Why can't a pharmaceutical company create an enzyme to convert waste into gasoline?

Question

I don't believe oil came from dead dinosaurs. I think it came from the decaying of dead vegetation. If so, why can't we produce it in the laboratory? Then we could have big factories spewing out the stuff. Energy crisis GONE: Trade deficit GONE: Overpopulation GONE (By not teaching the Chinese and Indians how to drive their new cars, and just turn them loose: That's how!).

Answer 1

You don't know much about science, do you? Do you think you can convert anything to anything just by creating the right enzyme?

Think of what such a discovery would be worth to whomever came up with it. Literally hundreds of billions of dollars. Research that valuable is not ignored. It is just something that noone has been able to figure out a way to do.

We can convert starchy and sugary vegetable waste to ethanol and methanol to power cars, but there's only so much energy available in waste. To use those methods as a primary energy source would be expensive and would require repurposing farmland used to make food and farming it for energy instead. We don't have enough farmland to grow enough alcohol to keep all of our cars running.

Answer 2

I trust the different guy, enzymes are too extreme priced and they are somewhat complicated. What does Einstein ought to do with enzymes and gas?. yet in case you'll create gas you favor to keep in mind that you're arising pollution (and the crappy biofuel that creates similar pollution to fabricate) so that you favor a thanks to get rid of all that, and arising waste into gas will create more suitable pollution. the completed aspect is to create a renewable source of ability that doesn't procude carbon dioxide, nitrogen monoxide all those volatile gases that are causing ameliorations interior the surroundings. obviously factories create a large style of pollution and the flexibility disaster received't bypass away in basic terms by skill of including more suitable autos to the international. by skill of ways and Indian guy designed the recent Nissan 350Z, a chinese language guy replaced into in touch interior the creation of the Ford GT 40, so why do you p.c.. on those international places. Overpopulation will sky rocket because you may favor to fabricate the enzymes in an section that has a low-salary artwork force, 0.33 international international places and they have all the gap to construct your polluting factories.

Answer 3

What you're proposing is called "biomass", and a number of energy companies are working on it. "Biodiesel", for example, or even ethanol. I'm not sure why you would think a pharmaceutical company might be involved.

For some kinds of "waste", the laws of thermodynamics would prohibit the useful extraction of energy; for others we do, to some extent, usefully extract energy; and to some extent, the answer is simply that scientific research is harder than is portrayed in science fiction movies.

Answer 4

Good question and Yes they can convert waste to fuel using enzymes. Check it out:

http://www.bio.org/speeches/pubs/biotech/indenv.asp

Answer 5

Because then gas companies couldn't rip us off. It's all about the money baby!