In World War II, the British, fearing imminent invasion from the Germans, practiced pouring large quantities of petroleum onto the ocean at strategic locations where landings were anticipated and setting it alight. If employed in an actual invasion attempt, the resulting infernos were expected to at least help slow a German advance onto English soil. Environmental concerns seemed of little importance to folks then either.

But these days a mixture of fire and water just might be the key to solving one or two major "green" problems, such as how to have abundant water for cities, industry, or farming and how to provide enough energy without using so many of the carbon-based products that contribute to global warming.

To the rescue, perhaps, comes an unlikely and accidental savior, an inventor who had developed a specialized generator for treating cancer. John Kanzius, of Erie, PA, said he was trying to desalinate sea water using the high-frequency radio wave generator when a spark occurred in his test tube.

Subsequent researches showed that the high radio frequencies (RF) were releasing the hydrogen in the water molecules and that, so long as the water was plentiful and being bombarded with the RF energy, hydrogen would be released in enough quantity to continuously burn.

Per Mr. Kanzius, the flame temperature reaches 3000°F. If confirmed, this would indicate there might be sufficient energy output to more than offset the required input and make of the overall system (of generator, its power source, high RF, and seawater) an efficient source of energy that just might replace the internal combustion engines which today power almost all autos, among other uses. Ideally, once the process is started, some of the output could be used to run the RF generator, so that any further output is available to do needed work, like moving a vehicle.

Additional investigations are still needed into the desalination and cancer fighting potential of the high RF generator. All three applications appear to have promise at this time.

A Penn State University chemist, Rustum Roy, has done independent investigations of the "burning water" phenomenon and agrees that Kanzius' high RF method of obtaining a flame from seawater works. He expects to be seeking funding from the U.S. Departments of Energy and Defense for more extensive studies.

Given the abundance of seawater and that it can apparently be "burned" in this way with little negative effect on the environment, the energy prospects could be great.

And if some of the output could be used for desalination, it could have an enormous impact on the global potable water shortages now forecast for the rest of this century.

Even if Kanzius' system, or a more efficient one developed based on his discoveries, does not live up to its greatest projections, it may augment other approaches, resulting in large net gains in both energy efficiency and water desalination.

Source: Salt Water as Fuel? An Erie Man Hopes So. David Templeton in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; September 9, 2007.