Navy Gets Closer to Using Seawater as Fuel
- 10 years ago
The US Navy announced they have made a breakthrough in converting seawater into fuel.
The US Navy announced they have made a breakthrough in converting seawater into fuel.
Their intentions to do so were reported more than a year ago, and in that time they believe they’ve found a solution.
By using a proprietary process that extracts carbon dioxide and hydrogen from seawater and then recombines them into a liquid, the scientists on the project have created a fuel-making method that could someday be performed on ships.
Freeing naval vessels from their dependency on oil is important for a couple of reason.
One is availability. Said one officer, "We need to challenge the results of the assumptions that are the result of the last six decades of constant access to cheap, unlimited amounts of fuel.”
Interruptions in supply can lead to missions being compromised.
Some problems with relying on the gas fuel is that it is subject to price fluctuations and takes up a lot of room. So much so that filled tankers need to accompany ships on their journeys.
This results in lost time and can be problematic when trying to refuel in harsh weather.
It’s estimated that ships will be able to make their own fuel from seawater in about a decade.
The US Navy announced they have made a breakthrough in converting seawater into fuel.
Their intentions to do so were reported more than a year ago, and in that time they believe they’ve found a solution.
By using a proprietary process that extracts carbon dioxide and hydrogen from seawater and then recombines them into a liquid, the scientists on the project have created a fuel-making method that could someday be performed on ships.
Freeing naval vessels from their dependency on oil is important for a couple of reason.
One is availability. Said one officer, "We need to challenge the results of the assumptions that are the result of the last six decades of constant access to cheap, unlimited amounts of fuel.”
Interruptions in supply can lead to missions being compromised.
Some problems with relying on the gas fuel is that it is subject to price fluctuations and takes up a lot of room. So much so that filled tankers need to accompany ships on their journeys.
This results in lost time and can be problematic when trying to refuel in harsh weather.
It’s estimated that ships will be able to make their own fuel from seawater in about a decade.