– Why can’t we just ‘produce’ gasoline, like synthetically?
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We can. If we needed to, we would probably synthesize a better chemical than gasoline. The problem is, gasoline from oil is a net energy gain while synthesizing gasoline is a net energy loss.
It doesn’t take much energy to drill a well and then you get hundreds of millions of barrels of crude oil and it doesnt take a lot of energy to process and transport hundreds of millions of gallons of gasoline, kerosene, fuel oil, propane, butane, methane, jet fuel, diesel, etc to market.
If you want to synthesize gasoline you need to start with carbon, hydrogen, and a few other atoms. The most convenient place to get these chemicals is in giant giant poola hundreds of feet under the ground. Oddly enough, they’re often strung together into hydrocarbons that are pretty easily distilled into….gasoline, kerosene, fuel oil, propane, butane, methane, jet fuel, diesel, etc…
If you want to try gathering those elements from the atmosphere or separate water, that requires a LOT of energy and is kind of a general pain in the ass. Then you need to input energy into the synthesizer to make the atoms into gasoline.
By the time you have gasoline you get less energy from burning it than you spent making it. You would have been better off using that energy for doing whatever you needed to do in the first place. Unless you specifically need something that goes boom.
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