tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585560101291122669.post8949269610598755999..comments2023-06-21T13:52:14.809+00:00Comments on Oversimplification: BeeOilAdrian Bowyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17595509188999219420noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585560101291122669.post-10837511537415553272011-05-05T16:52:35.004+00:002011-05-05T16:52:35.004+00:00But does it matter how (in)efficient the system is...But does it matter how (in)efficient the system is? It's all carbon neutral. And photosynthesis is only about 3% efficient anyway (which is pretty lousy compared with - say - a PV cell). Obviously we'd like the system to be as efficient as possible, but a fully autonomous fully self-replicating system is much more important than efficiency. Once you have that, you can start using simple Darwinian pressure to drive the efficiency up.Adrian Bowyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17595509188999219420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585560101291122669.post-54748595791188171552011-05-02T15:12:22.311+00:002011-05-02T15:12:22.311+00:00But bees also produce CO2 when flying. Considering...But bees also produce CO2 when flying. Considering oil/bee flying weight ratio, they will use much more oil for transporting than produced. Only good thing -- they would use green fuel.<br />Ants could be more effective as they can carry much more weight than they own.Valdishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04743334381211637315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585560101291122669.post-86612037744273558532011-05-02T10:13:57.156+00:002011-05-02T10:13:57.156+00:00I meant getting the oil from the seeds, not the ne...I meant getting the oil from the seeds, not the nectar. But people wouldn't be doing that - the insects would. Most of the organisms involved would have to be genetically modified.Adrian Bowyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17595509188999219420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585560101291122669.post-737239472937373712011-04-26T15:55:32.544+00:002011-04-26T15:55:32.544+00:00It sounds interesting and could be affordable for ...It sounds interesting and could be affordable for food industry. It will be too expensive for power industry though.<br />Getting oil from seeds (most of current technologies) is expensive, but taking it from nectar would be even worse. Flying is expensive stuff also, and oil production would not be as now, if it would built on aviation in place of tankers.<br />Real breakthrough will be when oil will be reliably produced directly from grass (i.e. all biomass, not only seeds) something like: harvesting, blendering and simple settling of oil, or by fermenting sugars into alcohol.Valdishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04743334381211637315noreply@blogger.com