Why Extremely Few Dead Animals Ever Become Fossilized

Return of the Flying Boat

Electra Aero's Hybrid Electric Commuter Plane

 

Links and References

Electra Aero

Homelessness and the New Mayor of San Francisco

New San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie

San Francisco Mayor London Breed has conceded the election to Daniel Lurie. Breed’s failure to adequately deal with San Francisco’s homeless problem and the associated atmosphere of crime related to it was clearly the principal cause for her defeat.  

Right wing media relentlessly used the homeless encampments in San Francisco and in California in general as propaganda to illustrate the failure of the Democratic party-- which helped to elect Trump and the Republicans.

But unless the new Democratic mayor of San Francisco--  bans people from camping out  anywhere they desire on the streets of San Francisco-- he will fail too. And the Democratic brand  will continue to be tarnish amongst America's voters. 

People camping out on the street need to go to-- licensed municipal campsites-- that provide public toilets, free food, policing and social services. Anyone caught sleeping on the streets needs to be immediately transported to such facilities. Such facilities can't simply be places to dump people but have to be routinely cleaned and maintained.

And anyone caught using drugs in public needs to be sent to a State run drug rehab center (outside of the cities) for 30 days for the first offense, 60 days for a second offense, and 90 days for each subsequent offenses. The State also needs to provide free housing in publicly owned hotels--- out side of the cities-- for individuals too mentally disabled to be employable.

Democrats need to show the nation-- that they can get the job done-- by completely clearing the city streets of people sleeping or camping out anywhere they desire. 

But Democrats also need to show compassion by providing homeless individuals with safe and clean municipal and state licensed places to reside.

Marcel F. Williams 

Natural Gas Electric Turbine Retrofitted to use Methanol

Siemens Energy's SGT-A35 gas turbine. Credit: Net Zero Technology                                  

At the RWG facility in Aberdeen in the United Kingdom, Siemens Energy and Net Zero Technology Center successfully demonstrated the operation of a gas turbine (SGT-A35) using methanol. 

The demonstration reduced NOx emissions by 80%. 3D printing was used by Siemens Energy to manufacture new components that would allow the natural gas electric power facility to use methanol (methyl alcohol). Such technology would allow any existing natural gas power plant to be retrofitted to use methanol. 

And since natural gas electric power plants have the lowest capital cost of any baseload or peak load facility, new methanol electric power plants could easily and cheaply be deployed practically anywhere.

Methanol is a liquid fuel that is much easier and safer to transport and to store than natural gas. Methyl alcohol can be synthesized from natural gas and from fracking. 

But methanol can also be derived from a large variety of-- renewable resources:

 1. the fermentation of urban sewage 

2. the fermentation of agricultural animal waste 

3. the pyrolysis of hydrocarbons from urban garbage 

4. the pyrolysis of hydrocarbons from agricultural crop waste 

5. the pyrolysis of hydrocarbons from the dead trees and fire hazardous foliage from rural forest

6. the nuclear, solar, wind, or hydroelectric production of hydrogen through the electrolysis of water synthesized with CO2 directly extracted from the atmosphere or cryocaptured by from the flu gases of a methanol electric power plants using carbon neutral methanol 

So practically every urban, agricultural, and forested  area within a country could be use to produce carbon neutral methanol.

Renewable methanol could allow countries to retrofit existing natural gas power plants to use a carbon neutral source of fuel making it easier for the world to reach a carbon neutral economy by the targeted year of 2050. 

 

Links and References

NZTC and Siemens Energy prove to reduce emissions by 80% in an alternative fuel demonstration

Retrofitted gas turbine runs on methanol with 80% less NOx emissions

Demonstration shows methanol reduces gas turbine emissions by 80%

Siemens Energy Highlights Alternative Fuels to Power Gas Turbines, Decrease Emissions, Boost Decarbonization Efforts

Ocean Nuclear Production of Green Methanol in Remote Japanese Territorial Waters

A Look Inside The First E-Methanol Container Ship

Starliner Returns Successfully but without Crew

Inside of Blue Origin

Battle Cry of Freedom

Successful Launch of the Ariane 6

First Starliner Crew Arrives at the International Space Station

120,000 Chinese Millionaires Flee to Other Countries

America's Future High Speed Rail

 

 

Links and References

 Brightline West High Speed Rail Project

CST-100 Starliner Explained

EMP Myths Debunked by NASA Engineer

NASA Pictures of the Solar Eclipse

3D Printing Sulfur Concrete on Mars

New Glenn Debuts on the Launch Pad for Blue Origin

New Glenn on the launch pad at Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) at Cape Canaveral, Florida

 

Links and References

Blue Origin Debuts New Glenn on Our Launch Pad

New Glenn

The Continents if Global Warming Causes all of the Polar Icecaps to Melt

 

Dream Chaser Testing in Ohio

Where the SLS Comes From

 

Links and References

Space Launch System

NASA Space Launch System Infographics

Ocean Nuclear Production of Green Methanol in Remote Japanese Territorial Waters

The red circle shows the position of the Japanese island of Minami-Tori-shima.

 

 by Marcel F. Williams

 

The United States, United Kingdom, and France could all use floating nuclear power plants to produce carbon neutral synthetic fuels, fertilizers, and industrial chemicals in remote  EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) territorial waters-- that are devoid of significant cyclone activity. 

 

Japan also has a  EEZ territorial waters surrounding the remote island of Minami-Tori-shima. However, the more than 428 thousand square kilometers of territorial waters surrounding the uninhabited island is still positioned in an area where it periodically experiences cyclonic activity  from July to October. And cyclonic activity might limit a Japanese floating nuclear synplex located near Minami-Tori-shima to just 8 months of  annual production. 

 

Japanese EEZ territorial waters

 

The island of Minami-Tori-shima

 

However,  the Japanese nuclear synplex of ships and barges could be temporarily moved south of the equator  during the cyclone season. This might enable synfuel,  fertilizer and industrial chemical production to continue within the international waters of the high seas. And this could potentially allow a Japanese floating nuclear synplex to operate up to 11 months rather than just 8.

 

Cyclone and tropical storm frequency in areas of the western Pacific

 

Through submarine cables, floating nuclear power plants could supply electricity to floating facilities just five to ten kilometers away. There floating ships or barges could use electricity to produce hydrogen from distilled seawater and extract CO2 directly from the atmosphere. The synthesis of hydrogen and CO2 could produce methanol. 

 

Most methanol today is used for the production of plastics and other polymers. But methanol can also be used to power ships, retrofitted natural gas electric power plants, fuel cell automobiles. Methanol can also be converted into jet fuel, gasoline, and into dimethyl ether (a diesel fuel substitute). 

 

 

 Methanol can also be used in fuel cells to power homes, vehicles, and large power plants. Methanol is also a more convenient way of storing hydrogen. 

 

Alternatively both hydrogen and CO2 could be extracted directly from seawater. 

 

Cheaper sources of CO2 could be imported  from coastal methanol power plants using green methanol. The CO2 from such facilities could be cryogenically captured from flu gases and exported to the nuclear symplex by methanol powered tanker ships. 

 

Floating biowaste incineration plants could also produce CO2 plus additional electricity for hydrogen production. Biochar would also be produced from such floating facilities and could be exported by ships as soil enhancing additive that increased water retention. Recent reports in California indicate the biochar can reduce water demand on crop raising farms by as much as 37%.

Ammonia for fertilizer can also be produced at sea the synthesis of hydrogen with nitrogen. Nitrogen is the most abundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere and can be extracted directly from the atmosphere.  

 

 The EEZ territorial waters surrounding the Japanese island of Minami-Tori-shima can be more than 2200 kilometers away from Tokyo.  Methanol could be transported by tanker ships from the nuclear synplex to  coastal towns and cities all  over Japan and also to coastal towns and cities around the world. Methanol carrying tankers are already in existence. And a growing number of methanol powered sea vessels are already in operation around the world. 

 

Electricity in Japan could be produce from methanol electric power plants. Solar power plants could compliment such facilities by significantly reducing  methanol fuel demand  during daytime hours without the need for expensive battery storage.  

 

Notional floating nuclear power facility

 

To enhance both security and efficiency, floating nuclear power plants could be deployed along a circular arc, supplying electricity through submarine cables  to an outer circle of synfuel, fertilizer, and industrial chemical producing barges and ships five to ten kilometers away. Along the nuplex arc, a one GWe floating power plant could be deployed per every 100 meters along the arc. So potentially up to 1.25 terawatts (1.25 TWe) of power could be deployed along the arc. Japan currently has an installed electrical capacity of less than 350 GWe.

 

 

60 kilometer in diameter nuclear synplex area allowing as much as 1.2 TWe of electric power to be produced

 

 

An inner ringed zone could be used for the passive underwater extraction of  uranium from seawater. This area could also be used to deploy floating nuclear processing plants for converting uranium from seawater into enriched uranium fuel and for storing and reprocessing spent fuel from floating nuclear power plants.

 

Nuclear power plant workers could be housed in cruise ships anchored inside of the innermost ringed zone. Floating synplex workers could be housed in cruise ships anchored outside of the outermost ringed synplex zone.

 

 

Cruise ships could accommodate hundreds of thousands of floating nuclear and synplex workers and their families in remote EEZ territorial waters and on the high seas.

 

 

Security for the circular nuplex and the surrounding synplex could be provided by the Japanese Coast Guard. So pirates and potential terrorist would have to evade the Japanese Coast Guard within the outer synplex zone and then encounter even more Coast Guard forces in the inner nuplex zone. Of course, since the facility is more than 2000 kilometers away from Japan, there would really be no one to terrorize.

 

 

Links and References 

 

 Minamitorishima

Japan's Onomichi Dockyard leads $80m bet on floating nuclear plants

Floating Power Deployment in Japan

FLOATING NUCLEAR PLANTS-A"REASONABLE USE" OF THE HIGH SEAS?

The High Seas

Nuclear Power Becomes Completely Renewable With Extraction Of Uranium From Seawater

Deploying Ocean Nuclear Energy Flotillas into International Waters for the Carbon Neutral Production of Synthetic Fuels, Industrial Chemicals, and Fertilizers

Siting Ocean Nuclear Power Plants in Remote US Territorial Waters for the Carbon Neutral Production of Synfuels and Industrial Chemicals

The Future of Ocean Nuclear Synfuel Production

 

Putting Humans on Callisto

 

Links and References

Callisto