Bananas to replace petroleum based plastics?

momoese · 07-23-2013, 03:23 PM

Science in Action Winner for 2013: Elif Bilgin | @ScientificAmerican, Scientific American Blog Network

Olafhenny · 07-23-2013, 05:01 PM

I do not see anything groundbreaking in this. Plastics are basically all carbon/hydrogen
compounds, as are pretty well all fuels. Accordingly using bio-matter to produce plastics is
in the same vane as using it to produce fuels. For industrial purposes oil is much more readily
available, the conversion processes are tried and in place and will be hard to alter considering
that bio-mass is already in short supply for fuel production.

Much more promising is fusion energy, which will make much of the carbon based energy sources
obsolete and leave oils and bio-matter free for such uses as producing plastics and carbon fibers.

There are many fusion protocols in the research stage. The most advanced being probably
General Fusion's.

See: General Fusion We should know more about the feasibility of this sometime next year.

Omaha_Banana · 07-23-2013, 05:34 PM

Being from Nebraska, I prefer the plastics made from corn.

brod · 07-23-2013, 07:30 PM

I don't know what the fuss is about, it seems petroleum is a renewable energy source anyway.
Fracturing the Fossil Fuel Fable

Olafhenny · 07-23-2013, 09:38 PM

Hi Brod,

while that article contains some facts, it also includes a lot of balderdash. Coal is definitely
created by covered and decomposed fossils. You can often see the shapes of plants which
formed its base clearly imprinted in pieces of coal.

The fact, that new technologies like fracking or tar sand recovery technologies have opened
new stores of carbon based fuels, does not mean, that they are not finite. I have always
wondered about the origin of oil, but even if it is geological, it is still available only in limited
deposits, as witnessed by the fact, that the production of oil recoverable by conventional
methods has already peaked.

The fact is that all fossil fuels are messy. A good, feasible fusion technology, if achieved,
could do a lot to clean up the environment. I am particularly enthralled by the concept
pursued by General Fusion, because the result would be small, contained reactors (no radioactive
material would ever leave the plant and tritium has only a half life of 12.5 years),
which would serve a population of about 25,000 (100 MW capacity). They could be locally
placed in small communities (like today's substations) and on large ships, making large overland
transmission lines obsolete.

07-23-2013, 03:23 PM	#1 (permalink)
momoese Banana grower momoese's Photo Gallery Find me on the map! Zone: zone 10 Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 7,594 BananaBucks : 8,582 Feedback: 9 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,763 Times Was Thanked 10,901 Times in 3,315 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 730 Times	Bananas to replace petroleum based plastics? Science in Action Winner for 2013: Elif Bilgin \| @ScientificAmerican, Scientific American Blog Network

07-23-2013, 05:01 PM	#2 (permalink)
Olafhenny Olafhenny's Photo Gallery Location: Penticton, BC, Okanagan Valley, Canada Find me on the map! Zone: Hardiness Zone 6 Name: Olaf Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,705 BananaBucks : 297,528 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 2,050 Times Was Thanked 2,012 Times in 876 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 77 Times	Re: Bananas to replace petroleum based plastics? I do not see anything groundbreaking in this. Plastics are basically all carbon/hydrogen compounds, as are pretty well all fuels. Accordingly using bio-matter to produce plastics is in the same vane as using it to produce fuels. For industrial purposes oil is much more readily available, the conversion processes are tried and in place and will be hard to alter considering that bio-mass is already in short supply for fuel production. Much more promising is fusion energy, which will make much of the carbon based energy sources obsolete and leave oils and bio-matter free for such uses as producing plastics and carbon fibers. There are many fusion protocols in the research stage. The most advanced being probably General Fusion's. See: General Fusion We should know more about the feasibility of this sometime next year. __________________ The reason I joined this forum was to share experiences, my own and those of others and to learn from them.

07-23-2013, 05:34 PM	#3 (permalink)
Omaha_Banana Find me on the map! Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 18 BananaBucks : 9,352 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 0 Times Was Thanked 43 Times in 12 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times	Re: Bananas to replace petroleum based plastics? Being from Nebraska, I prefer the plastics made from corn.

07-23-2013, 07:30 PM	#4 (permalink)
brod Location: Brisbane, Australia Find me on the map! Name: Brod Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 150 BananaBucks : 50,846 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 361 Times Was Thanked 186 Times in 82 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 52 Times	Re: Bananas to replace petroleum based plastics? I don't know what the fuss is about, it seems petroleum is a renewable energy source anyway. Fracturing the Fossil Fuel Fable Last edited by brod : 07-23-2013 at 09:37 PM.

07-23-2013, 09:38 PM	#5 (permalink)
Olafhenny Olafhenny's Photo Gallery Location: Penticton, BC, Okanagan Valley, Canada Find me on the map! Zone: Hardiness Zone 6 Name: Olaf Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,705 BananaBucks : 297,528 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 2,050 Times Was Thanked 2,012 Times in 876 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 77 Times	Re: Bananas to replace petroleum based plastics? Hi Brod, while that article contains some facts, it also includes a lot of balderdash. Coal is definitely created by covered and decomposed fossils. You can often see the shapes of plants which formed its base clearly imprinted in pieces of coal. The fact, that new technologies like fracking or tar sand recovery technologies have opened new stores of carbon based fuels, does not mean, that they are not finite. I have always wondered about the origin of oil, but even if it is geological, it is still available only in limited deposits, as witnessed by the fact, that the production of oil recoverable by conventional methods has already peaked. The fact is that all fossil fuels are messy. A good, feasible fusion technology, if achieved, could do a lot to clean up the environment. I am particularly enthralled by the concept pursued by General Fusion, because the result would be small, contained reactors (no radioactive material would ever leave the plant and tritium has only a half life of 12.5 years), which would serve a population of about 25,000 (100 MW capacity). They could be locally placed in small communities (like today's substations) and on large ships, making large overland transmission lines obsolete. __________________ The reason I joined this forum was to share experiences, my own and those of others and to learn from them.

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