Post #278,462
3/16/07 2:22:47 PM
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20 cats to the gallon of fuel
[link|http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1534821.html|http://www.ananova.c...y/sm_1534821.html] They are heated up to 300 Celsius to filter out hydrocarbon which is then turned into diesel by a catalytic converter.
He said the resulting "high quality bio-diesel" costs just 15 pence per litre.
Koch said the cadaver of a fully grown cat can produce 2.5 litres of fuel - meaning around 20 cats are needed for a full tank. thanx, bill Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 51 years. meep
reach me at [link|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net]
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Post #278,470
3/16/07 2:45:23 PM
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M'kay
We're using so much corn for biodiesel that we're affecting the price of tortillas in Mexico, and we've got millions of acres devoted to production. Supposing you wanted to switch to cats, where the hell would you get enough food for them, and where would you put them until they were big enough to be harvested?
I think this idea might have some scalability problems.
===
Kip Hawley is still an idiot.
===
Purveyor of Doc Hope's [link|http://DocHope.com|fresh-baked dog biscuits and pet treats].
[link|http://DocHope.com|http://DocHope.com]
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Post #278,480
3/16/07 3:37:09 PM
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I suspect the process isn't limited to cats . . .
. . so it could alleviate the disposal problems encountered by animal shelters all over the country. Still just a minor production but at least it turns a cost into income.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #278,482
3/16/07 3:42:18 PM
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Just another non-renewable resource.
Latest figure I read was something like 3M strays in Michigan. That's just about 2M gallons, or about 200K barrels of oil equivalent (42 gallons per barrel, of which about 9.5 gallons are diesel).
Let's say for the sake of argument that the average stray cat population in each state is 3M as well. That gives us a generous estimate of 10M barrels of cat oil (without the gasoline and so on).
Not that big a find.
Regards,
-scott anderson
"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
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Post #278,489
3/16/07 4:00:08 PM
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Not to mention *catching* the strays
Those numbers are estimates of strays in the wild. I doubt we'd catch even 10% of them easily. "Easily" meaning cheap enough to not blow the financials all to hell.
===
Kip Hawley is still an idiot.
===
Purveyor of Doc Hope's [link|http://DocHope.com|fresh-baked dog biscuits and pet treats].
[link|http://DocHope.com|http://DocHope.com]
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Post #278,485
3/16/07 3:46:22 PM
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Wait a minute.
My understanding is that white corn is used for tortillas in Mexico, while yellow corn is used for animal feed and ethanol. There have apparently been lots of turmoil in the Mexican market, for various reasons, but I don't think that ethanol has much if anything to do with it.
At least that's what I recall based on a story on the radio a while back.
...
[link|http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/02/19/8400170/index.htm?postversion=2007021406|CNN reprint of a Fortune article].
FWIW.
Cheers,
Scott.
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Post #278,488
3/16/07 3:58:44 PM
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Try this one
[link|http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/26/AR2007012601896_pf.html|Washington Post]: Mexico is in the grip of the worst tortilla crisis in its modern history. Dramatically rising international corn prices, spurred by demand for the grain-based fuel ethanol, have led to expensive tortillas. ===
Kip Hawley is still an idiot.
===
Purveyor of Doc Hope's [link|http://DocHope.com|fresh-baked dog biscuits and pet treats].
[link|http://DocHope.com|http://DocHope.com]
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Post #278,513
3/16/07 6:57:51 PM
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Thanks, Drew and Andrew. Educational! :-)
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Post #278,490
3/16/07 4:01:41 PM
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According to the Wall Street Journal this week . . .
Food prices will be rising sharply (and soon) due to ethanol production - and not just those dependent on corn, such as beef, pork, chicken and soft drinks. Vast soybean acres and other crops are being moved over to growing ethanol corn. There will be shortages.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if white corn production is being drastically reduced in favor of planting yellow corn for ethanol production.
The good part of this is that corn syrup may be priced out of the sweetener market - certainly good news for the sugar growers.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #278,491
3/16/07 4:04:37 PM
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Speaking of sugar growers ...
I didn't know until I heard the news from Bush's trip to Latin America last week that sugar is a much better input for ethanol production. Basically you have to turn corn into sugar, then turn the sugar into ethanol. If you can start with sugar, it's significantly cheaper.
So other than lobbying by ADM, why do we not grow our own sugar? Do we not have the climate for it in the U.S.?
===
Kip Hawley is still an idiot.
===
Purveyor of Doc Hope's [link|http://DocHope.com|fresh-baked dog biscuits and pet treats].
[link|http://DocHope.com|http://DocHope.com]
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Post #278,495
3/16/07 4:12:04 PM
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We grow quite a bit of sugar here . . .
. . and could grow a lot more if it was economical. Despite modernization the low cost of corn syrup has forced sugar production into a barely viable condition. Few companies have been able to stay in the business.
And yes, sugar is a far better feed for ethanol than corn. Personally, though, I think alcohol for motor fuel should be restricted to production from agricultural waste - but that just wouldn't line the right pockets now would it?
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #278,499
3/16/07 4:24:21 PM
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Shell should buy ADM
We all know nothing is going to change unless the right people are making money. I could give a shit whether it's Big Oil or Big Agro that gets it.
===
Kip Hawley is still an idiot.
===
Purveyor of Doc Hope's [link|http://DocHope.com|fresh-baked dog biscuits and pet treats].
[link|http://DocHope.com|http://DocHope.com]
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Post #278,883
3/19/07 11:15:55 PM
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Slaughterhouse waste too
Lots of potential feeds
I4 NOW!
Impeach, Indict, Incarcerate, Inject
Bush, Cheney, Gonzalez, Rumsfeld, Rove, Rice
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Post #278,521
3/16/07 8:04:20 PM
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Brings new meaning to "Put a tiger in your tank" :)
Before I get deafened by the mass shrugging of shoulders - That was the advertising slogan for one of the big petrol companies here, many many years ago...
Two out of three people wonder where the other one is.
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Post #278,524
3/16/07 8:08:33 PM
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Oh, it's been here in the U.S. off and on . . .
. . for many years. During one campaign the service stations gave out fabric tiger tails you could have draping out from under your trunk lid (is it trunk, boot or something else down there?)
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #278,533
3/16/07 9:51:45 PM
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Correction
The tail was to put around the gas cap, thus looking like it was hanging out of the tank. Remember when the gas cap was under the rear license plate? The tails were so cute on those cars.
Smile,
Amy
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Post #278,542
3/16/07 10:54:49 PM
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Meerkats would work as well! :)
But, it would take more of them.
Alex
When fascism comes to America, it'll be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross. -- Sinclair Lewis
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Post #278,546
3/16/07 11:07:47 PM
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soylent green its not just for grub anymore! free cremation!
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 51 years. meep
reach me at [link|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net]
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Post #278,795
3/19/07 6:06:02 AM
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Oi! :)
Two out of three people wonder where the other one is.
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Post #278,697
3/18/07 12:56:04 PM
3/18/07 12:58:28 PM
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Makes your engine purr?
[And if memory serves me correct, admin is sitting on a bumper crop of crude cats]
Edited by ChrisR
March 18, 2007, 12:58:28 PM EDT
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