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I guess the output of the fuel after use is still greenhouse gas, but would this reduce net CO2 emissions?

• JoeAltmaier 12y ago
  It doesn't seem it would. The CO2 is from seawater; burning releases it into the air. Since seawater has many times the density of CO2 as air, it would definitely be a net greenhouse gas process. However comparing making liquid fuel this way, with drilling refining and shipping gasoline, it may be a great improvement!
  • xxgreg 12y ago
    The surface ocean and atmosphere exchange CO2 freely. So as long as the electricity input is carbon neutral, the process is carbon neutral. i.e. it doesn't matter if you take CO2 out of the surface ocean or the atmosphere. Both will reduce the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_cycle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_cycle
• wwkeyboard 12y ago
  A major source of the oceanic CO2 is the atmosphere http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_acidification http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_acidification. It's not perfect but could be much better than burning dinosaurs.
• xxgreg 12y ago
  The carbon in the fuel comes from CO2 which is captured out of sea water. The problem with fossil fuels is that they transfer old carbon which used to be stored underground into the atmosphere. This process only uses carbon that is already part of the active carbon cycle, so it is carbon neutral as long as the electricity source is.
  • jkaunisv1 12y ago
    Yeah, that's what I was thinking. It's not eliminating carbon in the atmosphere, but it's avoiding adding more from fossils.