Matt's calculation is valuable but unfortunately inaccurate. Philosophically, it includes the following errors:
1. The conversion from us tons to metric tons is performed twice. Note that the first number in the calculation is 1.27e9 which is the total annual agricultural waste in metric tons per year. The third term in the calculation repeats the conversion.
2. The "8.9% of mass can get extracted as oil" seems low and does not agree with the claims from CWT. The claim is that 69.8 tpd of oil can be produced from 210 tpd of turkey offal[1], or a 33.2% mass conversion.
3. Whatever the correct mass conversion, it would include process efficiency, so there would be no need to factor in the 85% again.
So, recalculating we find:
1.27E9 tons/ year ag waste x .332 x 45GJ/ton = 19E9 GJ/year or 19EJ/y,
or more than 50% of the 35 EJ/y needed as oil.
Let me point out that the 33.2% conversion is bound to depend on a number of factors, including:
1. The source of waste. Fats and oils pack more energy per unit mass (GJ/ton) than carbohydrate and protein.
2. The water content of the original waste. Turkey offal and all agricultural waste will include a fair amount of water, which would tend to reduce the conversion. Dry wastes such as plastic, tires would achieve a far higher conversion.
3. The source (CWT) does not mention how much water is added to the turkey offal. The 210 tpd reportedly includes 108 tpd of water. It is not stated how much of that is part of the offal and how much is added. Conversion would be even better if it turns out that a significant amount of water is added.
A better way to calculate the potential energy production would be to use the claimed 85% efficiency. Does anybody know how much energy agricutural waste typically packs (GJ/ton)?
Also bear in mind that agricultural waste is only one feedstock for TDP. Other candidates include garbage, sewage sludge or any organic waste product such as mad cows. So it is possible to do much better than 50% of the total US oil requirement.
I say let's see what the MO plant can do and take it from there.
[1]
http://changingworldtech.com/pdf/GenCon ... 3_3_04.pdf