Tongan Sunsets: Barging into Hydrogen Production

Tongan Sunsets: Barging into Hydrogen Production

      To get away from the scrutiny and laws that take the wind out of our sails, we need to set up shop outside the 200 mile limit of most countries. Somewhere near the Horse Latitudes should be fine with light breezes to turn the rotors.  

      The reason they were named Horse Latitudes is because when the Spanish were becalmed for weeks on end the first to die were the horses.  They would force the malnourished animals off the ship. Suddenly, they were shark food.

    One forms a ring of barges to protect the core plant with the retort wells built into the hull of the main production barge.   An end to end arrangement would work but with the bows facing seaward the scheme would be so much better.

     These wells would hold the anode (+) and cathode (-) with the specially designed heads that looks like a giant hole saw dangling in the saltwater and braced to stay centered in the well. The well is then capped with a semi-hemisphere.  A vacuum is established in the chamber so that it enhances the splitting of the water molecule. 

        The hydrogen is taken from the anode side and syphoned off and compressed. The oxygen is syphoned off and compressed at the cathode side.   A simple divider would suffice to separate the two gases.   Compression is achieved with refrigeration.
       A voltage regulator would be inline to control how much voltage is needed to produce the optimum results with the least amount of wear at the heads. Roughly 24 volts to begin with.  Then stepping up the voltage incrementally to achieve optimal production. Remember this is still experimental!

     You would want to run this plant 24/7 with a few days of maintenance to scrape the salt from the electrodes and refine the precious minerals that have collected such as dissolved gold and silver, magnesium and other concentrates that are inherently in ocean water.   Taking the water from the bottom of the ocean near the outflow of a river that normally produces gold such as the Frazier or Yukon would yield more gold if one could set up there in the future. This all hinges on the political climate and acceptance of hydrogen production as a viable energy source by the forces that be.
     After all, with a minimal startup cost, you'd be producing energy at practically no cost. Except for the maintenance of the station and transport of the fuel similar to petroleum production. The well is bottomless.  Over time, one could recombine the hydrogen and oxygen to form pure water for many uses not excluding drinking water.  It could be fortified with the necessary ingredients that support human development.
    For a diversion, chasing down rain squalls and impounding rainwater via a sailing barge could add to the pride and entertainment of the crews.    Crops could be grown at sea. Longlining for mussels, Japanese style. Growing fish under the barges would all be possible once this artificial steel island is operating.

     Why there is no end to the possibilities. An ocean going marina that offers safe haven for boaters. A floating hotel and restaurant would be attractive to many landlubbers as a place to snorkel and dive. A small sub could be employed to give underwater tours and do maintenance on the hulls. 

     Speaking of maintenance why not a robotic hull cleaner mounted on tanklike magnetic treads equipped with powerful pressure washers and bristling with attachments such as a rotary brush. It could continually prowl the bottom of the barges loosening accumulated debris.   This will attract more and more fish. 

      Some of the generated electricity could be used for underwater lights which bring large schools of fish that could be harvested or utilized in other ways.   Even the dolphins and whales could play a role in protecting this underwater Eden. Over time, we will need to store electrical energy in a battery bank.

        The two gases could be stored in railroad tanks minus the wheels floating behind the production barge.  When filled, they could be towed to shore by tugs and lifted onto rail cars.These could be sent on their way to distribution points much as oil is sent to the refinery.  No refinement is necessary.

     Systems that are designed for saltwater could be utilized. The crew could spend off hours fishing on platforms hanging on the sides. They could be used for free diving or just swimming.    

Any other recreational ocean sport that meets their fancy. Once the operation is set up, the work will only be maintenance.
     Wives and children would all have a place and a service to perform besides the usual living such as tending the greenhouse or the mussel ropes.   One must prepare for wind and rain plus extreme exposure to the sun. At first, it could be harsh but one finally adapts to these situations. Sunscreen would be at a premium to bring aboard.        

       Deliveries by helicopter, ship or seaplane are all in the realm of possibilities. Having a wireless router hooked to a satellite phone would be essential for the geek squad. Live video feeds to onshore classrooms would be another fund raising technique to utilize to keep the costs to a minimum. 

        Setting up a ham radio station would be a fun way to stay in touch with yachts around the world. We could make this a destination for the recreational boaters who might have some interest in helping this seagoing energy station. It is based solely on the natural extraction of energy.    Always having an eye on the bottom line is the only way to build business friendships. 

    The other use for barges is garbage incineration, Wait. Hear me out. All that ocean going plastic and fishnets, old refrigerators and stoves and floating debris of all manner needs to be recycled somehow. Why not incinerate the Great Pacific Gyre safely at sea? It is simply a process of drying it enough so that it burns with a little help from nuclear waste. Yeah, everybody is leery of the idea but it could be done. 

      All of the submarines operating in the world have nuclear power plants.  Many shipping and military vessels also use this power.  They just don't make a big deal of telling the public for fear of backlash. All that spent fuel could be put to use incinerating garbage.  

     The design must be foolproof. The exhaust could be released underwater so as not to contaminate the atmosphere or tubed down to underwater volcanos where it could finally be incinerated.

We have Admiral Rickover to thank for the nuclear challenge. Thanks to his foresight, we have unlimited energy on the high seas.

Fix the Fukushima Disaster with Vitrification

      The French can fix radiation discharges with Vitrification.  The Fukushima disaster is going to get worse if nothing is done and done with determination soon. The French already have the technology to encase radiation in glass.    

          Why not build a huge glass smelter and simply pour tons of molten glass upon these radioactive cores?  You keep doing that until the entire nuclear plant is encased in molten glass. You mix lead in the glass like in the days of old and surely, there will be an abrupt end to the radiation discharges which can affect the whole planet. You get the sand from the ocean floor. Rinse the salt and dry it out.   Toss it into the crucible and melt it.  The result is glass.

       All the common techniques have been tried with no success. Give the French method of glassification a chance to prove itself. This technology is readily available online.

    

Stopping hurricanes in their tracks

Chilling Hurricanes

     The fact is we can do something about powerful hurricanes may come as a surprise.  It is simply a plumbing problem or more accurately a pump problem. All it takes is chilling the surface of the ocean with colder water from down below from the deeper reaches of the ocean.

       A bunch of PVC tubes 24" in diameter hanging down in the water supported by a float ring maybe 36" in diameter with a simple insert of a smaller diameter tube, say 20" also with a floating ring outside of it so the two tubes slide easily together. Now on the inside tube, you cap the bottom but cut the center out so a simple rubber foot valve can open to let cold water in.

      The wave action should be enough to create suction which will start the flow of cold water to the surface consistently in a steady stream similar to a free flowing artesian well.  

    Put a few thousand of these pumps to work in the path of a hurricane  days before while it is forming and you might be able to change the key component of hurricane formation which is heat.         Once the surface temperature reaches a critical point these self tending pumps could be deployed to prevent the formation of storms that subsist on hot water. 

         One could also dedicate refrigerator ships to make ice that is spread on the ocean laying huge trails of the cold stuff in the storm's path could break up the structure of the storm provided it shoots for the eye of the storm which will cause the hurricane to rain out. The other way is a ship with a huge pump on deck dangling a very long tube to the depths of the Ocean. Yes, there is more research to be done. We have the technology. We just need to apply it properly.  The fire dept. has pumper trucks that could be rolled on deck to serve at sea for a quick fix.

     The current technique is seeding the upper storm with water forming chemicals causing the storm to rain itself out. The problem stems from thetemperature of the surface. Cool it 

    

Zeppelins are the way to go

    Consider this scenario... 

Zeppelins floating above the clouds with its exterior covered with solar voltaic cells collecting electricity. This energy could be translated into microwaves to be picked up by giant antennas that convert it back into electricity to feed the Grid.  

      These flying electrical stations could also be tethered to the receiving stations by wire. The cable connections could have break away features should the weather change suddenly.  The beauty of these aerial machines are under appreciated because of the Hindenburg disaster.  That could all change with a little PR work with advertizing.

     The sunshade idea was mine originally. It is back in the news. The cost is prohibitive though.  Just pack the thing into the space shuttle then let another rocket take it to its forever home. The deployment would be spectacular.  After a final orientation, it could be adjusted so it blocks sunlight falling on certain cities. It would pay for itself through taxes on cities it shades.

    Another concept is a space based folding mirror that can light up a city creating a 24 hour day thus icreasing productivity and safety for the general public.  This too, could be funded through taxes on cities where sunlight is needed at night.