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Plastic and Fuel That Grow On Trees

Posted by kdawson on from the fur-for-all dept.

Tim Hanlon writes "Biofuels continue to lead the field in the search for a renewable, environmentally friendly replacement for crude oil. Besides its use in the transport industry, crude oil is also used to produce conventional plastics and chemical products such as fertilizers and solvents. Now chemists have learned how to convert plant biomass directly into a chemical building block that can be used to produce not only fuel, but also plastics, polyester, and industrial chemicals, cheaply and efficiently."

5 of 188 comments (clear)

  1. Radiohead is a modern Nostrodaumus... by Serilleous · · Score: 4, Funny

    and has shown its portents to be but one word off. *real* Plastic Trees.

    1. Re:Radiohead is a modern Nostrodaumus... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      You mean they make no accurate predictions, but people maker shit up about their predictions?

      yes people do maker shit up. didn'ter you know that? proofreadinger is harder, so very hard. er.

  2. Why? by geekoid · · Score: 4, Funny

    If all the arable land in all the world were used to grow the highest yield plant for biofuel, it wouldn't come CLOSE to what we need for fuel, or our plastic demand. Hell, it might not even be a need to support the polyester demand...should the 70's happen again.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  3. It's about time... by beatbox32 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Alright! Let's chop down those trees and start saving the environment!

    --
    "The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as long as we live." - M.J. A
  4. Re:Investment by BrokenHalo · · Score: 3, Funny

    I can see a future for plastics, but to use the technology to produce fuel for burning is rushing towards the same dead end we've been following for ages.

    I can just imagine my hypothetical grandchildren asking me what we did with all that oil.

    "We burnt it."

    "You did what?"

    (Sheepish look.)