. coli bacterium – that feeds solely on carbon dioxide and excretes liquid hydrocarbons: diesel fuel, jet fuel and gasoline. This breakthrough technology, the company says, will deliver renewable supplies of liquid fossil fuel almost anywhere on Earth, in essentially unlimited quantity and at an energy-cost equivalent of $30 (U.S.) a barrel of crude oil. It will deliver, the company says, “fossil fuels on demand.”
We’re not talking “bio-fuels” – not, at any rate, in the usual sense of the word. The Joule technology requires no “feedstock,” no corn, no wood, no garbage, no algae. Aside from hungry, gene-altered micro-organisms, it requires only carbon dioxide and sunshine to manufacture crude. And water: whether fresh, brackish or salt. With these “inputs,” it mimics photosynthesis, the process by which green leaves use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide into organic compounds. Indeed, the company describes its manufacture of fossil fuels as “artificial photosynthesis.”
If this is on the level, it would be fantastic.
Found by Cinàedh.
An update from the Boston Business Journal found by jeffreysdailey.
this is interesting… “Back in 1973, in the midst of the first OPEC price hike, a little-known professor of economics at Texas A&M University, Phil Gramm, wrote a short essay, which appeared on the editorial page of the “Wall Street Journal.” In it, he recounted the story of the rising price of whale oil in the mid-19th century. The demand for whale oil as a means of lighting lamps was increasing, but the supply of whales was decreasing. There would soon be a whale oil crisis, some believed.
Then an engineer discovered that black oil in the western part of Pennsylvania could be converted into a newly marketed fuel, kerosene. The rising price of whale oil had created an incentive to find an alternative. That alternative became the basis of the modern, energy-intensive economy.
In 1973, there were price controls on oil and gasoline. Gramm argued that a similar situation in the 1850s would have reduced the incentive to find an alternative. It would also have created shortages of whale oil in the marketplace.
As Gramm told a group of students in August of 1974, that article had made him famous. He had worked for years publishing unread academic articles in scholarly journals, yet that whale oil article had taken him less than a day to write. He admitted that this told something about his previous allocation of time. Four years later, Gramm was elected to Congress. Eight years later, he was elected to the U.S. Senate. His political career’s skids were greased with whale oil.”
This would definitely help my oil short.
I believe there was speculation, some years ago, of a gene altered bug that could eat oil spills. But perhaps the possibility that the germs might somehow survive, and go on to consume other things in the oceans, stopped this. Hopefully these altered e-coli bugs wouldn’t end up in our food supply, and in us, and then generate oil in our lungs.
I’ve occasionally thought that gene altered microbes could be used to make milk, without cows. And meat protein, without livestock. That would make a lot of vegetarians happy. Right now, the only animal-less alternatives to these are Soy based products. Vegetarians (and possibly Vegans too) would probably have little objection to microbe produced foods, since Breads often contains yeast. Which they don’t object to eating, for either moral or dietary reasons. Plus output would be a constant, rather then subject to the weather. Only speculation in Commodities trading, would suffer. Since supply would always match demand.
If microbe made fuel oil is possible, speculation in oil futures will soon be at an end, too. The real question is, will this process be ALLOWED? Just as the manufacture of artificial diamonds, has been stifled over the years, by those who profit greatly by limiting natural diamond output.
#63–Glenn==your concern “makes sense” in a free floating detached from reality sort of way. The “entity” involved here is algae. It needs sunlight to grow and thrive, and to not be attacked by white blood cells and such? You are making me rethink my “grow in the dark in a big vat” scheme however.
Yes, such a simple mistake choosing light sensitive vs not light sensitive being the difference between a planet with or without mammals?
I wonder how many other variables like that are in fact in play or have otherwise been charted out and thought about?
“Food for Thought” ha, ha. Yes, we come to serve mankind.
“The cost to drill oil in Texas is $20/barrel for example, $30 in the Alaska, $40 in the North Sea, or $10/barrel in Qatar”
http://interfacebus.blogspot.com/2008/05/why-does-gas-cost-so-much.html
Its competitive, the dangers manageable, but will it happen…not in this enviousness…where the courts delay anything new for decades…and the politics is for a return to horse and buggy.
“not in this enviousness”…gotta be more careful with that spell checker, “not in this environment”
If we manage to cast off progressive tyranny…there is no reason why wealth creation arising from cheap energy, couldn’t make the future bright indeed…the best days of this country, still future.
Otherwise, following Obama’s dream of his father, its poverty and oppression as we get what’s coming to us.
bobbo,
Wow, bobbo, you went to great lengths to get some anti-religious bigotry into a discussion about alternative fuels! Bigotry can eat you up, if you are not careful.
Anyway, as for pollutants in gas –clearly lead was a pollutant the refiners put into gasoline.
But surely there are things they can’t get out of the product, either — at least not at a price the consumer can afford.
I am curious at the “net” effect this new fake-oil would have on global warming. In theory, it seems pretty great but there are ALWAYS consequences to everything, right?
I’m still skeptical about this whole story. Seems much too good to be true.
When did Alfred change his name to $10 gas?
Early in 1973, the law that capped the amount of oil imported into the US at 30% was repealed. After the embargo, the percentage of imported oil rose substantially – eventually over 50%.
Why not phase in a new law that lowers the imported oil percentage over time?
Substituting the $0.184/gallon federal gasoline tax with something else is tricky. Better economy cars and alternative fuels NEED to be taxed. The federal highway fund is going down and it has been replenished twice. The US needs to move away from automobiles, suburbs, exurbs, etc.
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. I can’t evaluate the science or the cost as that is out of my wheelhouse, but I can say that it sounds specious. And more to the point, if it were true, it would be the worst thing to happen to the environmental movement I could imagine. Right now, the only thing keeping global warming and environment toxification in check is the high cost — and growing shortage — of fossil fuels. Lower the costs and increase supply and that’s the end of the planet in a couple generations.
Question. Trees absorb CO2 and give off oxygen. If this organism uses CO2 then at some point will there not be a lack of CO2 and thus trees will start dying which in turn causes a lack of oxygen? Then won’t we die?
Energy for nothing… hmmmm, there seems to be a law against this somewhere.
I suspect that a second massive source of energy is needed… that solar converter thing I suspect.
Photosynthesis is about 5% efficient at converting CO2 to carbohydrate, so improvements are definitely possible.
While E. coli is a relatively easily cultured bacteria. I would think there were better organisms suited for a genetic alteration. E coli is usually limited to the intestine of warm blooded animals. There are other coliform bacteria which are hardier in survivability and reproduction. Perhaps the media may have made a slight error in reporting.
Greg Allan==Bigotry??? Ha, ha. Yes, bigotry. Nice way to channel and ignore anything said to you that you disagree with. If you were a PUKE, you would have said it was a demonstration of HATE. Just more mind control from the various overlords at play, if you will allow just a spoonful more of hate and bigotry to come your way. NEVER something to consider, even with a glint of humor.
Energy for Nothing
That is a recurring theme above. No. THE SUN provides all the energy and each conversion stage has a % of efficiency. When that conversion stage requires additional energy, as in using machines to filter the oil, that is very uniefficient. When the same end result is achieved by the biology of the modified algae, then the sun has provided that energy as well.
I googled for actual product being delivered by Algenol and only found announcements of new partnerships and new demonstration plants. They “should have” actually delivered product in 2009-10?
I salute my scientific betters and thank them for persevering against the darkness of ignorance bringing us the ability to light the night. Yes, I am bigoted against hate and ignorance.
CO2 is not an energy source. What ever it is would have to eat something or photosynthesize. The existence of plants is not news.
CO2 is the food source, light is the energy, the fuel end product is bacteria poo. Since E. coli are not photosynthetic, I think I smells a fish.
John Podesta just left the Obama Adminstration to be a director with this company, I think.
Power stations that make use of fossil fuel can be constructed in almost any location. This is possible as long as large quantities of fuel can be easily brought to the power plants.