3 ms·
If water is an input and not an output, that implies it's consumed, not left over.
by icebraining 8y ago
If water is an input and not an output, that implies it's consumed, not left over.
- ineedasername 8y agoI would think so, but the founder says: we have a carbon nanotube membrane that replaces it [distillation], extracting the alcohols from water This implies there is still water there. Maybe it was poor phrasing, and all of the water is consumed, but that isn't what is stated.
- penagwin 8y agoI think the water that is still there after distillation will just be used for more distillation, it just hasn't been consumed yet, it isn't a waste product.
- eanzenberg 8y agoYes, one of the things that gets glossed over many times in this field (I used to do research in artificial photosynthesis) is that water gets consumed to create the fuel, and is released as vapor from every engine's exhaust. So to generate 10 million barrels requires about 10 millions barrels of pure water, per day, to satiate the US.
- rmcginnis 8y agoYes, water is turned into fuel and oxygen. In most places the water can be obtained from moisture in the air (there is much more water than CO2 in air, and we are already mining the air, so we can get both). In the process the fuel is separated from the water, which remains in the reactor, and is topped off as it is used to make the fuel. No waste water.