Why use an inefficient F/T process to make oil from coal or trash when good engineering can be used?

Question

We all know oil can be made from almost anything as is clear in the studies of nature so why not use good processes rather than poor processes? There are very few examples of good processes now in use by humans for disposing of trash or the making of new energy supplies.

Answer 1

You are obviously not well informed.
F-T synthesis is not inefficient. If you persist to make such a claim then provide some argument to your case. F-T synthesis has been is use for decades and allows to produce specific products which are (a) a good use of resources; (b) tailored to lower emissions from their use as fuel due to a greater proportion of aliphatic compounds to aromatic; (c) less toxic than many "natural" petroleum based products. The process is underpinned by excellent engineering focusing on high product yield.

What is your problem?

Answer 2

See also my answer to your similar question.

Very little oil is produced from coal or trash because it's prohibitively expensive. As far as I'm aware Shell is the only company that employs FT processes on anything that could be described as an industrial scale.

Oil can be made form anything containing carbon, one of the most abundant elements on the planet, all that's needed is to add some hydrogen. I answered a similar question about 12 hours ago which may have been one of yours and explanied that whilst cracking hydrocarbons is easy it's much more difficult to run the process backwards.

Perhaps with some technological advances better FT processes can be developed but for the time being they're very expensive and polluting. As mentioned in my previous answer, biomass gasification is an alternative but this too is comparatively expensive.

In recent years most of the large oil companies have directed resources to developing new technologies and methods of generating energy. With their finances and resources we may see some important breakthroughs in the future and clean energy may be more readily available at a realistic price.

Answer 3

If there is money to be had, you are assured that folks will do it. And you can be guaranteed that once the price of oil becomes so high that it is economically feasible, that more and more researchers and engineers will come up with better ways of doing it. It's kind of a creative momentum that's needed to get things going. When calculators first came out, they were huge and cost hundreds of dollars (70s money), now they are smaller, have MUCH more functions, and are almost given away.

It'll happen...

Answer 4

No matter how many times you ask this question, the answer is the same.

Answer 5

F/T is the only viable process to date. Please stop asking these pointless questions.