Can synthetic oil be processed into gasoline?

Question

I once read that synthetic oil can be manufactured from organic waste in garbage. If this is true, wouldn't we eliminate two problems (pollution, oil dependence) by increasing synthetic oil production?

Answer 1

Yes

Answer 2

i am pretty sure they are only able to extract methane from garbage tips and there are already a few generating power.....

This could be used to power gas cars, I am not sure how efficent these extraction plants are yet though.

Answer 3

http://www.fossil.energy.gov/aboutus/his...

Answer 4

No. just because it is an oil, doesn't mean it has all the properties or components that are present in naturally occuring fossil fuels.

fossil fuels are not pure substances. they are refined like any other substances to obtain the desired product.

oil being one of them.

Just like you would not be able to take a bottle of motor oil and refine any more methanol out of it, you will not be able to refine it from syn oil because it isn't there to begin with.

microorganisms will end our dependance on fossil fuels. afterall, the right waste combined with the right organisms can make any fuel that we need, including: ethanol, methane, hydrogen, or any others you can think of.

Answer 5

Gasoline can be synthesized from it, but is it worthwhile: is more energy spent on synthesizing it than is retrieved?

As an aside, during WWII, gasoline was in such short supply that some truck were adapted to run on wood. Again, a trade-off: how many trees must be chopped down to provide fuel?

Answer 6

Yes, but biodiesel production is cheaper and easier.