Re: Car Craft Ramblings on Alky,,,,

[adh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Sandwich Maker)]

" From: John McEwen <moparrr@xxxxxxx>
" 
" What you are overlooking is the tremendous number of products which 
" are made from petroleum in all of its forms.  The petrochemical 
" industry is huge and burning the raw material or one of its refined 
" forms is not part of it.  Ethylene is one of the major products and 
" is used in the chemical and plastics industries in many forms.
" 
" Just to name two products should give you an idea of the scope 
" involved.  They are ethylene glycol or antifreeze and polyethylene 
" the venerable plastic used everywhere for so many things that I 
" wonder if we could count them all.
" 
" Burning petroleum and natural gas is not the most important usage for 
" the raw material.  We have already developed technology to use other 
" products for transportation power.  The major problem is that they 
" don't work as efficiently or simply as what we have today in the 
" gasoline-fueled, internal combustion engine.

ethylene is a -major- chemical feedstock, and it's possible to make it
from ethanol.  the reaction usually goes the other way though, as - at
present - it's often cheaper to make ethanol from petroleum [for
non-food purposes] than ferment and distill it.

i still think biodiesel has the most promise of the various
alternative fuels.
________________________________________________________________________
Andrew Hay                                  the genius nature
internet rambler                            is to see what all have seen

adh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx                       and think what none thought