US Navy 'Game-Changer': Converting Seawater into Fuel

[happyslug]

55. Such a ship will have to have a nuclear generator

Or connected to a ship with a nuclear generator, such as a carrier. My point is the NUCLEAR reactor has excessive energy being produced 90% of the time. If that excess power is transferred to another ship, then that other ship can contain the actual device to convert sea water to oil. If the Carrier has to leave, a quick disconnection can be done and the ship with the converter left behind. That ship can then either slowly catch up to the Carrier, or go elsewhere.

The advantage of having the device on another ship is you do NOT have to find room for it on the Carrier itself. A carrier is a complex ship, with little room for all that is needed by the aircraft and personal on that carrier let alone a new device to make oil out of sea water. The better option is a custom made ship for that device, with just a minimum amount of armaments (mostly for self protection, but most of its protection will be from the Carrier and the Carriers escorts). Hooking up ships to exchange fuel has been common practice for the US Navy since after WWII, thus adding an electrical hookup will NOT be that difficult. I can see two lines, one for the electricity from the Carrier to the ship with the oil converter, and another to carry the oil to the Carrier. In an emergency, the Carrier could cut off both lines and drop them into the ocean and be on its way. The ship with the Converter will have to recover the lines, but as a non-combat ship, could be left behind to do so, with orders to abandon ship if actually attacked.

In fact I can see such a ship have two lines to the Carrier, and another line to a Destroyer waiting to fuel up, both leaving behind the ship with the converter in times of crisis.

Think about the alternative. When the price of oil goes through the roof after 2020 (maybe 2035, the exact time is unknown do to to many lies being told by countries as to how much oil they can produce), the alternative may be the Carrier HAULING its escorts to the battle site, to save fuel (i.e. the destroyers and Cruisers escorting the Carrier would be hauled where they are needed by the Carrier they are to escort, and only then turn on their engines. All this to save oil).

Sorry, this proposal is an attempt to reduce the usage of oil, in a future where we may have other priorities for oil, then for escorts of Carriers. For example, the US food production requires a massive input of oil. If Farmers do NOT get their oil, you would have famine, maybe not in the US, but in the rest of the world as US food production drops do to lack of food. Given that fear, a priority for oil for tractors to plow fields and harvest crops would have a higher priority then escorts for a Nuclear Carrier.

I once made a list of oil priorities for some future time period where you have a 10-20% drop in the supply of oil to the US, who gets the highest priorities?

1. Would be farmers, if no food is produced, you will have riots in the streets and no government would survive to do anything else. Remember Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Food and Safety must be addressed FIRST, before anything else. In fact FOOD, is at the same level of breathing, Shelter, and clothing. Such needs MUST be addressed before we get to "Safety Needs".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs

Please note, Maslow's hierachry of needs have been attacked, but mostly as those levels above the bottom two levels and that the first two levels are really one on top of the other, as opposed to being intermixed and should be judged as one level. On the other hand, for this paper I am only dealing with the first two levels, for the other three levels assume those two have been meet, and NOT meeting those two levels make a society unstable, as oppose to NOT meeting the higher levels.

Thus "Physiological needs" must be meet before we even address "Safety Needs". These are the two bottom levels of Maslow's hierarchy. These "Physiological needs" also include getting to a hospital on time when such care is needed, a roof over your head and Clothing to keep you warm and relatively dry. Notice these are all very basic needs, but if NOT addressed, you can NOT address anything else, including safety needs.

The Arab Spring followed Putin's decision to cut Russian Grain exports do to a drought in Russia, Putin did not want the price of food to go up to much in Russia, so he cut exports. This resulted in higher prices of food elsewhere, mostly in the Middle East and we then saw the Arab Spring. Yes high tech was important in how the Arab Spring developed, but the big push was the huge increase in the price of grain and that the Governments of the Middle East were NOT addressing the "Physiological needs" of its poorest residents.

Thus "Physiological needs" are related to food and having a home to return to. Thus Food production must have first priory when it comes to oil. This also includes food distribution, thus trucking may be cut back, but if the trucking, train or barge that uses oil is involved in food distribution, it must have a high priority

2. The next level of Maslow's hierarachy of needs are the "Safety Needs", which include, Personal security, Financial security, Health and well-being. Safety net against accidents/illness and their adverse impacts. This include fire protection and access to medical care (i.e. Ambulances and Hospitals). People get hurt, and they want medical attention as soon as possible, thus ambulance service must be preserved as while as all other medical care, including hospitals, Doctors, Nurses and even Dentists.

3. Maintenance of Roads and Fire prevention. These tend to reinforce one's Safety needs for security and well being, and thus must be addressed before you deal with anything above them, including sending sailors and troops overseas.

The next list of priorities do not fit into the first two level of Maslow's hierarchy, but are important when it comes to allocation of oil.

4. We finally get to Internal Security, including the police. Police must understand the above three have higher priority then they do, for if worse comes to worse, Police can walk or bike to the scene of a crime. Police are needed for same level of Safety, but not at the same level as Food, Fire Protection and Medical care. If they is an internal problem, such as a riot, Police must be able to respond and call on the National Guard and regular military forces for support if needed. This tends to be land based military operations, which can include naval personal being used as Infantry, Police or even as Engineers (someone has to dig ditches, and clean up messes).

5. Maintaining electrical and other energy sources. In a time of energy shortages, other forms of energy will be called on, often to a degree that will lead to massive over use and failures of the energy distribution system (I am trying to use terms applicable to not only electrical power but other forms of energy including natural gas and oil). These will have to be maintained. Whatever oil is available will have to still be shipped to where it is needed.

6, Education. We can NOT sacrifice the future for today, thus Education must have a high priority

Now, I have never been able to track down energy usage by the above categories, the tendency is to use "Transportation", "Industry", "Business" or "Residential" not Farming, fire protection, medical care and maintenance of highways and other means of moving energy.

On the other hand, if you just walk down your street, you will see these are important, the local store has your food, somewhere near you is a fire station (except in Rural Areas, where the distances may be to far), you will see someone working on the road, sidewalks, the electrical or cable lines (and the Natural Gas lines and electrical line underneath the ground) around your home, you may see a police cruiser or an ambulance, you may pass a doctor's office or a hospital. These are important to your safety needs. We Americans tend to ignore them, for safety needs are rarely a concern for Americas, but in a time of severe oil shortage safety needs will quickly climb to the # 1 concern.

Remember in 1973 and 1979, the US was only importing about 5% of its oil needs (and most of that from Mexico and Venezuela) but the cut off of Arab oil caused all types of problems in 1973 (less in 1979, you did not have as many or as long waits at the then fewer gasoline stations). People sacrificed by moving around less, but you still had a fuel shortage. One of the reasons South Vietnam fell in 1975, was the US was trying to reduce its dependence on foreign oil, and also protect that foreign oil in case of a war with the Soviet Union, that something had to give, and was was given up was any support for the South Vietnamese government. Notice how that was tied up with the 1973 oil embargo, the Oil Embargo showed that the US had to be able to intervene in the Middle East in any situation where war in Europe was a possibility. That requirement meant cutting something else out, and that ended up being South Vietnam.

Sidenote, I grew up in the City of Pittsburgh in the 1970s. In 1979, every suburban mall, except South Hills Village, reported a drop in sales. South Hills Village was able to hold its own. The main reason, through not mentioned in the Articles I read, was South Hills Village was built about 1/2 mile from the last streetcar line in Pittsburgh. That line survived for it was on its own right of way from Downtown Pittsburgh to the Allegheny County line. I remember taking it and walking to South Hills Village with many other people making the same walk. I suspect South Hills Village survived for it was near that line and the people who decided NOT to drive, took the Streetcar instead, and while at the mall made their purchases. Thus South Hills Village did better then the other malls for it had an alternative to oil for its customers to get to it.

I bring the above 1979 situation up, for like South Hills Village in 1979, the US Navy may be looking to some way to reduce its dependence on oil. In South Hills Village it was 1/2 mile away in the form of a Streetcar line. In the case of the US Navy, the alternative is either this method of obtaining fuel for its escorts OR having those escorts hauled to where they are needed by the Carrier they are suppose to Escort. Hauling one's escort is NOT a good option, but it is better then having NO escorts. The ability to produce fuel for those escorts may just mean less hauling of those escorts.

The US Navy may be looking at a future it does not like and looking for a way to being able to perform its duties in such a future. Allocation of oil is one such problem and producing oil from excess nuclear power may be a better option then saving fuel by using the carrier as a tug.