TechTheDay

Water is life, something being sought in other planets as a hint of the possibility the existence of life. The Earth has an abundance of it — especially seawater. However, it is not viewed as something comparable in value to petroleum and natural gas deposits. But what if we’ve finally developed a way to make use of water as fuel? What if this abundant resource can now be used as a substitute for oil for a number of purposes?

Well, the good news is that US Navy now claims to have developed the technology to turn seawater into fuel. For the first time, after decades of research and development endeavors, scientists of the United States Navy say that they have already figured out the way to use seawater as fuel. This is obviously a game changing development in fuel technology and is something that will address not only fuel needs but also the unhealthy reliance on fossil fuels.

Technology Overview

In a recent demonstration, researchers at the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Materials Science and Technology Division have shown how it is possible to harvest carbon dioxide and hydrogen from seawater to be converted into a liquid hydrocarbon fuel. They made a scale model WWII craft fly using this fuel technology, specifically a P-51 replica of the Red Tail Squadron (similar to the one pictured below) run by an unmodified two-stroke internal combustion engine.

NRL developed a novel gas-to-liquid (GTL) process that uses a proprietary NRL electrolytic cation exchange module (E-CEM) that separates dissolved and bound carbon dioxide from seawater. Estimated efficiency of the CO2 removal process is at 92%. Carbon dioxide is removed from seawater by re-equilibrating carbonate and bicarbonate to carbon dioxide, producing hydrogen in the process. The resultant gases are then converted into liquid hydrocarbons by a metal catalyst within a reactor system.

NRL scientists claim that this is the first time that a technology of this kind has been developed and actually tested for viability. It shows real promise in becoming available for full-scale commercial use.

Why Use Seawater?

Aside from the fact that the US Navy is based in the oceans or floating on vast oceanic waters, seawater is being used for this technology because of its carbon abundance. At 100 milligrams per liter, carbon dioxide concentration in ocean water is around 140 times greater than what can be found in the air. It is also greater than what can be found in freshwater. The carbon content of ocean waters appear in the following forms: around 2%-3% carbonic acid, 1% carbonate, and 96%-97% bound in carbonate.

 

Application

As an immediate outlook, the expected application of this technology is to serve as fuel for navy ships. This could mean tremendous advantages for the US Navy as it can eliminate the need for standard refueling, including the use of multiple oil tankers to transport fuel. Once this becomes fully implementable, ships may start becoming self-sustaining as they would only have to suck in seawater whenever the need arises.

Additionally, this breakthrough fuel will also be used to power aircraft. Most of the expected applications will be focused on military and transportation uses.

Cost

Despite the seemingly advanced processes involved in this fuel technology, it is expected that seawater fuel will only cost around $3 to $6 per gallon. This cost does not include shipping and storage costs yet. Overall, this is comparable to the current prevailing prices of standard fuel.

 

Outlook

Unfortunately, NRL’s scientists say that it may take some seven to ten years before this technology becomes fully usable. However, it is expected that once this technology becomes available for commercial use, it shall already be considerably cheaper that the prevailing prices of hydrocarbon fuels that will have already inflated over the years.

This development is indeed good news for everyone, not just for the US Navy. Seawater is without a doubt an abundant resource. Using it as fuel will reduce dependence on petroleum and address the problem of rising oil prices worldwide. Whether or not it can have environmental benefits is still something that needs to be carefully studied. What is certain, though, is that it can effectively address the problem of fuel shortage.

The idea of using water as fuel has been in existence for many years. This time, however, the world is finally seeing some breakthrough. Hopefully, the commercialization of this technology comes sooner than the decade-long projection.

2014, it seems, is a good year for science and technology as we’ve inched closer to proving the Relativity Theory while gaining significant advancements in consumer technologies.