More on energy research

Discussion continues in an online forum. Some of the items raised are very interesting.

The first post deals with the process of thermal depolymerization, by which any organic matter can be turned into oil. Apparently, right now, the quality is up to that of diesel fuel. Links are provided to Wikipedia, A copy of an article in Discover Magazine, an update at Discover's website, USA Today, and Changing World Technologies, a business trying to make this work.

Now my question is, if they're really up to producing oil with the quality of disel fuel, and if it's really that inexpensive, are they selling any of the stuff? If it's something that can be refined into fuel, maybe there's a small refinery that can be interested in buying the stuff? If they can turn garbage into diesel fuel, or even something close to diesel fuel, this should be a license to print money.

This, by the way, is the same problem I have with people who charge hundreds of dollars for their seminar in making thousands of dollars per week using their system. If this system is so good, why are they charging so much for the course? It can't be because they need the money.

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And then there's the hoary conspiracy theory:

I would like to mention the fact that I have a friend who sold a patent to Ford over a decade ago for automobile engines that can get over 80 miles to the gallon (not just for Yugo's), not a hybrid. ... I bet that most of this technology already exists, but corruption in high places will promote the interests of oil producers at the expense of the general public. Has anyone seen the movie "Tucker"? I can't imagine that the US government has enough money to fight Big Oil.

My question on this is, what's the patent number? Patents are public documents. Anyone could look up the patent, see how the technology works, and learn enough to build his own high-milage engine.

As many inventors learn, a patent is frequently nothing more than official permission to spend all your money in court trying to collect from the people who rip you off. Even "Big Oil" has finite resources. If someone started posting PDF copies of the relevant patent on websites around the world, "Big Oil" would have a devil of a time keeping people from building these engines for personal use or for friends.