I’m not as confident. Refining columns work reliably for decades requiring just a couple trays being replaced every now and then. RO membranes are generally fickle, need a lot of babying and require complete replacement every couple years.
There’s also energy integration opportunities in a refinery to use the “waste” heat to preheat feeds and of course the feeds precool the hot top stream. Being a highly commoditized market pushes companies to drive three bottom line down.
I think we’ll only see meaningful impact by phasing out of fossil fuels, not making their manufacture incrementally more efficient.
There’s research into non-oil based polymers in Akron funded by the Biden administration (don’t tell Trump) and Goodyear IIRC. So … if that goes somewhere, maybe not.
Do we really need petrochemicals, though? Or do we like the cheap products made from them? Because humanity went by just fine without them until a century ago.
Alright, I don’t think we’re understanding each other.
Yes, the primary source of hydrogen nowadays is oil, but it doesn’t have to be. We can electrolyze water for that. We can also use modern alternatives to monoculture that do not deplete the soil.
Sulfur can be mined without resorting to the oil chain.
I don’t know why you mentioned ethylene. It is used as a ripening agent, but we can simply wait for fruit to ripen on their own, with the added benefit that they would develop their flavor instead having the bland taste we currently get at the supermarket.
Medication, explosives, detergents, dyes come from the chemical industry, and yes, there’s an important difference.
Solvents and paints are something harder to replace, but there are some plant based alternatives being used in very niche applications.
All of the alternatives are not being used today because it’s more expensive. And they’re more expensive because they don’t have a century of research dedicated to make them cheaper like oil has.
We don’t NEED oil. It’s just more convenient, it allows us not to change the status quo, to not think about different ways we should live. With oil, we can put our head in the sand and pretend we’re not careening to our own demise.
Not because of petrochemicals. Fertilizers, agriculture mechanization, and medicine are the key factors. Plus we could do without all the microplastics and PFAS on my blood.
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I’m not as confident. Refining columns work reliably for decades requiring just a couple trays being replaced every now and then. RO membranes are generally fickle, need a lot of babying and require complete replacement every couple years.
There’s also energy integration opportunities in a refinery to use the “waste” heat to preheat feeds and of course the feeds precool the hot top stream. Being a highly commoditized market pushes companies to drive three bottom line down.
I think we’ll only see meaningful impact by phasing out of fossil fuels, not making their manufacture incrementally more efficient.
deleted by creator
There’s research into non-oil based polymers in Akron funded by the Biden administration (don’t tell Trump) and Goodyear IIRC. So … if that goes somewhere, maybe not.
deleted by creator
Do we really need petrochemicals, though? Or do we like the cheap products made from them? Because humanity went by just fine without them until a century ago.
deleted by creator
Alright, I don’t think we’re understanding each other.
Yes, the primary source of hydrogen nowadays is oil, but it doesn’t have to be. We can electrolyze water for that. We can also use modern alternatives to monoculture that do not deplete the soil.
Sulfur can be mined without resorting to the oil chain.
I don’t know why you mentioned ethylene. It is used as a ripening agent, but we can simply wait for fruit to ripen on their own, with the added benefit that they would develop their flavor instead having the bland taste we currently get at the supermarket.
Medication, explosives, detergents, dyes come from the chemical industry, and yes, there’s an important difference.
Solvents and paints are something harder to replace, but there are some plant based alternatives being used in very niche applications.
All of the alternatives are not being used today because it’s more expensive. And they’re more expensive because they don’t have a century of research dedicated to make them cheaper like oil has.
We don’t NEED oil. It’s just more convenient, it allows us not to change the status quo, to not think about different ways we should live. With oil, we can put our head in the sand and pretend we’re not careening to our own demise.
deleted by creator
Not that fine, though. Quality of life came a long way.
Not because of petrochemicals. Fertilizers, agriculture mechanization, and medicine are the key factors. Plus we could do without all the microplastics and PFAS on my blood.