Powering Ships On Water
By
James Donahue
Everybody knows that
water is composed of two parts oxygen and one part hydrogen (CO2). Ironically both substances are volatile gasses that can
be burned when separated. But together, as water, they are an effective substance used for extinguishing fires.
Researchers have tinkered with separating hydrogen from water for
years. Now it appears that the U.S. Navy is on the brink of achieving a way of turning seawater into fuel and keeping naval
ships running indefinitely, without resorting to dangerous nuclear power.
Best yet, researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory have successfully flown a model aircraft on this new
fuel. They say that once the method is perfected, they expect the fuel to cost between $3 and $6 a gallon, a price similar
to the current cost of gasoline at the pump.
And
if the Navy can produce hydrogen fuel at that price, so can private companies. This means the era of carbon-based fuel is
nearly over. There is so much sea water in the world there appears to be no limit to the amount of fuel that can be made available
to run our ships, trucks, trains, aircraft, cars and factories and heat our homes.
Best of all, the burning of hydrogen and carbon sucks up more carbon dioxide than it produces. In fact, engines
operating on hydrogen fuel suck carbon dioxide from the air and the water and burn it as well. In fact, it is the CO2 in our
air and in our seas that help make this new process work.
While we are no experts on the physics involved, a naval press release describes the process as: “using
an innovative NRL electrolytic exchange module, both dissolved and bound CO2 are removed from seawater at 92 percent efficiency
by re-equilibrating carbonate and bicarbonate to CO2 and simultaneously producing hydrogen. The gases are then converted to
liquid hydrocarbons by a metal catalyst in a reactor system.”
The process can be used on air but seawater holds about 140 times more carbon dioxide so it is best suited for
manufacturing hydrogen fuels. The ocean acts like a sponge, collecting carbon dioxide from the air.
The mass production of this new green energy promises to be a game
changer for a world now battling over the last remaining sources of crude oil, coal and natural gas. Will we move into this
brave new world or will the power barons succeed in controlling the political climate and suppress this new technology just
as they have other innovative inventions throughout history?
