Modifying fuel for warships, airplanes from sea water

The US Navy has successfully crafted a new type of fuel from seawater, capable of running aircraft and warships.

US Navy scientists have spent years developing the technology that converts seawater into fuel . They have conducted the first test of this breakthrough fuel, in a radio frequency-controlled plane.

The development of the liquid hydrocarbon fuel was hailed as a "game changer" , as it allowed longer-range warships.

The United States currently has a fleet of 15 military tankers, and only aircraft carriers and some submarines are equipped with nuclear propulsion. All other vessels must routinely pause their mission for several hours to reach parallel tankers, refueling - a complex task, especially in bad weather.

The ultimate goal of the study was to help the US military escape its dependence on oil. That means the US Navy will not have a problem with a shortage of oil supplies or when price fluctuations are occurring.

According to the research team, if sufficient capital is available and partnerships, marine fuels can be produced massively in the next 7 to 10 years. They hope the new fuel will not only help run the ship, but will also be useful for the aircraft. The expected price of this jet fuel is about $ 3- $ 6 a gallon.

The invention team explains their new technological process, essentially as follows: Firstly, experts split both hydrogen and carbon dioxide in seawater. Next, the amount of hydrogen and carbon dioxide will be reacted with an iron catalyst, forming unsaturated hydrocarbons, long chains and byproducts of methane.

Unsaturated hydrocarbons are then modified to produce longer hydrocarbon molecules, which contain 6 to 9 carbon atoms. Finally, they all reacted with a nickel containing catalyst to transform into jet fuel.