Re: biocoal

A couple of questions I haven't seen answered yet:

1. On a pound-for-pound basis, what is the energy density of "biocoal" compared to mineral coal?

2. Does the energy output of "biocoal" significantly exceed the energy input required to manufacture it? When they started looking hard at ethanol production, they found that ethanol requires just about as much energy input (counting factors like transportation, plant power consumption, etc.) as the product yielded.

3. What is the yield of environmental toxins of a pound of biocoal as compared to a pound of mineral coal.

4. How many acres (or fraction thereof) of forest or farm lands is required to yield a pound of "biocoal." Is there enough tillable land on the face of the planet to both meet our food needs and to satisfy our energy demands?

Somehow I feel these folks are chasing gossamer butterflies.

IMHO, of course

Mike