Yes, you can synthesize petroleum products. No, it’s not worthwhile.
To over simplify: Think of oil as a chemical battery. It is the result of heat and pressure inputs that “charge” it. But our input energy source is mostly electricity, not heat and pressure and plankton, so making synthetic petroleum is energy intensive. Which is why we use other batteries like lead-acid and lithium. So the answer is we make renewable tech like solar panels and batteries that don’t rely on oil.
Technology Connections did the math and if solar panels were installed on an equivalent area to that dedicated to corn ethanol production, the electricity generated would exceed the current generating capacity of the USA.
Plastics and other petroleum derived products are a whole other conversation.
One more component is time. Oil is fossilized energy, created over millions of years of sunlight collection and geological formation, at no cost to us other than removing it and processing it into the different forms. Until it becomes too costly to find and extract, it will always be the preferred source as it is so energy dense.
Yes, you can synthesize petroleum products. No, it’s not worthwhile.
To over simplify: Think of oil as a chemical battery. It is the result of heat and pressure inputs that “charge” it. But our input energy source is mostly electricity, not heat and pressure and plankton, so making synthetic petroleum is energy intensive. Which is why we use other batteries like lead-acid and lithium. So the answer is we make renewable tech like solar panels and batteries that don’t rely on oil.
Technology Connections did the math and if solar panels were installed on an equivalent area to that dedicated to corn ethanol production, the electricity generated would exceed the current generating capacity of the USA.
Plastics and other petroleum derived products are a whole other conversation.
One more component is time. Oil is fossilized energy, created over millions of years of sunlight collection and geological formation, at no cost to us other than removing it and processing it into the different forms. Until it becomes too costly to find and extract, it will always be the preferred source as it is so energy dense.