Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Materials Science and Technology Division, have demonstrated a gas-to-liquid (GTL) process that recovers CO2 and H2 from seawater and converts it to a liquid hydrocarbon fuel.
The researchers have used fuel derived from the process to power the sustained flight of a radio-controlled P-51 replica using an off-the-shelf, unmodified two-stroke internal-combustion engine.
The researchers have used a proprietary electrolytic cation exchange module (E-CEM) to extract dissolved and bound CO2 from the seawater while also producing H2. A metal catalyst in a reactor system converts the gases to liquid hydrocarbons.
Dr. Heather Willauer, NRL research chemist, said, in a press release, “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.”
However, the fuel will need to meet military specifications before going into a jet, Willauer said at the annual Sea-Air-Space Exposition earlier this week. “We haven’t actually made it to the specifications stage yet,” she said, as reported in Defense One. “But we know we’re in the hydro-carbon region, and it shouldn’t be very difficult to meet that specification.”
NRL estimates that jet fuel derived from the process could cost from $3 to $6 per gallon and that the approach could become commercially viable within the next seven to ten years.