If I calculate that correctly, then this, if implemented nationwide, could nearly double our oil output. Of one day of oil production. "PNNL estimates a single person could produce enough waste for two or three gallons (7.6 or 11 L) of biocrude each year." That's 2.5 gal x roughly 375 million people. 937,500,000 gal crude. 42 gal in a barrel, so 22,321,428 barrels of crude in a year. The US produces 11,973,000 barrels per day. About 187 times that, so, no, I don't think the oil companies will be quaking, but they might invest in it to divert attention from viable biofuels.
William H Lanteigne
The volume produced wouldn't matter if the cost is competitive with, or cheaper than fossil crude. Every little bit helps.
Paul Anthony
How many gallons of this crude that is being made is required to make a gallon of this crude?
Richard Bolman
True, it may just be a drop in the bucket (no pun intended), but it also helps mitigate other issues related to environmental impacts of waste. Not to mention the benefits from getting farms added to the mix.
guzmanchinky
How much energy is required to stir, pressurize and heat?
habakak
Fantastic. If we can use a waste product instead of extracting oil out of the ground, as long as it's cost-competitive and hopefully environmentally more sound, why not. We will use oil for the foreseeable future. Even if our electricity generation goes fully renewable and all personal and public light vehicle transportation goes battery electric, we will still use at least 10 million barrels of oil per day. Maybe in another half a century we will use very insignificant amounts of oil, but it will be a long time still until we can do without it.
VirtualGathis
This same method also produces crude from algal sources. The ironic part is that a simple harvesting and drying method could turn the Florida blue green algae bloom problem into a resource. since the Algae do not need to be totally dry the first pass belt drying method could allow simple harvesting. Run that through this process in a continuous process, rather than as a batch process, and both problems become a revenue stream.
ToddFahrner
Applying the necessary heat and pressure requires how much energy relative to the product?
Alien
This sounds great but how cost effective is all the high temperature and pressure treatment required to produce the end product? Perhaps some cost could be offset against the currently normal sewage processing costs but it would easier to evaluate if more information were forthcoming.
GeneMoore
this is stupid, why make more black stinky stuff, and then burn it? That is contributing to the problem all over again, Man has to get over this as fuel, or we will be tossed off this planet and in a another million years or so another "sentient" species will give it a go. Wake up!!! life is a circle and has nothing to do with "the bottom line" or domination over this planet.