Can a car really run on Salt Water?

Question

or is it a big lie?

Answer 1

Cars run on land mostly. (Sorry couldn't resist.)

This business of electrolyzing water to produce fuel is a big scam.

There are loses. You put in more energy then you get back.

Answer 2

Can a car really run on Salt Water?

NO

or is it a big lie?

YES

Answer 3

The additional energy of salty water compared to regular water is very small. So if the car were able to run on fresh water there would be a good chance that they could use salty water too.

However there are no cars that run on fresh water, even though this is one of the products of combustion of gasoline, and none on salty water either.

Answer 4

Yes and no.  You can use electricity to electrolyse water into hydrogen gas and oxygen and then reburn the hydrogen as fuel (normal internal combustion) or use it in a fuel cell to make electricity to run an electric car.  Those are the "yes" parts.

The "no" part is that you can only do this by using more electric power to separate the water into H2 and O than you can ever get back through using the H2 you get out.  It takes more power than you can produce so it is a net loss.

So, technically it is true, but it is a silly losing situation....  UNLESS you are producing H2 gas from seawater using solar or wind or wave power and then using it to burn or in a fuel cell.  In that case, the H2 production didn't cost burning energy to make energy.  I am sure we will use solar for that purpose and fuel cell cars running on H2 will be a big part of future technology.

PS.........you have to use salt water or somewhat salty water because pure water is a very poor conductor of electricity.