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74   Patrick   2021 May 19, 7:08pm  

What is the energy source used for desalinization?
75   HeadSet   2021 May 19, 7:40pm  

B.A.C.A.H. says
3 cents per MegaJoule for gasoline energy

Interesting concept here. I can see using Joules to measure energy use of something like a clothes dryer where current and resistance heating are involved and price is by kWatt-hour. I suppose one could use the "newton-meters" aspect like foot-pounds of torque, and apply time to get a "horsepower" like equivalent. More interesting than the dreary old concept of "Watts" in an ICE. Maybe even cooler to measure gasoline potential energy in "calories."

I hear it takes about 15 horsepower (11 kWatts) to keep a car cruising at 60mph.
So to drive 60 miles, that would be 1 hour so about 11,000 watts times 3600 seconds or 39.6 of your MegaJoules. So at 3 cents per, about $1.19, your Bargain of the Millenia.
This was fun but of course meaningless, since ICE cars use miles/gallon and energy potential does not translate directly to work.
76   B.A.C.A.H.   2021 May 19, 8:49pm  

Patrick says
What is the energy source used for desalinization?


Electricity.
77   B.A.C.A.H.   2021 May 20, 7:16am  

HeadSet says
This was fun but of course meaningless

Yes, I know. My point is that nothing beats the energy density of gasoline and the other petroleum distillate fuels.
78   zzyzzx   2021 May 20, 8:25am  

B.A.C.A.H. says
Patrick says
What is the energy source used for desalinization?


Electricity.


Isn't there enough desert to make a huge solar desalinization plant there?
79   Eric Holder   2021 May 20, 10:15am  

zzyzzx says
B.A.C.A.H. says
Patrick says
What is the energy source used for desalinization?


Electricity.


Isn't there enough desert to make a huge solar desalinization plant there?


It would be silly to build a desal plant in the desert. They belong on the coast.The panels are in the desert already.

BTW, desalinization plants could be a perfect dump of all that excess solar energy generated during the day. It would depend, of course, if they can be safely stopped for the night.
80   Patrick   2021 May 20, 7:13pm  

B.A.C.A.H. says
nothing beats the energy density of gasoline and the other petroleum distillate fuels


I read a book about this once. A physicist said that nothing will ever beat fossil fuels not only because of the energy density, but also because the other reactant (oxygen) does not need to be carried, and the waste products are immediately expelled, making the vehicle lighter as it runs. Neither of those is true with batteries.

But who really knows? It was assumed that it was impossible to make little battery powered drones until people discovered neodymium magnets and lithium batteries.
81   just_passing_through   2021 May 20, 7:55pm  

Eric Holder says
They belong on the coast.


Exzactly. I've always wanted to see one with one of those windmills w/ buckets attached in order to lift the desal water high into the sky. Where it's dumped on top of a giant water slide that goes from Carlsbad to Arizona.

That would be cool.

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