Marshall Hydrothermal Recovery System

[1BigCREE1Redtail]

Let`s get started!!! We should have been using this years ago!!!

[Septeus7]

I'm a big nuke and hydro guy but this system if your energy density figures mean we now have a new contender for serious levels of power "zero carbon" sources unlike the unreliable landhogs of wind and solar.

Your idea is the first that I've seen that is sufficient scale and intensity to get the job done with a renewable baseload. My hat's off to you sir. You should send you idea to energy Secretary Chu and also business leaders interesting in renewables.

[marshallsystem]

@Septeus7 That is exactly what it means. The density and constancy put this source on a par with nuclear.

I wrote to Steven Chu at Lawrence Livermore the day Obama announced his name knowing that he would see it. He knows about it but has never responded.

We are in the process of raising the initial capital and will continue to contact appropriate government and business leaders and sources. This is going to get done. Thanks for your comments.

[Septeus7]

@marshallsystem I was wondering if you have to talked to the Japanese government?

One would think they are looking for new options right now and I believe there are some vents are pretty close where disaster took place and they are down quit a few gigawatts because of the nuclear shutdown.

The Japanese are also more likely to invest in big projects than the United States currently. Just a suggestion.

[marshallsystem]

@Septeus7 Yes, we are in ongoing talks with a local government in Japan that wants to host us, and they are in talks with the federal government on our behalf.

It's only a matter of time. Sooner or later it will be built.

[GadgetmanGlobal]

I am very scared of this technology as portrayed here. It would be quite different if the flow was captured for its energy content then re-released-the HEAT and the MINERALS AND the CURRENTS-were allowed to continue their roles in the global ecology.

Haven't we learned not to mess with Mother Nature yet?

Please develop something better. A device could be made to sit atop one of these vents and create the electricity in situ and cables could be used to deliver the electricity to the consumer.

[marshallsystem]

@GadgetmanGlobal We are taking great pains to produce the least possible environmental disruption, but nothing humans have ever done is without any impact. Please tell me what technology can produce the amount of energy hydrothermal vents are capable of with less consequence. To my knowledge there is none.

The system is not perfect, but nothing else is, either. Rest assureed that it is our goal to make things better, not worse. We live here, too and we are trying to make this a better place.

[GadgetmanGlobal]

@marshallsystem (What's your name?) I have learned that when technologies are put to use without full investigation of the possible consequences, often the consequences are dire.

If you would like to discuss an alternative, I encourage you to get in touch with me. We are both very busy. Still, solving for the energy needs of a this planet is vital to our survival as a species.

I can be reached on Skype as HHOGadgetman and mobile at 307-413-0342.

Feel free to call.

[beckyboomerang]

Thanks for this video and the information!

[imonaboatyea]

This reminds me of those dreamers who suggest mirrors or PV panels in space to catch unlimited solar power. Yes, there is a lot of thermal energy in deep ocean vents, but the practical engineering issues present significant obstacles to implementation. Terra firma based geothermal is much better way to go. Good luch with your efforts to get BTUs from ocean floor to surface.

[marshallsystem]

@imonaboatyea Regarding getting the energy to the surface, remember that the transit time is only 13 minutes at vent flow velocity. That's not a whole lot of time to get cold.

Regarding dreaming, why not?

“What one can conceive, one can achieve”. - Jules Verne

It won't be long before you see this a reality. Stay tuned...

[EdCrosby1]

This new sustainable technology is capable of delivering low cost, dispatchable, renewable, base load electricity at the scale of nuclear power with none of the risk or waste, lower cost of construction, faster construction time and no fuel to buy and nearly no negative environmental impact.

[mbus32]

Seems reasonable, there are some major flaws however. It should be fully waterproof at the bottom. How are you going to make it completely 'waterproof' at the ocean floor and make sure that there is no seawater entraining in the pipe from beneath? Seawater + hydrothermal fluid = precipitation and probably clogs the pipe eventually. And what about the short lifetime of the vents? It must be stressed that the Juan the Fuca ridge IS earthquake-sensitive. A single event could easily 'move' the vents

[ChrisRedfieldChannel]

WELL THOSE ARE EARTHQUAKE FAULT LINE WE CANT MESS AROUND PROVIDING POWER GRID ENERGY. ITS ENOUGH TO KNOW THOSE EARTHQUAKE FAULT LINE MAY SPEW MAGMA BY THE SEA FLOOR THAT CREATE VOLCANIC ISLAND AT ANY CIRCUMSTANCE.

[marshallsystem]

@ChrisRedfieldChannel You need to study up on tectonic plates and the Mid-Ocean Ridge system. Earthquakes are formed where plates are sliding past or under each other, and hydrothermal vents are where plates are pulling apart from each other. While it's part of the same system, it's not at the same location.

Do you think we should move everyone out of California? It's an earthquake zone. The system can be engineered, and unlike nuclear, if it breaks the worst thing is junk on the ocean floor.

[dirtMcgert5]

@marshallsystem I like your response Marshal System...I think this is a great technology and probably worth the risk of monetary loss for the first plan, but this seems quite viable!!!

[marshallsystem]

@dirtMcgert5 Thanks for you positive comment, but who says that the firstsystem will suffer a monetary loss? We expect it to be both practical and profitable from the git-go!

[corporationation]

@marshallsystem If those statistics are correct this is revolutionary, 20.000.000 homes, means some small countries could be completely powered by just one of these plants. It seems too good to be true, when do you plan to launch a trial plant?

[marshallsystem]

@corporationation We are planning the first system now, the US patent was published today, and we are receiving strong interest from quite literally all over the world. People know it's a game changer.

Look at the /complete.htm page and you'll see the assumptions that the numbers are based on. You can judge for yourself whether they're correct.

[corporationation]

@marshallsystem Thank you for the reply and for those references, really looking forward to see this project go ahead, I hope you have great success with it and that it means a source of cleaner (and cheaper, energy prices are outrageous these days) energy for all.

[lumpofloight]

what's the catch?

[marshallsystem]

@lumpofloight No catch. It is what it is. The physics are undeniable.

[TheBrknGuitar]

@marshallsystem then tell me why this hasn't been implemented?

[marshallsystem]

@TheBrknGuitar It's a brand new technology. US patent was granted last month, foreign pending. Not enough people know it exists yet, but they will. Projects are now being planned at several locations, but publicity is the key because the system is so obvious that it can do nothing else BUT work & people know that when they see it. Spread the word. It will be built, but it takes time to change established thought.

This is the ONLY nuclear scale, true baseload green technology in existence.

[theladyj49]

They have been drilling Geo-thermal "well" in Idaho since the late 70's, I do not know why this has never been publicized or caught on, as the costs are similar to drilling for oil

[losbergs2]

what about other countries that dont have those thermal vents near them??

[marshallsystem]

@losbergs2 Unfortunately, those countries without hydrothermal resources can not participate in the energy available except perhaps by importing electricity from a neighbor that has them.

[usptact]

Nice. I didn't know about this source of energy.

[2JOHNNYT]

Great system, but the Big Oil Boys have held down all competition whats the chances of this making it thru withing the next 20 years?

[marshallsystem]

@2JOHNNYT I think the chances are excellent, but then again, I'm an optimist! :)

[freemarketeer67]

@2JOHNNYT Yes, the Big Oil Boys definitely benefit from competition being thwarted, but it is the government with its guns doing the thwarting, not the Boys.

[2JOHNNYT]

@freemarketeer67 Ah...who do you think the govt is doing the thwarting for? Yes, the big boys who own it. Who do you think owns all the politicians with their campaign donations? No Joe 6pack

[amy2x]

This is Awesome!

[pookiewookie01]

We need to explore new forms of energy ASAP, since we are way behind and will suffer from nuclear plant mishaps eventually everywhere.

[marshallsystem]

@pookiewookie01 Have ya heard the latest? TEPCO is going to build plants HERE in the US!

Put the link together. YouTube doesn't allow links to be posted.

gregpalast. com/no-bs-info-on-japan-nuclea­robama-invites-tokyo-electric-­to-build-us-nukes-with-taxpaye­r-funds/#more-4497

[MCMKingKilla]

What happens to the overall long term salt content of the oceans if 100's/1000's of these plants started to appear?

[marshallsystem]

@MCMKingKilla I could ask what happens with thousands of desalination plants. I would expect the salt to be recovered rather than dumped back into the ocean.

[MCMKingKilla]

I just posted this on all my social accounts! I wish I had a billion dollars to pump into this idea! It's time for something new!

[marshallsystem]

@MCMKingKilla I wish you had a billion to pump into it, too! :)

[MCMKingKilla]

@marshallsystem well you have my word. WHEN I win the lotto (Colorado), I will be sure to invest! =)

[foxgirl38]

i wonder tho if you cap all those heat pipe wouldnt that affect the water temps of the sea and since that closely related to weather and water flow around the globe? the system sounds great tho(greenland usues a lot of geothermal energie.)

[marshallsystem]

@foxgirl38 The massive scale of the Mid-Ocean Ridge system is such that it's highly unlikely that capping a few vents would have any adverse effect, but that may have to be studied at some point.

[strongmanwhite]

So, cough cough, do you guys have any use for a mechanical technician with a specialty in cryogenics that has a strong belief in your work. (wink wink) Because this is TOTALLY AWESOME!!!

[marshallsystem]

@strongmanwhite Well...uh...cryogenics is just a tad bit removed from 400C hydrothermal heat, but what the hell. Drop me an email. I'll hang onto it but won't make any promises!

[MCMKingKilla]

@strongmanwhite And if you need a Sr Systems Administrator (I.T. Unix/Windows)... look me up!

[kongjing2008]

Amazing stuff!

[lifeformalien]

It can't go into meltdown? I'll have some of that thanks.

[kaieteurdevon]

Nice video by the way...

[marshallsystem]

@kaieteurdevon Thanks. My animator is the best in the business, a true genius and I applaud him daily.

[kaieteurdevon]

Get it built man.....

[marshallsystem]

@kaieteurdevon Will do. You can help. Pass the word to media outlets everywhere. The more people that know about it the more likely it is to be built.

[kaieteurdevon]

@marshallsystem Have shared, have you got a prototype small scale up and running yet? If not a successful working prototype will get all the attention needed.

[marshallsystem]

@kaieteurdevon Unfortunately this system does not lend itself to prototypes. You'd still have to have a platform, a mile and a half of insulated pipe, and the undersea cable to carry the power back to land.

Realistically speaking, the first operational system will be the prototype.

[dawes777]

A brilliant concept, but with a major floor! What effect will the redirection, (the loss), of the hydrothermal vents have on the oceans? They are a major source of heat going into the oceans, playing an important part in the world's climate. With the loss of heat from the vents and alteration to the Earth's weather patterns it will precipitate an ice age in a very short time. And capturing the mineral concentrates from the vents will deprive the oceans and sea life of those vital nutrients.

[marshallsystem]

@dawes777 What you fail to recognize is the scale of the mid-ocean ridge system. It is the largest geological feature on the planet, stretching over 40,000 mi or 65,000 km. Even with maximum human utilization decades from now it's hard to imagine more than 5% of the world's vents ever being used, leaving 95% permanently untouched.

No system is perfect. Everything humans have ever done has had some environmental consequences. I still believe it's way ahead of whatever is in second place.

[dawes777]

@marshallsystem I understand what you say but disagree with you entirely. Your concept would require multiples of US$-billions investment, US$-hundreds of millions to maintain, and at the end of the day it would be a mega-profit cow for the investors who would strangle the consumer with energy costs. Also, the tower concept of the extraction pipe would be impracticable because of deep sea currents and other unimaginables such as a major vent blow-out. There are better cheaper inventions!

[marshallsystem]

@dawes777 Again, there's no point arguing with your opinions. I can only tell you that I have a whole gaggle of scientists from every discipline who have validated the concept. I'm talking about oceanographers, physicists, and energy scientists among others. They don't agree with your views and neither do I.

[dawes777]

@marshallsystem But of course, it is quite normal whenever a new concept involves vast sums of money in research, trials and investments, the relative speciality scientists want a slice of the cake and give their support. It is human nature and was exactly the same with nuclear power, which was really to sustain the weapons industry; scientists and vested interests lying till they were blue in the face about its safety, similarly with the white elephant wind farms, a money cow and inefficient.

[marshallsystem]

@dawes777 Except that this doesn't sustain a weapons industry. It provides green energy, water, and mined products.  Period.

[dawes777]

@marshallsystem My apologies, you missed the point. When scientists and vested interests see a looming new fat money cow that they may profit by: research grants, investments, etc., whatever may be left of their integrity goes out of the window ‘for the money;’ that is their only interest! Thus data and environmental impact are falsified or covered up. It always happens; your prize project is no different. There are sources of energy far cheaper to produce and with zero environmental impact.

[marshallsystem]

@dawes777 There is NOTHING humans have ever done that has zero environmental impact.

[dawes777]

@marshallsystem I refer to energy-creation systems once they are produced. Of course, environmental impact occurs in the manufacture of the machines – the raw materials. But once they are produced and running there is not environmental impact. The problem has been the status quo of current vested interests – the oil and power industries which have prevented production and even murdered inventors. But the tides are now turning against them.

[spontaneousmc]

The other problem to this idea is you can only provide the west coast of America and some Asian country's power with this, I believe there must be something sinister apart from providing power, this company is afeter more than energy. Please use your brain, here is an idea, energy cannot be created or destroyed

[marshallsystem]

@spontaneousmc The system can only provide power where the vents are. That's a no-brainer.  Can't use it in Missouri or Kazakhstan for sure.

However there's nothing sinister about offering the first totally new and previously unused source of energy for humankind since the dawn of the nuclear age.

[spontaneousmc]

It's people with your mind set back in the 16-1700s who thought slavey was ok. I used slavey because I see some of the same characteristics involved. Push your way in take what you need and leave it in shambles. I am sure these vents has something to do with underwater current, weather as well as provide a home for these creatures. Marshall's hidro, please find a new energy source these vents are too delicate to upset the balance.

[marshallsystem]

@spontaneousmc As I've said before, there's no point arguing with someone's opinion. I can only say that the system has been supported by oceanographers and scientists from just about every discipline. What we are currently doing is leaving everything in shambles. Have you seen any pictures coming from Japan?

[spontaneousmc]

great!!! another bad idea. come on America!! you can do better than that. this is too easy and you will kill lots of wild life in the process.

[marshallsystem]

@spontaneousmc I've learned not to bother arguing with opinions. You are certainly entitled to yours. Just try to understand that every animal that is dependent on the vent is doomed to die even without human intervention. Every known vent will close by nature, and that's always been true. Compare the environmental damage between a very localized population or widespread damage from greenhouse gases. We have to get our energy from somewhere. Nuclear is dangerous and wind and sun aren't enough.

[TheJacov]

Are you sure of your energy density estimates? After all, your average nuke plant is usually around 10GW or so. Most thermal turbine systems that I've ever heard about are around 40 to 60 percent efficient. Lets split the difference for a rough BOTE swag. So your telling me that a single 3 meter diameter vent is putting out roughly 20 GW? Not saying such a system won't work, just seems to me your power estimate might be a trifle overoptimistic. Got some real numbers you can share?

JAC

[marshallsystem]

@TheJacov You can check the complete/htm page on my website for the basis of the estimates.  Sorry, but YouTube doesn't allow posting links.

[undercoveragent0001]

o.0...what will this do to the ecology of the vents?

[marshallsystem]

Nothing human beings have ever done has been without impact, and while I would like to tell you that this system is the first in history to have none at all, I can't.

I have laid out the ecological issues as clearly as I can on my website. I can't post links here, so please go to my website and add / ecology.htm. Take a look and see for yourself, but my sincere belief is that this is far more benign than generating the same amount of energy from any other known source would be.

[jh4dc5s]

This looks like a great idea!

[marshallsystem]

@jh4dc5s Like all inventors, I believe the idea has incredible potential. If you would like to help move it along, please send it along to anyone in the media that you know or think might have interest in it. The more people who know about it the more likely it is to be implemented.

[trevinize]

Thank's for your response, do you have this system working now or developing it? I live in Mex. is there an option around the waters of around the country?

[marshallsystem]

Absolutamente, señor! México tiene los recursos más amplios del mundo!

To everyone else, absolutely. Mexico has the most widespread hydrothermal resources of any country in the world, and I have filed a patent there. The same video with Spanish subtitles can be seen here if you'd like to pass it around to others. Just search marshallsystem español and it will come up. YouTube doesn't allow links. 

I'm working on licensing, but there are no currently no operational systems anywhere.

[trevinize]

Thank's for your response, do you have this system working now or developing it? I live in Mex. is there an option around the waters of around the country?

[trevinize]

There are some yt vids that say that the BP oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico, beneath the floor, can't be stopped because it hit a volcano. And the material that is flowing out of the pipes isn't oil. What do you think about this and I also think, that what you are showing in your vid would be a great help to gather this "materials". Thank's for your comments.

[marshallsystem]

@trevinize Understand that I am no expert on the BP disaster, but it's certainly not a volcano, except in the figurative sense. It's a "volcano" of oil, gas, and rock coming out, as can be seen on the beaches and wildlife.

My system is similar in some respects to the "dome" that they tried first . They gave up on it too early in my opinion, but I'm not here to offer suggestions for the GOM tragedy. I am sure that using hydrothermal energy would reduce our need for oil and drilling.

[DVeck89]

Now why would the oil companies want this technology that would compete with their oil profits?

[marshallsystem]

@DVeck89 It's impossible to speak for what they might think, but I guess they are probably not real happy about it. It has the potential of allowing operational gas and other plants to be turned off.

[QuestionTheSystem]

once again, we're only thinking about ourselves...what about life that depends on these hydrothermal vents. You're essentially cutting off their energy source...surely, you must've thought about this?!

[marshallsystem]

@QuestionTheSystem Of course I've thought about it. I have a very strong environmental conscience and this is a difficult compromise.

I have laid out arguments about the environmental impact on the website at /ecology dot htm. Links can not be posted here.

I'm the first to admit the system is not perfect, but when compared to generating the same amount of energy from any other source, hydrothermal wins. All generating systems have environmental impact.

[TheCaptainLulz]

@QuestionTheSystem The base of the food chain down there is a blood red bacteria that makes up, by weight, more mass than all other life on earth combined! Theres no threat to their existence. Whats more, these vents move and when they do the life around them dies anyways.

[B4IRUTUARU16]

this guys voice sounds like a porn star

no offense

good video

[marshallsystem]

Gotta laugh!  Thanks for the compliment (I think). I did the voiceover myself.

[B4IRUTUARU16]

lol niceeee.

[elitesoldier55]

This is a good idea. It is basically geothermal energy in the ocean. Thats where I think the future of energy is going: Oceans. The good thing about the idea proposed is that much of technology EXISTS from the oil industry. If some of these vents are producing 400 C just imagine how hot it gets if you actually drill a hole into these areas. The only problem with this technology is that it is expensive. You can't exactly build a prototype without spending millions of dollars.

[marshallsystem]

I agree.  It's very expensive. We're talking billions of dollars to build the first system, and I'm well aware of that.

Calculations show that it is far less expensive than the proposed Peace River plant in Alberta Canada, which is projected to cost $6.2 billion.

So while we're certainly talking a huge amount of money, it's still roughly half the price of the nearest conventional alternative.

[elitesoldier55]

Yea also considering that there isn't all those waste problems, government regulations etc. the hydrothermal plant is far better idea.

I'm sure you've heard of it but there is a similar technology called OTEC or Ocean Thermal Energy conversion. The early prototypes of the technology used ships instead of oil platforms. Could be an idea for early prototype.

[marshallsystem]

Ships are mentioned as an alternative to an oil platform in the patent documentation, but frankly the platform is the most logical manner.

I've spoken to companies that are involved in OTEC, but they are working with a very small temperature differential of maybe 15 C if they're lucky. While I believe in OTEC potential, the small differential greatly limits the amount of recoverable energy.

Only hydrothermal energy can compete with the power and scale of a nuclear plant.

[mycophile19]

What the EROEI? That's what i would like to know. Energy invested on energy returned? I hope this is an answer to Peak oil?

[marshallsystem]

It's a very good question, although since there are no operational systems yet, the answer is speculative.

The only ongoing energy use that I can see once the system is actually built would be ships to resupply a crew aboard the platform. The abundant heat would provide all the other energy needs.

I'm willing to enertain ideas from viewers, preferably emailed to me, but my assumption is that there is no ongoing energy consumption at all once construction is complete.

[mdansbach]

The greenest idea till this day!

[zenforaday]

This seems like a great system - are there any plans to build one right now?

[marshallsystem]

The concept is patented and I am working on finding licensees to build the first systems. I know it will be built. It's a matter of time.

Thanks for your kind words.

[nghivu]

why have the station above water connecting to the bottom of ocean? why not have the generation station underwater on ocean floor directly or near the vent area and save the cost of building the pipe to surface?

[marshallsystem]

I'll answer in the web page. I'm hoping even this comment gets posted. For some reason I have a very hard time getting responses to post.

[marshallsystem]

I'm going to try to answer here if it lets me. The problem is the extreme depth and pressure at the vent location. The vents have been known since 1977 and no one has come up with a way to use them until now.

People just can not work at such depths, and bringing the fluid up allows full utilization of the heat by people in their normal environment.

[nghivu]

yea...i kinda thought about that after posting the comment. plus with extreme pressure on ocean floor, you wouldn't have the steam affect needed like driving generator or desalination. just wonder what is your relationship with the marshallsystem and is this demonstrated in production anywhere in the world?

[marshallsystem]

I am the inventor and patentholder of the system. Up to now there are no operational systems anywhere, but there will be.

This system has very honestly transformed hydrothermal vents from a curiosity into an energy source. I have no doubt that this system will be built at some point.

There's a lot of interest, and a good chance to license it soon.

By the way, I have no idea why I've been successful commenting here. I was unable to respond for months.

[LEVYbrain]

I have a couple of questions. Hydrothermal vents have a limited life span. Current knowledge puts life span of the vents between 15-30 years. With this in mind, would not the costs of placing such technology be massive especially considering the cost of finding, fixing and recovery? And second, vents provide a habitat for unique extremophiles, many of which are still under study. What would be the assumed threats to this ecosystem, and the knock-on affects to the ocean environment?

[marshallsystem]

I only have 500 words to respond.

The lifespan of vents is really unknown. They were first discovered in 1977, so we only have 30 years of cumumlative knowledge about them. It is certain that all eventually will close, however.

The equipment would have to be relocated in the event of a closure. I envision it being disassembled and moved to a new vent structure nearby, using the same undersea transmission system, platform, and pipe structure, but I expect many decades of service as well.

[kilomoana619]

It's in my nature to be a skeptic. So, I have to ask, is this an utter joke? Otherwise, do you really have people convinced this is in anyway viable?

Besides the nonsense of this, there are more holes in the science discussed than in Swiss cheese...

[marshallsystem]

If you'd like to be more specific about the "holes in the science", I'd be glad to answer them, but a major energy company has just completed a computer model of the system, and they say there is "There is a great deal of energy available per unit of mass at the top..."

"New ideas pass through three periods: 1) It can't be done. 2) It probably can be done, but it's not worth doing. 3) I knew it was a good idea all along!" - Arthur C. Clarke

Congrats. You made it to the first step.

[kilomoana619]

I think you are serious. Okay, my abbreviated list of flaws:

#1. The mass flow rate that you use (76,340,000 liters per hour) is a "best estimate" of the GLOBAL water flux through all known hydrothermal systems. (Indeed, you should cite your sources for this data.) How are you going to "cap" the globally dispersed vents with a single Marshall recovery system to obtain the energy you cite?

[kilomoana619]

#2. You state you will use a pipe w/ a 3m internal diameter and a flow rate of 3 m/s. There is no hydrothermal system that could fill a 30 cm internal diameter w/ a flow rate of 3 m/s, let alone a 3 m pipe!

[kilomoana619]

#3. Even if you could expend the energy to run these fluids to the surface, the drop in pressure would cause the fluids to phase separate (boil), lose their energy and cause a rapid decrease in temp. Even remediating these issues, the insulated pipe in 2 C seawater will thermally equilibrate and there is no way the fluids will be 350 C at the sea surface. Your numbers to calculate energy outputs of bogus.

[kilomoana619]

#4. Hydrothermal fluids are VERY polluting! The last time I analyzed seafloor hydrothermal fluids in my Lab they were loaded w/ Pb, Cd, Cu, As, Se.... If you are really lucky, most of these metals/metalloids will precipitate out of solution as sulfides during fluid transit and cooling as clog your pipe.

[marshallsystem]

There isn't enough cooling to cause the metals/minerals to precipitate out. You make a good point and I have considered the possibility of clogging. Future computer modeling will determine whether that will be a problem, but that hasn't been done yet, and it won't affect the closed loop.

The caustic fluids are also present in geothermal systems, and they have been successfully dealt with. To consider the system impractical because of something like that is folly. That's what engineers are for.

[kilomoana619]

You're comparing apples and oranges. Most (~95% of exploited) geothermal fluids are circa pH neutral and because are not saline (no Cl or H2S for that matter) do not have significant metal bearing capacity. These are completely unlike seafloor hydr. fluids. Read the literature and get a feel for Cu, Zn, Fe concentrations.. about 2 or 3 orders of magnitude lower.

How have you even modeled the minimum cooling? What is not enough? Chalcopyrite is notoriously insoluble at T ~ 300 C.

[actng]

i'm still worried about the earthquakes. one could argue that existing power plants are subject to earthquake damage but the number of people affected by one broken power plant is relatively low... one of these things get knocked out by earthquake, that's 20 million homes without power for who knows how long.

i really like the idea behind this energy source but I'd be more comfortable if we found a way to minimize the risk of earthquakes... and terrorist attacks now that I think about it.

[marshallsystem]

Earthquakes are natural hazards that can knock out nuclear or conventional power plants as well as bridges or other infrastructure, but that doesn't stop us from building things.

The important point to remember is that the vent locations are not specifically along fault lines. You can be confident that system builders will engineer around the important issues as they always have, and will do their best to provide a reliable system for generations to come.

[kilomoana619]

#5. Yet another problem here. Most hydrothermal vents are located EXACTLY along fault lines!!! I can give you names of a dozen scientists who study faulting and earthquakes for a profession. They would tell you that you are mis-understanding tectonic/earthquake theory entire.

Fault lines SPECIFICALLY allow for high fluid permeability = the entire reason why high-temperature vent fluids ever even flow rapidly toward and vent at the seafloor! Without fault lines the fluids have difficulty flowing

[marshallsystem]

You are wrong. Fault lines are located where plates are either colliding or sliding past each other. Hydrothermal vents are most certainly a part of the same system of plate tectonics, but they are located where the plates are pulling apart from each other and new magma is coming up, creating new crust.

They are most definitely not fault lines.

[kilomoana619]

Perhaps this is semantics... faults vs fissures vs cracks.

Please tell me what the thousands of cracks in new oceanic crust erupted at the seafloor around hydrothermal vent are. They most definitely exist because we have mapped them.

[kilomoana619]

I don't know why some comments post but other do not...?!?!?

[kilomoana619]

From marshallsystem: A technical glitch with YouTube has kept me from posting reactions to many questions below. I have been unable to, but I don't want to leave the impression that I can't answer them.

[mdansbach]

Very interesting, I would have just assumed that vent locations were located along fault lines.  Thank you for that significant information.

[redbarren61]

Let's not forget that a byproduct of this system is desalinated pure water. If you set one of these up near the Sahara desert, the desert could become farmland to grow food for the starving masses in Africa.

The energy could be used to get that water up into the mountains of Tanzania and put a huge damper on malaria. Ethiopia? Fed.

The consequences of the success of this will change the world. Perhaps we will learn to get along once we share the same privileges, such as water and energy.

[zom11]

Wow! Why didn't I think of that? Seriously, what an awesome concept! Hopefully the oil conglomerates won't kill it before it has a chance to be given a chance!

[fnnkybutt]

Very interesting -

However - aren't they basically sitting on fault lines? Or am I misunderstanding something?

[marshallsystem]

They are part of the plate tectonics system that moves and consumes whole continents, but it's not the same as fault lines.

The vents are located where the plates are pulling apart from each other, in an area of heavy volcanic activity. Fault lines are located where the plates are colliding or slipping past each other.

While there is always some risk, it's not a particularly earthquake-prone area.

[Slicker1951]

This, if implemented correctly, could replace 10% of the current electrical generation sources, and, additionally, add a new source of electricity to areas that have never had access to it. If super conductivity can be meshed with this method, it's conceivable even the central parts of large nations and continents could benefit from this. This is terrific!