United States Patent: 8663365
As we've documented for you now so many times that it's beginning to feel silly to try to tell you more about it - - especially given the intransigent disinterest of our Coal Country press in the issue, an issue that could both free our vital Coal and Coal-use industries from the counter-productive and predatory threat of Cap and Trade Carbon taxes, and other CO2-scare follies - - the United States Navy has developed an entire suite of technologies that will, in some cases using environmental energy to drive the processes, first, extract Carbon Dioxide from the environment, and, then, convert that Carbon Dioxide, in combination with Hydrogen concurrently extracted from the water molecule, H2O, into liquid hydrocarbon fuels.
Among the Navy's technologies for converting Carbon Dioxide into hydrocarbon fuels are those, for just two examples, seen in our reports of:
US Navy 2008 CO2 to Synfuel | Research & Development | News; concerning: "US Patent 7,420,004 - Producing Synthetic Liquid Hydrocarbon Fuels; 2008; Assignee: The USA, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy; Abstract: A process for producing synthetic hydrocarbons that reacts carbon dioxide, obtained from seawater or air, and hydrogen obtained from water, with a catalyst in a chemical process such as reverse water gas shift combined with Fischer Tropsch synthesis.The hydrogen is produced by ... ocean thermal energy conversion, or any other source that is fossil fuel-free, such as wind or wave energy. The process can be either land based or sea based"; and:
US Navy Awarded September, 2011, CO2 Recycling Patent | Research & Development | News; concerning: "United States Patent 8,017,658 - Synthesis of Hydrocarbons via Catalytic Reduction of CO2; 2011; Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy; Abstract: A method of: introducing hydrogen and a feed gas containing at least 50 % carbon dioxide into a reactor containing a Fischer-Tropsch catalyst; and heating the hydrogen and carbon dioxide to a temperature of at least about 190 C. to produce hydrocarbons in the reactor. An apparatus having: a reaction vessel for containing a Fischer-Tropsch catalyst, capable of heating gases to at least about 190 C.; a hydrogen delivery system feeding into the reaction vessel; a carbon dioxide delivery system for delivering a feed gas containing at least 50 % carbon dioxide feeding into the reaction vessel; and a trap for collecting hydrocarbons generated in the reaction vessel".
There are others about which we have already reported, and more, we assure you, are on the way.
The US Navy has, as well, been at work developing the needed complementary technologies for actually extracting Carbon Dioxide from the environment around us, especially from ocean or sea water in which Carbon Dioxide is one way or another dissolved, either as CO2 or as contained in soluble carbonate compounds.
One example of the Navy's Carbon Dioxide harvesting technology is disclosed in our report of:
US Navy Recovers Environmental CO2 for Hydrocarbon Synthesis | Research & Development | News; concerning: "United States Patent 8,313,557 - Recovery of CO2 from Seawater/Aqueous Bicarbonate Systems; 2012; Inventors: Heather Willauer, et. al., VA and MD; Assignee: The United States of America as Represented by the Secretary of the Navy; Abstract: The present invention is generally directed to a system for recovering CO2 from seawater or aqueous bicarbonate solutions using a gas permeable membrane with multiple layers. ... Also disclosed is the related method of recovering CO2 from seawater or aqueous bicarbonate solutions. The present invention relates generally to CO2 extraction and, more specifically, to recovery of CO2 from seawater and/or aqueous bicarbonate systems using a multi-layer gas permeable membrane. ... There is interest in producing synthetic fuel from renewable sources on sea-based vessels to avoid the risks in procuring fuel from foreign sources and/or in maintaining long supply lines. The procurement and transportation risk can be reduced by producing synthetic fuel from hydrogen and carbon generated near the point of fuel use.The ocean is a possible resource for carbon dioxide. In the atmosphere, the concentration of CO2 approximately is 370 ppm (and) CO2 in seawater is about 140 times greater than air. (If) carbon dioxide could be economically and efficiently extracted ... (then it) could be proposed to utilize this carbon as a chemical feedstock in processes such as catalytic polymerization with hydrogen".
Another technology for harvesting Carbon Dioxide developed by the accomplished Heather Willauer and her associates is disclosed in our report of:
US Navy Recovers 92% of Environmental CO2 for Fuel Synthesis | Research & Development | News; concerning: "US Patent Application 20130039837 - Continuous Recovery of CO2 from Acidified Seawater; 2013; Inventors: Heather Willauer, et. al., VA, WV, CT and MD; Abstract: A method for recovering carbon dioxide from acidified seawater using a membrane contactor and passing seawater with a pH less than or equal to 6 over the outside of a hollow fiber membrane tube while applying vacuum or a hydrogen sweep gas to the inside of the hollow fiber membrane tube, wherein up to 92% of the re-equilibrated CO2 is removed from the natural seawater".
And, herein, we learn that technical experts in our United States Patent and Trademark Office recently confirmed the above "US Patent Application 20130039837" to be valid and practicable technology for the recovery of Carbon Dioxide as it exists in the environment, through their issuance and formal allowance of, as briefly excerpted from the initial link in this dispatch:
"US Patent 8,663,365 - Method for the Continuous Recovery of Carbon Dioxide from Acidified Seawater
Date: March 4, 2014
Inventors: Heather Willauer, et. al., VA, WV, CT and MD
Abstract: A method for recovering carbon dioxide from acidified seawater using a membrane contactor and passing seawater with a pH less than or equal to 6 over the outside of a hollow fiber membrane tube while applying vacuum or a hydrogen sweep gas to the inside of the hollow fiber membrane tube, wherein up to 92% of the re-equilibrated CO2 is removed from the natural seawater.
Summary: The present invention provides a method for recovering re-equilibrated CO2 from acidified natural seawater using a membrane contactor and passing seawater with a pH .ltoreq.6 over the outside of the hollow fiber membrane tube while applying vacuum or a hydrogen sweep gas to the inside of the membrane tube, wherein up to 92% of the re-equilibrated CO2 ... is removed from the natural seawater.
The method of the present invention requires only vacuum or a sweep gas to recover low concentrations of CO2 from acidified seawater ... . In the case of vacuum, CO2 can be concentrated in proportions needed for feedstock. In the case of hydrogen as a sweep gas, no additional energy penalty is required to recover the CO2. The hydrogen/CO2 mixture produced in the acidification of the seawater can be used directly as a feedstock".
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We'll keep our excerpts exceedingly brief, since the technology and process of harvesting Carbon Dioxide via the method of our subject, "United States Patent 8,663,365 - Method for the Continuous Recovery of Carbon Dioxide from Acidified Seawater", was more fully exposed and discussed in our report concerning "United States Patent Application 20130039837", and we don't really wish to be too redundant.
Our main purpose in reporting it is to confirm that the CO2 extraction technology embodied in "Application 20130039837" has been formally validated by our United States Government.
And, by way of further confirmation of just what the Navy intends doing with the Carbon Dioxide so efficiently harvested via the process of "United States Patent 8,663,365", we remind you of even yet another United States Navy technology, disclosed in our report of:
US Navy May 7, 2013, CO2 to Liquid Hydrocarbon Fuels | Research & Development | News; concerning: "United States Patent 8,436,457 - Synthesis of Hydrocarbons Via Catalytic Reduction of CO2; May 7, 2013; Assignee: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy; Abstract: A method of: introducing hydrogen and a feed gas containing at least 50 vol % carbon dioxide into a reactor containing a Fischer-Tropsch catalyst; and heating the hydrogen and carbon dioxide to a temperature of at least about 190 C to produce hydrocarbons in the reactor. An apparatus having: a reaction vessel for containing a Fischer-Tropsch catalyst, capable of heating gases to at least about 190 C; a hydrogen delivery system feeding into the reaction vessel; a carbon dioxide delivery system for delivering a feed gas containing at least 50 vol % carbon dioxide feeding into the reaction vessel; and a trap for collecting hydrocarbons generated in the reaction vessel";
wherein the Navy explains more ways in which we can utilize and consume Carbon Dioxide in the synthesis of hydrocarbons, for use as fuels and, we would suppose, as substitutes for hydrocarbons ordinarily derived from natural petroleum and used in the manufacture of other products, such as plastics and polymers.
In sum: Carbon Dioxide is a valuable raw material resource.
Our United States Government, and, thus, We the People, own technologies which, if employed, would enable us to efficiently harvest Carbon Dioxide from our environment and, then, to convert that Carbon Dioxide into anything and everything we now mortgage our children's and grandchildren's economic futures to continue buying from the often less-than-amicable nations of OPEC.
Those technologies, which We the People own, would enable us further to help ameliorate the concerns of the environmentally-minded among our citizenry who are worried about the potential harm that might be caused by any increases of Carbon Dioxide in our atmosphere.
Those technologies, which We the People own, would also make totally absurd any argument that might remain for the imposition of Cap and Trade Carbon taxes, and/or related nonsense, on our economically vital Coal-fired power generation industries and their customers.
We the People own these Carbon Dioxide harvesting and Carbon Dioxide utilization technologies.
When, if ever, do you suppose, We the People will be deemed worthy enough by our public press to be told about them, and, to be enabled by our United States Government to put them, and thus many, many more of our fellow United States common citizens, to work?