5 ms·
It takes about .7 MJ to refine a kg of lox, compared to 43 MJ released by a kg of kerosene. So that's not really a significant fraction.
by Symmetry 5y ago
It takes about .7 MJ to refine a kg of lox, compared to 43 MJ released by a kg of kerosene. So that's not really a significant fraction.
- mlyle 5y agoIt's estimated that about 260g of CO2 is emitted per kg of liquid oxygen delivered to end users. And the oxidizer to fuel ratio is 2.5, so basically this doubles the impact. (And let's not get started on the rest of energy intensive things involved in space launch). Yes, space launch isn't ridiculously energy intensive, but it does put the 777 to shame.
- Symmetry 5y agoOk, so with each kg of kerosene burned emitting 3.6 kg of CO2 about 85% of a launch is due to the kerosene. Whether 15% is significant or not is in the eye of the beholder but I don't think my contention was unreasonable. There are, of course, ground crews and radars and tarmacs and so forth associated with a rocket launch but the same is true with a 777 flight as well. Most 777 flights aren't to the plane's max range, this is more of a Pacific crossing fuel consumption but I still think its broadly comparable. The big difference, I guess, is that a Falcon 9 might only make it through 10 or 20 flights while a 777 might do thousands. That is a big difference in energy usage but I don't feel competent to try to quantify it.