(Eli5) If oil isn’t just from dinosaurs, but from algae and phytoplankton, can oil be renewable?

1.27K views

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?

In: 21

66 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

All energy sources are renewable or non-renewable, it’s more a matter of the timeframe you’re referencing

Oil was generated, and so we could theoretically wait for it to generate more. Renewable right? Yes, but we need to use vastly more energy than oil could provide if we just waited for it to regenerate. So not renewable.

Solar power is considered renewable despite the sun having a lifespan that will end. This is because the lifespan is of an enormous timeline and it won’t affect our ability to gather energy from it in the mean time.

You are viewing 1 out of 66 answers, click here to view all answers.