With all this talk of Peak Oil, I have a question

[Catch22Dem]

What can regular petroleum give you that hemp seed oil cannot. I remember years ago doing a paper in college about the uses of hemp. In the beginning, I thought it was only good for rope. Turns out, you can make cinder blocks that are exponentially stronger than concrete, motor oil that you can drain right into your front yard when you're done with it, plastics, etc...

So, does anyone know what oil gets us that hemp seed oil doesn't?

[teryang]

1. I have a question too regarding Peak Oil

And I'm not trying to prove anything. Didn't a recent nasa mission confirm massive amounts of methane on Titan? Is this a fossil fuel?

[Junkdrawer]

2. All of the outer planets have massive amounts of liquid methane...

and, no, it's not from fossil sources...

[Lone Pawn]

7. Methane is an organic compound, but that doesn't mean

it was ever alive.

[teryang]

10. If large amounts of methane are present

...on these bodies and it didn't come from biological sources than the source of this hydrocarbon fuel is strictly geological, right?

[Lone Pawn]

13. Could be, but it's no more 'geological' than hydrogen or oxygen are.

Methane, CH4, is quite simple and found in the atmospheres of many planets. Carbon and Hydrogen form methane quite easily--unfortunately, they do not form ethane, propane, butane, pentane, etc., etc. nearly so easily. This doesn't support a geological basis of oil production, I'm afraid.

[teryang]

16. Not talking about oil production

I do appreciate the commentary on the differences in gas. This is what I was looking for. Any further knowledge or references that you have on the subject would be appreciated.

I am following the oil and gas industry now quite avidly, but I am only a layman, but there is lot going on. People are ignoring the different types of fuels and their conversion to more usable forms. I don't know if they are economically viable, like gas to liquid conversions, but two oil majors are now investing billions in it.

Any explanations or opinions are welcome by me. The supply of natural gas has to be larger or have more longevity than oil.

In any case just by reading oil industry headlines you can see the direction of US foreign policy.

[rman]

9. how does that relate to peak oil?

You wouldn't propose we solve the problem by getting methane from Titan, do you?
I mean, imagine the price per barrel. Rising fuel price is one of the consequences of peak oil, so methane from from Titan wouldn't solve anything.

[teryang]

11. Well, if gas is geologically produced in huge quantities

...it is the perfect alternative to oil. It is after all an energy source. The attempts to portray decreasing gas supplies on earth as approaching depletion similar to peak oil theory seem improbable.

[Taxloss]

12. Gas isn't geologically produced in huge quantities

it's produced in minute quantities over vast periods of time, which build up to large reserves. When those reserves are gone, they are gone; they will not replenish in thousands of years.

But their are plenty of other reasons to ditch oil and natural gas.

[rman]

14. Right. So, where is it?

(other then on Titan)

[DebJ]

3. did you see the Maryland Senators on CSPAN last night?

They said they will be doing another one hour presentation, and I bet hemp will be included; this topic will be on alternative sources of energy from agriculture.

You could go to Gilchrest's sight at www.house.gov and ask them to include hemp.

[Silverhair]

4. Thermal Depolymerization is better.

Your idea uses only part of the plant, and only a specific plant at that.

Thermal Depolymerization uses any organic or petro waste product.

http://www.changingworldtech.com./index.asp

http://forums.biodieselnow.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=829

With the rapidly rising price of oil, TDP will become very profitable. Also, TDP, because it uses waste helps clean up the planet.

[Catch22Dem]

6. interesting. thanks for the links!!! (n/t)

[rman]

15. this has been debunked

supposedly this machine has 100% efficiency; 85% converted to oil, "the rest" used to power the machine.

Of course it is possible to convert anything organic to oil, question is at what cost - realistically speaking that is.
If the price is to high it will have the same effect as peak oil: scarcity and rising price.

[BlueEyedSon]

5. Lower cost per BTU and higher ERoEI

ERoEI = Energy returned on energy invested.

Fossil diesel & gasoline are more car/truck friendly than biodiesel/veg oil (they turn solid in cold weather for example).

Plus today's modern farming is a petrochemical intensive affair (diesel fuel, pesticides, fertilizer, etc).

Follow my links if you really want to research this.

[rman]

8. we'd need 80 million barrels of hemp oil per day

how many acres of hemp is that?

[rustydad]

17. Well one difference.........

....is that we get about 85 milion barrels of oil a day from oil wells. Hemp I do not know but likely one would need half the planet growing hemp to get 85 million barrels a day. Can one eat hemp? bob