In reply to Edmund Storms's message of Sat, 17 Nov 2007 19:10:43 -0700: Hi, [snip] > > >Jones Beene wrote: >> If you turn biomass into syngas then that solution is >> carbon neutral. If you turn syngas from coal into >> electricity for grid power, and then channel the >> exhaust into algae ponds for biofuel, then that >> solution is carbon neutral > >Actually, using CO2 from burning coal to make biofuel is not carbon >neutral unless the resulting biomass is never burned. [snip] While this is true, it is still advantageous over letting the CO2 initially escape directly into the atmosphere. By directing it through the biofuel channel solar energy is collected (and some of the waste heat recycled). The net result is a greater energy output from the carbon in the initial quantity of coal than would have been true without the biofuel channel. IOW it turns coal into a "greener" fuel, more akin to natural gas.
Of course, this should never be seen as more than a stop-gap measure. Regards, Robin van Spaandonk The shrub is a plant.
