Creating Fuel from Seawater
Apr-09-14
A newly developed method of creating fuel from seawater could allow Navy ships and planes to refuel at sea, without the need for fuel-bearing tankers.The process involves a newly developed method of extracting carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas from seawater simultaneously, and then using a catalytic converter to turn the gasses into a fuel via a gas-to-liquids process. The research team is now investigating ways to produce the fuel in industrial quantities.
According to Vice Admiral Philip Collom, the alternative fuel is a game-changing technology, and can be used in the same engines already installed in today's ships and planes.
Image: Jacob Estes
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Very clever! That would help a lot regarding the fuel problem of the world.
Posted by John Rockett on April 10, 2014
This seems like an extremely improbable event. Improbable to the extent that I am willing to sign my name to a statement that says it is won't happen--and we all know how stupid I could look in 20 years or so. The carbon dioxide content in sea water is extremely low. Hydrogen gas production would require a huge amount of electricity. The only possible use for this would be to produce liquid fuel from the energy produced by a nuclear reactor. Even with the logistical issues that the navy (and army) has, it won't happen.
Posted by Bennett Willis on April 16, 2014
Bennett is right, this is not a new science once you have CO2 and hydrogen you can synthesise fuels. The issue is the shear amount of electricity required to do it.
As an expert in alternative fuels (having built 200 million litres/annum of installed capacity) I can say this....Technically feasible but you consume 3 times as much energy as you make in the fuel. So the only option is Nuclear and then you will run into size constraints on a ship.
Most people do not realise that a ship bunkers hundreds of tons of fuel oil and every one of those fighter planes taking off is carrying around 3 tons of fuel......bottom line.....not going to happen.
Posted by Bevan Dooley on April 16, 2014
Interesting, but at 48MJ/kg for petrol (gas) even at x1 the energy requirement would make this a slow/unworthy process. I saw an article about someone focusing the Sun to do this and thought with fuel prices the way they are something worthy of further investigation. The best route would be the bacterial gas production approach.
Posted by steven cunningham on May 24, 2014
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Very clever! That would help a lot regarding the fuel problem of the world.
Posted by John Rockett on April 10, 2014
This seems like an extremely improbable event. Improbable to the extent that I am willing to sign my name to a statement that says it is won't happen--and we all know how stupid I could look in 20 years or so. The carbon dioxide content in sea water is extremely low. Hydrogen gas production would require a huge amount of electricity. The only possible use for this would be to produce liquid fuel from the energy produced by a nuclear reactor. Even with the logistical issues that the navy (and army) has, it won't happen.
Posted by Bennett Willis on April 16, 2014
Bennett is right, this is not a new science once you have CO2 and hydrogen you can synthesise fuels. The issue is the shear amount of electricity required to do it.
As an expert in alternative fuels (having built 200 million litres/annum of installed capacity) I can say this....Technically feasible but you consume 3 times as much energy as you make in the fuel. So the only option is Nuclear and then you will run into size constraints on a ship.
Most people do not realise that a ship bunkers hundreds of tons of fuel oil and every one of those fighter planes taking off is carrying around 3 tons of fuel......bottom line.....not going to happen.
Posted by Bevan Dooley on April 16, 2014
Interesting, but at 48MJ/kg for petrol (gas) even at x1 the energy requirement would make this a slow/unworthy process. I saw an article about someone focusing the Sun to do this and thought with fuel prices the way they are something worthy of further investigation. The best route would be the bacterial gas production approach.
Posted by steven cunningham on May 24, 2014
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