More reason to be proud of British industry

On the news tonight there were two more reasons to be proud I think.

In at 2, apparently some washing machines are going to be made here rather than abroad. Not exactly glamorous, but the implications are massive. Someone has worked out that it now makes good business sense to make stuff here rather than abroad.

But the top 1, Petrol made from air.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...t-in-fight-against-energy-crisis-8217382.html

Top that if you can

Its in its early stages, with the prototype test rig having produced a whopping 5 litres (yes, just 5 litres) of petrol since August, but the principle has been proven.

This small firm in the north east, has demonstrated that by taking CO2 from the air, and combining it with H2 (Hydrogen) also from air, you get CH4 which apparently is methane, which we all know is a flammable fuel gas. A bit more magic that I don't understand (and might not have been reported) turns it into petrol.

Its early days yet, but our region is well equipped and experienced in the petrochemical manufacturing industry, so now this chap has proven the concept, I can't see him having any bother getting the support needed to ramp up production to a commercial scale.

Imagine that, polluted air as your input, clean fuel as the output, all without messing about with food crops or ancient forests

The chap who owns this pioneering firm has just been on the telly, proudly pointing out that their input ingredients are all in car exhaust fumes, so once the technology is perfected, they'll be able to truly recycle your exhaust fumes. Imagine that, more power AND more fuel efficiency, with a cleaner burn as a bonus.

Early days yet, but this is going to be one of those rare things that changes the world.

 

He'll make a bundle once he can connect the exhaust to the fuel tank and produce everlasting fuel.
If it takes 2 months worth of exhaust fumes to generate a pint of Petrol it will be less exciting!

 

Of course he can't make the legendary perpetual motion engine. For that you'd have to get something from nothing, because most of the energy is wasted as heat, and most of the rest is converted to mechanical energy.

I think the point is, he can take the filth that is the waste from existing industry, and convert that into fuel, so we get cleaner air and a sustainable fuel source. On the smaller scale, he can take car exhaust, send it round again, so that you get reduced emissions without driving a pedal powered hybrid

 

until it gets TAXED

 

thats what I always say...the transport and the timewasting and resource wasting associated with producing something at the other end of the world or even not as far as that and shipping it home is a huge environmental impact.

We don't have to have every single thing that is produced in the world...
And then it is not fun t travel because every country has the same shops and the same food.

 

Yep, it'll get taxed, and it will one day be produced the same everywhere, but the point is that fuel will be made from polluted air.

So instead of digging it from the ground and adding to pollution, it will ultimately reduce pollution.

This is about having your cake and eating it. Before this, the choice was simple, continue using fossil fuels at the present rate, and run out possibly in our lifetimes, or certainly the lifetimes of our kids. Or drastically reduce our fuel usage and rewind the clock 100 years to a time when people couldn't move about very freely.

A third choice has been thrown into the mix, scale up production of this small firm's technology, and produce as much fuel as we need by mopping up existing pollution and turning it into fuel.

I say bring it on. I don't care if when it first hits the forecourts its 50% more pricey than conventional, because the price will come down while oil prices rise so the time will come when there is no price difference.

We also happen to have one of the world's biggest petrochemical companies stationed on Teesside. They have all the engineers and scientists, not to mention money and kit. I would bet as much as 50 pence that within a couple of years, they will have a chat with this small company. If that happens, then the new technology will go into mass production much sooner than expected.