Jones Beene
Sat, 12 Apr 2008 09:26:54 -0700
Nice posting Michel, I can envision a fleet of large ocean going catamaran vessels, hulls perhaps 200 meters in length, and designed so that between the hulls is fitted on a roller mecahism a continuous recirculating open-weave netting to harvest the sargasso. The catamaran could even be powered at one or two knots by sail and/or the more efficient 'kite' and at the same time produce some onboard electrical power from the wind. Biomimicry: It will operate not unlike the baleen whale http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baleen_whale ... and will have onboard tanks to "digest" the seaweed into biobutanol. For marketability we can call the product: "Baleenoil" or some such gimmick As the seaweed is harvested, iron-based fertilizer is spread from the stern. A supply ship shuttles back and forth to the Canary Islands, where our office will be based ;-) ... the trade is biobutanol one-way and mineral-ore-fertilizer the other way. Millions of tons of CO2 will be converted into transportation fuel, in a 'carbon neutral' way, totally responsible and green, and we will be richer (at least in moral-net-worth) than Gates and Midas combined... by selling the baleenoil (biobutanol) to French and American drivers for around a Euro per liter. How does that sound? Jones --- Michel Jullian wrote: > Best option would be to get the CO2 from the > atmosphere as we are all aware, > let's see the implications: > > => extensive growing surfaces with ample water, > nutrients and sunlight > => the oceans provide all that, as discussed before > => it occurs to me we could use the natural ocean > streams as "conveyor > belts" > => a closed loop conveyor belt running around, or > even constituting, the > growing surface would be nice > => how about using the Gyres ( > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyre ), for > example the North Atlantic Gyre (you know, that > current aka Gulf Stream in > some places which makes winters so cold on US > Atlantic coasts and so > wonderfully temperate here ;-) which circles the > Sargasso Sea: > > > > Let's see what Wikipedia says on our putative "NATO" > (North Atlantic Turning > Oilfield ;-) at > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargasso_Sea : > > "The Sargasso Sea is an elongated region in the > middle of the North Atlantic > Ocean, surrounded by ocean currents... Portuguese > sailors were among the > first to discover this region in the 15th century, > although it may have been > known to earlier mariners, as a poem by the late 4th > century AD author Rufus > Festus Avienus describes a portion of the Atlantic > as being covered with > seaweed. Christopher Columbus and his men also noted > the Sargasso Sea, and > brought reports of the masses of seaweed on the > surface." (emphasis is mine) > > We might be able to harvest the native seaweed > and/or grow better suited > algae ... what do you think Vorts, shall we farm the > Sargasso Sea and push > the harvest onto the North Atlantic Gyre for cheap > transportation? Or would > it be better to simply farm the Gyre? Or is this a > "sea lea" idea? ;-) > > Michel >