From Turkey Guts to Fuel Oil

Untimely Ripp'd writes "The latest issue of Discover Magazine reports that any day now a plant will go online in Carthage, Missouri that processes turkey guts into high grade oil, natural gas, some minerals, and water. Unfortunately, the Discover article isn't online yet, but here's a newspaper article. The system, developed by Changing World Technologies uses thermal depolymerization and apparently works on almost any and every kind of organic waste. They assert that applying it to 100% of the US' agricultural waste would produce about 4 billion barrels of oil per year -- about the amount we currently import. It sounds too good to be true, it sounds like one of those fly-by-night-in-the-face-of-the-second-law deals, but it isn't happening in somebody's basement -- it's happening in a multi-million dollar facility developed with Con-Agra."

Comments

When you think about it...

[CommieLib]

This is really just fossil fuels for the extremely impatient.

I feel let down

[antaeogo]

I was expecting that evil 'bit' story...

This is wonderful

[madfgurtbn]

Something like this could really help reduce our dependence on foreign oil. I betcha the oil industry is going to try to discredit this breakthrough in energy technology.

Paranoid

[ElGuapoGolf]

I'm so paranoid, I can't tell if this is another April Fools or not!

Re:Paranoid

[nurightshu]

I hate April 1st.

Try having today as your birthday. Jesus. One time, when I turned nine or ten, my best friend handed me this big freakin' box. I unwrapped it, and there was another box inside of it. Unwrapped that one, and lo and behold, another box. Three or four more iterations, and I unwrap the final box. It contains...two decorative soaps (shaped like seashells).

"April Fool!" he says.

I knee him, right in the balls. He goes down and I'm following him, punching his head repeatedly. My parents come rushing over and pull me off of his crumpled form. Chuck E. Cheese employees are freaking out, and so are all my other friends.

I found a new best friend shortly thereafter, but that didn't stop the pranks. Every year, somebody thinks it'll be clever and original to do something stupid, then shout, "April Fools! Happy birthday, Mike!"

My temper's under better control than it was when I was nine. I don't beat them up anymore. Now I have sex with their spouses.

Happy birthday. Happy frigging birthday to me.

This will drive up the price of Thanksgiving!

[Rayonic]

So does it mean we'll have to invade Kentucky next?

April Fools

[Phoenix823]

This is just a plan to let President Bush take care of all those PETA wackos. You see, by making oil from turkeys, he'll surely upset any self-righteous PETA member. They'll boycott the new oil and continue to use oil from the middle East, and consequently they'll be supporting terrorism. Thankfully, the Patriot Act will allow the government to lock up these proponents of terrorism for an indefinite amount of time at an undisclosed location.

Now finally, we may all eat meat without fearing harrassment.

typo

[commodoresloat]

that's "fowl."

Re:Or outlaw it like hemp

[ip_vjl]

From the "Hemp for fuel" site:

When burned in a diesel engine, biodiesel replaces the exhaust odor of petroleum diesel with the pleasant smell of hemp, popcorn or french fries.

Wow. Back in college, I didn't realize so many of the guys in my dorm had biodiesel engines in their room.

Not a Joke.

[blunte]

A friend reported this story to me in detail 2 or 3 days ago in great detail.

There are two plants either in operation now, or just starting up. One is right next to a Butterball Turkey factory.

The process breaks organic materials down thru some process of super-hydration, 500 degree heat, some moderate amount of pressure, and then results in various oils and water (clean enough to go into normal treatment plants).

Also, oil companies reportedly support this because the novel approach is actually easier and cleaner for processing crude oils than existing refineries. So they stand to gain from this as well.

There's a lot of good info on this, so don't discount it just because /. posted it today.

I hope it's a huge success.