[reason-mr]

As I understand it, it is basically the skysource water extraction device hooked to an all-power labs gassifier, which produces electricity from gassifying organic material. Allpower's product uses the gassifier output in a conventional engine, in turn using that to power a generator. The great part here is - uses locally generated biomass, and produces a waste stream of biochar, which can be used for argiculture, essentially putting the carbon back into the soil. Pretty, it isn't, but carbon neutral it is.

[VBprogrammer]

Yup, that's what I got from it. But also the engine is producing CO2 and Water from the biomass. Which can in turn be fed into the water extractor. I think that is the novel step.

[salawat]

And yet pre-supposes the availability of biomass to gassify.

Even if that were part of the implementation, it'd likely be missing the point.

[solarkraft]

This is by far the best explanation of what they built and why it's significant that I read. Thank you.

[DoctorOetker]

the CO2 exhaust isn't really carbon neutral is it?

[VBprogrammer]

It's using 'current carbon' which is basically the same thing. Plants grow using CO2 in the air, we burn the plants and that CO2 is released again. If we just left the biomass to rot on the ground it'd produce CO2 and / or Methane depending on the type of decomposition it underwent.

Verses plants and animals lived millennia ago, died, got compressed by huge geological forces and finally we come along and extract it and burn it.

[DoctorOetker]

but we still need to manufacture ammonia etc for fertilizer to grow the next year's plants...

[VBprogrammer]

Need to is a bit of a stretch. Manure, urine, nitrogen fixing legumes are all potential fertiliser.

In addition growing deciduous crops rather than annuals and good soil management practices and can help reduce or eliminate additional fertiliser requirement.