Peak Oil Primer

Peak Oil Primer

I have written a comprehensive Peak Oil primer for OmniNerd . The article is What You Need to Know about Peak Oil. I attempted to write it from a completely objective viewpoint, by presenting both sides of the argument. I also run down the potential for the contenders vying to replace oil. In reviewing the article after publication, I would say the one thing I probably didn’t go into enough detail on was the negative side of tar sands. I had been working on the article for a month at that point, and sort of rushed through that one without realizing that I hadn’t adequately addressed both sides.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

New Response from Joseph Miglietta

Joseph e-mailed me a new response last night supporting his position on ethanol. As soon as I get it formatted, I will post it. He sent an attached PDF that he authored as one of his references, and I need to find a place to host it so others can access it. It is quite good. Expect to see the article posted later today, or tomorrow.

Spammer Attack

I finally got hit by a spammer yesterday. Someone posted 26 ads in the comments sections at the end of my essays before I caught it. Therefore, I have now enabled “word verification” for comments, just like most other bloggers. I want to make commenting as easy as possible, but I don’t want to have to go in and individually delete a couple dozen ads again.

RR

Author: Robert Rapier

Robert Rapier is a seasoned chemical engineer with three decades of international experience in the energy sector. He holds undergraduate degrees in chemistry and mathematics, and a master’s in chemical engineering. Robert has worked extensively in oil refining, production, synthetic fuels, biomass energy, and alcohol production, earning several patents along the way. As Editor-in-Chief of Shale Magazine and a prolific author for Investing Daily, he shares his expertise through various newsletters and his latest book, American Energy: A History of Power, Progress, and Change. Robert's insights have been featured on 60 Minutes, The History Channel, CNBC, and PBS, among others. His articles have appeared in top publications like the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and The Economist. For nearly a decade, he has covered the energy sector for Forbes.

2 thoughts on “Peak Oil Primer”

  1. Whew. Heavy.

    Well if history looks back (assuming Internet files are available) it will all be vindicated.

    My take:
    1) Bio-fuels for those running a personal transportation device like a Mercedes Benz diesel running on rapeseed oil (canola).

    2) Mass transit on bio-mass (net carbon of 0 percent CO2 contribution.

    3. The ‘grid’ running on ‘clean’ coal and some nuke.

    This is all doable.

    But will it be soon enough before +3 degrees and the slide into a mini-ice age? TBD.

  2. Robert,
    On a technical point: Sasol makes mostly liquid hydrocarbons (gasoline and diesel). The methanol is fairly insignificant.

    I believe the future is renewable synthetic oil, using a process similar to Sasol’s (G/F-T) to convert biomass to liquids. This would sidestep most of the concerns with alternative fuels, mainly rebuilding the fuel supply infrastructure and vehicle modifications.

    I also believe there are two feedstocks of importance: wastes and algae. According to USDA and DOE we can replace a third of our fuel requirements with various waste products. They estimate we can produce up to 1.3 billion tons a year of those.

    The algal pond thing will work best if integrated with wastewater treatment. (see http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=44928). If this works in frigid New Zealand, it works anywhere, excluding perhaps the poles. This way you get your fertilizer for free, and you get clean water as a byproduct. You can potentially recover the nutrients from the byproducts of synthetic oil production. Looks like a win-win-win proposal to me.

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