the new fuels with magnecular structure - Institute for Basic Research

THE NEW FUELS WITH MAGNECULAR STRUCTURE 9
It should be indicated that gasoline combustion causes much less oxygen depletion
than hydrogen combustion, for various reasons. The first is that gasoline
combustion turns atmospheric oxygen into CO 2 that is food for plants, since the
chlorophyll process turns CO 2 into breathable O 2 while maintaining C for plant
growth. Therefore, the oxygen depletion caused by gasoline and fossil fuels in
general is that for the excess of CO 2 that cannot be any longer recycled by plants
due to their enormous daily releases, combined with the ongoing forest depletion.
By recalling that C has the atomic weight of 12 amu, O 2 has 32 amu, and
CO 2 has 44 amu, the oxygen depletion is given by 32/44 = 72.7 % of the CO 2
excess (for statistical data on current CO 2 excess one may consult the web site
cdiac.ornl.gov/ where there is no mention of oxygen depletion but the latter can
be compute as 72.7 % of the data therein).
By comparison, hydrogen turns breathable oxygen into water vapors. At this
point equivocal technicians indicate that “plants also recycle water into oxygen,”
which statement is correct because without water plants die, as well known.
Nevertheless, if proffered by experts, the statement may be dishonest because
they do not mention the fact that our atmosphere is full of water vapor as shown
by clouds and rain. Hence, the additional water vapor originating from hydrogen
combustion cannot possibly be recycled by plants. By comparison, the CO 2
content in our atmosphere was less than 1% one century ago, in which case the
excess due to fossil fuel combustion was, at least initially, recycled by plants, and
this is the very reason the human race is still alive today despite the current
immense fossil fuel consumption the world over.
Yet another reason favoring environmentally the combustion of gasoline over
hydrogen is that the oxygen depletion caused by hydrogen combustion is a large
multiple of that caused by gasoline combustion. This additional environmental
problem can be seen as follows. Gasoline combustion is based on the synthesis
of CO, one of the most esoenergetic chemical reactions known to man, that
releases 255 Kcal/mole, followed by the synthesis of CO 2 that releases about
85 Kcal/mole, and other reactions for a total of at least 335 Kcal/mole. By
comparison, the sole chemical reaction in hydrogen combustion is the synthesis of
H 2 O releasing about 57 Kcal/mole. A first year graduate student in chemistry can
then compute the multiplier needed for the oxygen depletion caused by gasoline
combustion to reach that of hydrogen combustion, of course, under the same
energy output.