Navy tries turning seawater into fuel

Nov. 20, 2012
Engineers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory are developing a way to turn seawater into fuel.

Resources:

U.S. Naval Research Laboratory,
nrl.navy.mil

Engineers at the U. S. Naval Research Laboratory are developing a way to turn seawater into fuel. The multistep process first extracts CO2 and H2 from seawater, then catalytically converts the two into jet fuel in a gas-to-liquid transformation. The fuel could be used for aircraft, ships, and amphibious vehicles. Giving naval ships the ability to make fuel from seawater would eliminate the need to deploy ships and manpower to deliver fuel to ships at sea. And a lot of Navy resources go into delivering fuel. In 2011, for example, 15 replenishment ships loaded 600 million gallons of fuel onto Navy vessels underway.

So far, naval researchers have developed and demonstrated technologies for recovering CO2 and H2 from seawater using an electrochemical acidification cell. They’ve also converted the CO2 and H2 into hydrocarbons. The Navy estimates that once tweaked and scaled up, the process could produce fuel for $3 to $6/gallon.

© 2012 Penton Media, Inc.

Sponsored Recommendations

Aug. 15, 2025
This latest creation isn’t just highly sensitive and dexterous, it's robust enough to survive impacts previous designs couldn't — all while integrating high-speed sensor networks...
Aug. 15, 2025
From plug-and-play to custom solutions, discover high-precision spur and planetary gearheads, as well as screw drives that perfectly match maxon electric motors with respect to...
Aug. 15, 2025
Take a peek inside the design journey of a dual-rotor drone suitable for confined-space inspection in industries such as sewer management, hydro power plants, oil & gas, and chemical...
Aug. 15, 2025
Explore extended capabilities for applications that demand a compact footprint and low weight, including a rigid speed-torque characteristic that optimizes control for precision...

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Machine Design, create an account today!