Is Deuterium the future fuel?

Question

Saudi Arabia's oil reserves are exhaustible..same as Russia's Gas.

Since the 70's, The Philippine deep was identified to hold largest deposits of Deuterium in the world...and until now it' remained untapped due to political selfishness of those who are in power.

What are the qualities of Deuterium as fuel replacement?

Answer 1

Deuterium would only be used if scientists can get a Nuclear Fusion reactor to work. This would use Deuterium and Tritium as fuel. They can extract Deuterium from sea-water, where a small percentage of the water (H2O) molecules contain the isotope of hydrogen Deuterium instead of normal Hydrogen. The Deuterium in the Philippines wouldn't necessarily be used. The tritium is produced in nuclear reactors by neutron activation of lithium-6.

Answer 2

Deuterium As Fuel

Answer 3

I never heard of deuterium, but I will do a search soon after I answer.

Alternative fuels are generally more costly to use, so for the near term, increased useage of known world deposits is what will continue.

If the new Congress about to meet in Washington D.C. is bold and committed toward improving the environment and getting the Americans off fossil fuel, then they should consider higher oil taxes that could be put to good use (like building infrastructures and improving education system), while opening up other forms of energy that will then become cost effective.

Rest assured, foxes like Saudi Arabia and Russia are already starting to invest in alternative fuels, knowing their reserves will be on empty one day, and they don't want to be left holding the empty bag.

Technology companies have the answer, it's a question of when the dumping on earth becomes intolerable and when governments want to be committed.

Answer 4

Actually I think YES is the correct answer, although it will take 20 years of fumbling around with clunky Rube Goldberg approaches like ethanol, biomass and solar before anyone else realizes it. you can see from some of the answer here that most people have either forgotten about fusion or never heard about it. Last time it was in the news was in the 90s when Bill Clinton diverted funding for fusion research over to enforcement of the No Fly Zone over Iraqi oil reserves.

Answer 5

Eventually we may be able to figure out how to harness nuclear fusion. Only when this happens will deuterium and tritium be a viable fuel. If i were to bet, id say that the current trend is toward a diversification of energy sources centered around renew-ables(hydroelectric,wind,solar) and renewable hydrocarbons(ethanol,bio diesel).the other trend on the horizon seems to be decentralization. imagine everyone generating electricity with solar roof shingles and wind generators, and if you take it a step further, using this electricity to produce hydrogen for their cars in their own electrolytic hydrogen generator.Although decentralization may never be a substitute for the power plant as we know it, it may reduce the need for a huge inefficient generation and transmission infrastructure. nuclear fission seems too risky. one disaster and a huge area of land is useless for hundreds of years, ie Chernobyl. the holy grail of energy is nuclear fusion.until this is a reality deuterium is nothing more than heavy hydrogen.

Answer 6

If you're asking about fusion reactors we won't have commercial ones for at least 50-100 years.

Answer 7

No.

Any emerging alternative energy will be shot down by oil companies and oil production countries.

Answer 8

No i think its either ging to be Hydrogen or ethenol. But most likely some sort of hybryd combination with that and elctricity or solar power.

Answer 9

n