Making gasoline from seawater (to store energy)

[sophiecentaur]

Reverse osmosis is much less energy consuming than electrolysis so you are probably right. What scrubbing process would be used? I don't know a lot about that sort of Chemistry.

 

[SteamKing]

Do they? AFAIK subs recycle, i.e. they purify their grey water and scrub CO2 out of the air.

You run a steam plant, you want to have a water-maker somewhere aboard. Even the old diesel-driven fleet boats from WWII had water-makers aboard, not for making potable water so much but for maintaining the acid in the batteries used to drive the vessel while submerged.

http://www.fleetsubmarine.com/fresh_water.html

The regulations governing the discharge of greywater from USN vessels are currently evolving, with the goal being to minimize the amount of solid waste and untreated liquid waste which is discharged during operation, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the grey water is re-cycled back into the potable water or feed water systems.

Most shipboard water-makers are of the 'flash' type, where seawater is fed into a low-pressure chamber, in which the water flashes into vapor, leaving a concentrated brine behind. The brine is dumped and the flashed vapor is condensed back to liquid water, without the salt.

 

[OmCheeto]

...
Liquid fuels are simply a medium in which chemical energy is stored.

Interesting.

 

[BigWill]

seawater is a natural electrolyte and sunshine a natural source of power

 

[sophiecentaur]

seawater is a natural electrolyte and sunshine a natural source of power

Does the adjective "natural" make it an engineering proposition? Its only advantage is that it's cheap to obtain (if you happen to live near the coast).

 

[BigWill]

Thanks for that. You may want to debate sustainable / renewable / naturally non toxic unless you want to poison your pH by drinking saltwater all day long...but the balance of seawater covering 4/5ths of the planet mean depth of around 3000m, make water accessible to the majority as the solar wind turns it into rain. This may change rapidly as the water companies inflate charges and organise for drought with pollutive atmospheric changes.