Wayne.B wrote:
On Thu, 11 May 2006 09:38:55 -0400, Harry Krause
wrote:

Now the plan is to move from the lab to a full-sized pilot reactor on a
farm somewhere Downstate. Zhang predicts the process could get 3.6
gallons of crude oil a day out of each pig.

It sounds like we could get by with only three pigs unless our diesel
consumption goes up from the current average. When I first saw the
report I was concerned that we'd need more like a dozen or so.

So that's my story when the wife and neighbors complain, lucky we only
needed three.

Pigs are among the most intelligent animals, so I believe we can get
double duty from the critters without too much effort.

I plan to rig a treadmill down in the engine room, and put three
porkers on the belt. I'll lure them along with corn dangled on a line,
but of course I'll have to let them have a taste of corn once in a
while or they will soon tire of chasing the cob. My first question is
whether or not this will constitute a sort of "ethanol" propulsion
system, since I will be turning corn into motive power for my boat.

Now of course these same pigs won't be able to run too many hours
non-stop, so I'll install a system to recover pig poop from the bilge
and I'll set up a poop refinery on the swim step.
Ought to be able to make enough fuel while underway to be able to run
the engine whenever the pigs "poop out".