Renewable energy source! Can it really be this easy?

[Hedders]

Are there any sciency types around?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twQA4cUwYus&fea...

It can't be this easy, can it?

ETA: I just realised this must be a big version of the unit in the 'people eating' robot from a week or so. Could solve the problem of what to do with undesirables too!

Edited by Hedders on Sunday 19th July 17:06

[TheD]

Yes. There has been theories abound for years about new energy and many are myths although is it believed many have been held back. As have some inventors seemingly ended up dead It's would be easy to assume why when you think of the money involved. Mostly all conspiracies though

[Carfiend]

Thing is unless they have broken the laws of Thermodynamics the process will not produce the same amount of energy as it put in so the gasses will not be enough to run the plant alone.

So you are still dependant on some other external factors. However taking stuff that will be buried or burned and making fuel from it is recycling rather than a renewable energy source as once the fuel is burned it is harder to reprocess than a bunch of tyres say.

[Hedders]

I guess it is renewable in the sense that you can turn plastics into oil with this machine and then make new plastic things from the oil.

That could be achieved by just seperating and melting the plastic down though? Still, plenty of 'free' oil from rubbish must be a good thing!

Edited by Hedders on Sunday 19th July 17:55

[GreenV8S]

Carfiend said:

Thing is unless they have broken the laws of Thermodynamics the process will not produce the same amount of energy as it put in so the gasses will not be enough to run the plant alone.

It's using the rubbish as fuel, not trying to be a perpetual motion machine and not breaking the laws of thermodynamics. I don't don't suppose there's a great deal of energy to be had by this approach but I guess it's better to make use of it rather than just let it rot.

[Carfiend]

No but the light on science video made it sound like it was.

I do wonder if you could modify it to work on CO and CO2 that could be captured from exhausts and what not. It would be more advanced since unless you are going to crack the water as a source of hydrogen first it would have to come from somewhere.

[Pigeon]

I think you are proposing an overunity device yourself there.