Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!phri!dasys1!lee
From: lee@dasys1.UUCP (Lee W. Fischman)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re-Salinization In the Hydrogen Fuel Circle
Keywords: salt hydrogen
Message-ID: <4606@dasys1.UUCP>
Date: 25 May 88 06:13:37 GMT
Organization: The Big Electric Cat, NYC, NY
Lines: 27


  In the Tuesday New York Times Science section there was an
article on using hydrogen as a fuel in jetliners.  It appears
that this fuel will eventually find even more general use.
The hydrogen will presumably be "cracked" from water.  The
most likely water supply is the sea.
  When the hydrogen is ignited as fuel it will recombine with
oxygen, generating a vapor that will eventually precipitate.
So far so good.
  The problem is this:  in normal precipitation, the water
vapor has been gotten from the sea, leaving the salt that
it previously contained as sea water in the sea.  This is such
a broad process that salinity (right?) does not rise appreciably
even where substantial evaporation is occurring.
  In the artificial process, however, what will happen to the sea
salt that is a byproduct of the hydrogen extraction?  With truly
massive use of hydrogen, I would guess it has to go back into the sea
to eliminate any possibility of upsetting the world's oceans'
salinity.  But do you just dump it back in?  How much can you
dump at one time back in to the sea in one particular place
without achieving a toxic salinity level?

-- 
Lee Fischman                                 | ...!cmcl2!phri!dasys1!lee
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