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Comment by jbert | Hacker News Reader

This is the 2nd part of the "we need lots of clean/carbon free energy" - a way of storing and transporting it.

Chemical fuels have a great energy density. Problem is, they dump carbon into the air when you burn them (and also basic pollutants).

So we just need:

1) fusion or similar "lots of 'free' energy"

2) a process like this to soak up that energy + CO2 + H2O and emit nice energy dense hydrocarbons

3) decent catalytic convertor/filter tech (we're pretty good on this at the moment when we want to spend the money?)

then we've got a long-term energy future.

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Chemical fuels have a great energy density. Problem is, they dump carbon into the air when you burn them (and also basic pollutants)

Exactly!

> So we just need: 1) fusion or similar "lots of 'free' energy"

Utilizing geo, hydro and solar (carpeting them in inhospitable areas) and fission is enough. Fission is particularly effective, the energy yield per kg of fuel for fusion is only 4x that of fission. Between less wasteful alternate reactor designs and extracting fuel from the ocean, if we start figuring things out now, things will be fine.

> 2) a process like this to soak up that energy + CO2 + H2O and emit nice energy dense hydrocarbons

This is well studied by the US Navy and others. It's especially cost effective when drawn from the ocean. Wikiterms: 'sabatier reaction', 'power to gas', 'carbon neutral fuel'.

> then we've got a long-term energy future.

We're still going to have to act quickly, before the energy (and resources) required to initiate this industry is more than could be had with the then current reserves. A true debt. Thus squandering the selfless sacrifice made by dinosaurs many kilomillennia ago in order that we at least could bootstrap a space faring civilization.

It's a hilariously under-appreciated fact that the US military is on track to be one of the biggest investors in green power and fuels, as both are major logistics hassles and strategic concerns for it.

The USAF would love to not have to worry about the long-term availability of fuel oil, and just depend on a desert array of concentrators somewhere in the US.

The military, and most specifically the US Navy, have lead fuel innovations over the past 150 years.

Wind -> coal (1850s) -> Oil (1910s/1920s) -> Nuclear (1950s)

And now hybrid and synthetic fuels.

Much of the more interesting peak-oil / collapse literature comes from military organizations, including in the US, Germany, and UK.

Fischer-Tropsch more than Sabatier, but yes.

We're still going to have to act quickly

That would be a true tragedy....

And it wasn't dinosaurs so much as algae and ancient plants, as well as the forebearance of the bacteria of that time to break down the material.

Not true. Burning hydrogen produces water vapor.

If you're making your chemical fuel from whatever is in the atmosphere, you're going to have a pollution-neutral cycle (if you can keep a lid on the secondary effects, like unburnt particles).

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