Jet fuel project
doesn’t add up
A recent article, “From seawater to jet fuel” (Sept. 24), left me very puzzled.
A paragraph tells me that about a half million gallons of seawater, 50,000 gallons of fresh water, and 70 kilograms of supplemental hydrogen gas will be combined to make 10 gallons of fuel. Could that possibly be correct?
What is the cost of the electricity required to pump the water from the ocean? Certainly not zero.
I read that the average residential water bill in Kona is between $100 and $150. The average residence uses a little less than 50,000 gallons monthly.
Even with a big discount, how much will these entrepreneurs be paying for that scarce fresh water?
At the quoted price online of $16 per kilo, the hydrogen gas will come in at under $70. Combine these three ingredients, in a facility that costs a mere $12 million to $million 20, and — poof — 10 gallons of jet fuel, worth $22 right now, will be manufactured. And some other byproducts, maybe $30 total?
What kind of business spends millions to refurbish a facility and many thousands of actual cash dollars to produce 30 bucks of product? None, that’s who.
Only government could do something this insane. Why is this being proposed? Well, I’ll leave that for others to imagine. But as the guy who’ll be paying the bill for this, I would like to cast my “no” vote right here.
Charles Clark
Hilo
