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U.S. Navy Tests Fuel Derived from Seawater [Video]
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The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) says it has successfully used a liquid hydrocarbon fuel created from carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen (H2) derived from seawater to power a model airplane.
The fuel was used in an unmodified two-stroke engine to fuel the radio-controlled plane.
"In close collaboration with the Office of Naval Research P38 Naval Reserve program, NRL has developed a game changing technology for extracting, simultaneously, CO2 and H2 from seawater," said Heather Willauer, NRL research chemist.
"This is the first time technology of this nature has been demonstrated with the potential for transition, from the laboratory, to full-scale commercial implementation."
The NRL process uses electrolytic cation exchange module (E-CEM) to remove CO2 from seawater at 92 percent efficiency, while also producing H2.
In a second step, the gasses are converted to liquid hydrocarbons with a metal catalyst in a reactor system.
Willauer said last year that jet fuel made from seawater, which could be commercially viable in 10 to 15 years, would cost between $3 and $6 to produce and would protect the Navy from dependence on foreign fuel markets.
