I recently learned that oil is mostly composed of algae and phytoplankton capturing carbon out the atmosphere thousands of years ago. Later the organisms fall to the bottom of the ocean and through time turn into crude hydrocarbons. So why do we not attempt to create the same crude oil by using alge with waste water from water processing plants?
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Many people saying “yes”. The real answer is “no”. Back when all this stuff died, there weren’t many bacteria around that could break down the remains. So, they remained, got compressed, and became petroleum.
We now have all kinds of bacteria that are really good at breaking down dead things. What’s left isn’t suitable for making petroleum based products.
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