Biofuel from CO2: Too good to be true?

Pyrococcus furiosus, aka rushing fireball
Credit: Michelle Kropf/ Missouri University of Science & Technology

Too good to be true?  So far, yes.

Existing systems to do this involve growing crops to produce biomass & then converting the biomass to fuel.  Perhaps the best known is growing sugar cane & converting the sugar to alcohol, using a conventional brewing process.  Sounds attractive on the surface: take carbon dioxide from the air & turn it into biofuel.

Where this falls down is that 1 unit of food energy requires inputs of 7 units (or more) of fossil fuel energy.  Turning the food into fuel doesn't improve the equation.  Biofuel produced by this method involves a big loss of energy.  It it not a green solution.

Linked below just might be an answer.  Before giving this one the tick, many questions have to be answered, most importantly, how much carbon dioxide is emitted in producing fuel by this method?

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1083167_biofuel-from-co2-too-good-to-be-true / energy fuel petrol photosynthesis extremophile deep ocean vent black smoker volcanic transport future fossil fuel petroleum hydrocarbon carbon dioxide CO2 greenhouse gas global warming climate change University of Georgia Biomass Magazine researchers microorganisms atmosphere air atmospheric processes plants plant life photosynthesis sunlight transform water sugars sugar /

quirky makes invention accessible (video)

Have you ever had an idea for an invention?  Many people have.  Unfortunately, most people have also been overwhelmed by all the work between the moment of inspiration & a commercial product.  As Thomas Edison put it, "Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety nine percent perspiration."

What to do?  Kickstarter is one solution.  It provides exposure for inventors & developers, who have progressed their idea to the prototype stage, & require assistance in accessing funding for some combination of final development, production & marketing.  Kickstarter has done some truly wonderful things, not only in the area of devices, but movies, books & others as well.

Another solution is quirky, which takes raw ideas & adds whatever level of development, production & marketing is required to turn the idea into a commercial product.  Not surprisingly, they require a larger share in the profits for their larger contribution to development & share of the risk.

quirky discussed on Global BC's Tech Talk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR2ZM0EraUA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Founder Ben Kaufman tells his quirky story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqYeWg7igkU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

quirky Web site
http://www.quirky.com/ / invent invention inventor inventing design developer develop development prototype prototyping finance loan debt venture capital investment share idea marketing sell /