See-Through Solar Is Tomorrow’s Threat to Oil

Re:See-Through Solar Is Tomorrow’s Threat to Oil by joshuaheard on Monday March 23, 2015 @09:56AM (#9250871)

Only about half of oil production goes to energy and transportation. The other half goes to production of synthetic materials like plastic. Look around you, oil production is not going away any time soon.

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Re:See-Through Solar Is Tomorrow’s Threat to Oil by TimothyFitz on Monday March 23, 2015 @10:10AM (#9250950)

The sources I could find say 4% is used for plastic and another 4% for the energy to make the plastic. Nowhere near 50%.

http://www.plasticoceans.net/the-facts/energy-consumption/

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Re:See-Through Solar Is Tomorrow’s Threat to Oil by TeMPOraL on Monday March 23, 2015 @09:59AM (#9250885)

Only more reasons to stop using oil for energy and transportation - we need it for plastics.

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Re:See-Through Solar Is Tomorrow’s Threat to Oil by LeonRobrotsky on Monday March 23, 2015 @10:43AM (#9251175)

I thought refining of oil was mostly separating the different hydrocarbons- or can gasoline be used to make plastic?

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Re:See-Through Solar Is Tomorrow’s Threat to Oil by pjc50 on Monday March 23, 2015 @11:15AM (#9251340)

You can "crack" or "reform" any hydrocarbon to any other at the cost of some energy. Plastic tends to be ethane -> polyethylene, and the like. The fraction called "naptha" which is between ethane and gasoline in refining tends to be used as chemical feedstock.

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Re:See-Through Solar Is Tomorrow’s Threat to Oil by cagenut on Monday March 23, 2015 @10:28AM (#9251063)

this is not even remotely true

http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=34&t=6

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