Matheiu flamini, arsenal midfielder revolutionises energy industry

I rarely start threads on ats but became very frustrated at the lack of attention ats has given to this breakthrough, hence me starting this poorly composed thread. I searched but could not find a thread.

Mathieu flamini, a midfielder for arsenal and previously AC Milan, has apparantly revolutionised the energy industry with a break through in the mass production of levulinic acid, a substitute for oil.

He was a approached during his time at AC Milan about this potential break through, and during the past 7 years him and his partner have ploughed several million into this revolutionary new form of energy.

www.independent.co.uk... a6735316.html

Levulinic acid is not new, but until now has not been mass produced cost effectively. It is one of the 12 molecules highlighted by the US department of energy that could replace petrol in all its forms.
It is a biofuel that will change the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, plastics and food preservative industries.

It is great to see a professional footballer (especially arsenal player) that has dedicated his money and resources into helping the planet and mankind. He took on a high risk investment for over 7 years with no returns, didn't boast about his vocation and only told his family last year, as he wanted it complete and up and running.

This is a fine example of how the rich can change the world for the better, ignoring selfish urges to help tackle climate control .

Assuming the big oil companies don't destroy his work and life, as a 50% owner of the company he is set to be the first billionaire footballer that I know of.

Again I am dissapointed that this has not been made a thread already, as other members could have done a far greater job then me and with all the conspiracies about big oil companies I am shocked that people haven't jumped on this. In a way it shows me that many members don't care as much as they state.

Please read the article and I ask that members who care about climate change add more information so that other members can benefit.

I have done this thread on a crap phone and really didn't want to be felt the need.
Please don't criticise the poor post as I am at work and stick to helping each other understand this new energy source that will hopefully change the world.

a reply to: rossacus

(especially arsenal player)

2 Stars for this!! He should have never left...

Go the Gunners!

That's all I have to contribute...

a reply to: BestinShow

It's all I wanted to contribute but no one started the thread...lmao.

Rumour has it that team mated have asked his to pay the wage demands of Lionel Messi of £600k a week to come London.

Your link didn't work..
Here it is..
Independent

a reply to: UKWO1Phot
Much appreciated mate. It's why I don't do threads I struggle to work it on my phone.

I read something about this a few days ago, but it said he was going to make a statement in the next few days. Is this the statement confirming it?

Let's see how this turns out.

One of two things will happen.
1. The man will have a heart attack and we'll never hear anything else about it.
2. The oil men will buy it, he'll have a heart attack and we'll never hear anything else about it.

The oil men are....very persuasive!

a reply to: VoidHawk
It's not about money for him. He is passionate about animals and the environment....plus he is a millionaire already. Some people want to leave a mark on the world for the better.
Plus you can't persuade a billionaire to be a billionaire.

But I know what u mean...hopefully he doesn't dissappear

a reply to: Cobaltic1978
Announcement and interview was on Sunday. He didn't even tell his team mates about it till the interview.

He will not make money with fuels and fuel additives; he can't make enough to effect the market. He will do well with chemicals if his material is economic enough. Below is from the GF website and points out a problem with economics. He makes a molecule of formic acid with every molecule of levulinic acid. At some point, he will saturate the formic acid market and have unsalable formic acid which he will have to dispose of at some cost.

The oil companies know he can't hurt them and will ignore his company.


Formic acid (FA)
Formic acid is a well-known industrial chemical with an annual production capacity of around 800KT. Its main use is as a preservative in livestock feed, including silage. The leather industry also consumes considerable amounts of formic acid for tanning and finishing purposes. It is additionally used in cleaning products where acidity is necessary in various applications. Formic acid is a co-product of levulinic acid production. For every molecule of levulinic acid produced in our process, one molecule of formic acid is created as well.

a reply to: pteridine

It would be a pain to do, owing to the corrosive nature of formic acid, but you COULD burn it. It's got a decent amount of fuel value.

a reply to: Bedlam

Formic acid is a poor fuel.

Formic Acid = –255 kJ/mol
Octadecane = -12,014 kJ/mol = -667 kJ/carbon atom

Per carbon, a linear hydrocarbon has about 2.6 times the energy of formic acid. This is expected as formic acid is nearly completely oxidized and can only provide about the enthalpy of formation of water [285 kJ/mol] less some thermodynamic accounting. Maintaining combustion with a formic acid feed would require a special burner head or co-combustion with another fuel, the easiest solution. Likely, the plant would require process heat so the fuel would be used onsite as economically as possible which says no additional processing.
Alternatively, one could esterify the formic acid to Methyl formate = -972 kJ/mol = -486kJ/Carbon atom which would make storage and combustion easier and eliminate some of the materials and toxicity problems.

a reply to: pteridine

Great info....much appreciated. I would say for it to be called cost effective they must have taken the by product into account.

originally posted by: rossacus
a reply to: pteridine

Great info....much appreciated. I would say for it to be called cost effective they must have taken the by product into account.

Fuels are a cheap mix of expensive chemicals, which tells you what you should be selling. Producing fuels from biomass is fraught with economic pitfalls. Collection is the first of many. How does one concentrate the biomass so it can be processed? How far can it be transported? As an example, Pittsburgh seam coal is about 8 feet thick. This is equivalent to about a 160' thick layer of biomass. There isn't enough renewable biomass to make a dent in overall fuels demand.
What is the processing? Some processes use a catalytic hydrolysis, often acid based, that will leave significant amounts of plant residue. What does one do with the residue? How does one recover the acid catalyst? Technically feasible but economically disastrous solutions abound. Gasification is a safe choice for the residue but with a caveat. Residue can be gasified and converted to synthesis gas and thence to other products such as methanol, gasoline, or diesel/jet A. Because of the vagaries of biomass gasification, there are problems with that process also. One of them has to do with the high concentrations of alkaline components in the biomass that play havoc with the refractories of the gasifier. The solution is to co-gasify with coal at about 5-10% w/w biomass. Park the process near a coal mine if fuel will be a product. Biomass will go along for the ride and be good PR.
Distribution and use are another problem. One cannot afford to make a separate logistics train for a fuel. It has to fit with what we have, or be relegated to captive fleets like the methane burning trucks and cars owned by natural gas distribution companies. Methyl THF, one of the products of the OP process, is a really good solvent. It is so good, that fuel lines, pumps, plastics, and gaskets will have to be replaced on any vehicle that would like to use it.

All in all, there is not a revolution. Fuels produced will not make any significant impact in the global market. There may be a market for chemicals or, better yet, nutraceuticals. This is what the proponents of algal based fuels discovered. People pay for pills at a much higher rate than they pay for biodiesel.

I hope that the company survives but wouldn't buy any stock in it yet.

a reply to: pteridine

Thankyou very much for the information. It's a shame other members won't benefit from this information. That response is why I joined ats.

a reply to: rossacus
He can have a successful company using wood waste and corn waste, but there are limited supplies of such waste and not enough to meet the world's energy needs, so no I'm afraid he won't revolutionize the energy industry. Others have mentioned other limitations.

originally posted by: rossacus
a reply to: pteridine

Thankyou very much for the information. It's a shame other members won't benefit from this information.

What do you mean by that? I'm an "other member" and I found it interesting. Others might too but not everyone who reads a post comments on it.