this post was submitted on 14 Jul 2024
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A California-based startup called Savor has figured out a unique way to make a butter alternative that doesn’t involve livestock, plants, or even displacing land. Their butter is produced from synthetic fat made using carbon dioxide and hydrogen, and the best part is —- it tastes just like regular butter.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I wonder if they can use CO2 that comes from industrial carbon capture, or if it needs to be something purer that takes a lot of energy to produce.

Also, I'm not sure if we can get industrial volumes of hydrogen from sources other than fossil fuels now. Its been a while, but last I checked it was coming from things like byproducts from reformers.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

It would need to be food grade CO2. So breweries would be a good source.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago (4 children)

Yo this would be great for some actual proper carbon sequestration. Make some butter from the air and pump it back down into the wells.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago (2 children)

How does the cost per co2 captured compare to planting more trees? Or is this just another VC scam?

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

finally someone did the thing everybody wanted

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

So this new carbon sequestering program is going to be kind of a good news / bad news thing. ..

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago (2 children)

There are ≈950 gigatons of excess CO2 in the atmosphere 27% of that by weight is carbon, the us population is 333milion, so if every American eats 770lbs of carbon sequestered butter we will solve climate change.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

Of course the danger is that this is cancelled out by increased carbon emissions from a making a commensurate amount of toast.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Wait. So a "butter star" is possible?

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I love it when foodstuffs get put in scarequotes.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago

Lube based butter product sounds delicious.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Isn’t that what it’s always been made of?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

Germany managed to make butter out of coal during WWII.

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