When I was in highschool, Michael Peralta, an old neighborhood friend from Carmen Street but who is now residing in Los Angeles, once spoke to me in a very animated fashion how the Philippines could one day become the richest country in the world. As a prelude, Michael said to me that his father had some vital information why a number of foreigners were in the country for a very secret purpose. I wondered loudly to him how secret it was and asked him if he could actually let me know some of the “secret’. He then informed me without hesitation that the foreigners were here mainly to study and find out ways on how to extract deuterium from the Philippine seas. I asked how come his father knew about all those stuff and what “deuterium” was in the first place. With gasping breath, and with gleaming pride for that matter, Michael told me as a matter of fact that his father was a war veteran and because of this, he had American contacts in the CIA. The CIA thing sounded preposterous to me at that time but when I recently read some articles in the Internet about deuterium, I started to wonder if the CIA talk of Michael was plausible after all and that maybe the CIA was behind the sudden departure of Michael’s whole family to Los Angeles later that year, where in a year’s time he was already driving a very exotic looking red corvette (might be from second hand store) as evidenced by a picture that he had sent to the neighborhood kids through a very kind uncle. This story may start to sound like a brimming Tom Clancy thriller but before anything gets out of hand, that CIA talk of Michael is just that and nothing else t o it I am pretty sure on that and their immigration to America was due mainly to his father being a USAFFE during World War II. But Michael’s rambling on deuterium was completely a different matter—it sounded to me then so awfully good that I had wished it to be true already even though it wasn’t true at all at that time, and even now.
There is really something to this issue on deuterium that lingers long and never goes away completely. It had been virtually popping and bobbing up in the local media every now and then—especially in the last couple of decades. The Cebu-based news outfit The Freeman published the most recent news article on deuterium. In that article, Freeman publicized a certain study on deuterium by a Filipino scientist working in a Canadian agency. Canada by the way is the world’s leading producer and consumer of deuterium as an energy source. There had been many rumors and hush-hush talks before about certain groups of foreigners, possibly American and sometimes German, that were in the country to initiate drilling projects that should siphon-off the coveted deuterium from the Philippine seas. All those talks just died down however and nobody really minded them, perhaps everyone just disregarded some weird-sounding element that is supposedly found in the Philippines in great volume. In fact, even as we speak now, I would not be surprised if Exxon or Shell has some of its people working night and day trying to unravel the key to gathering the millions of barrels of “white gold” underneath our seas.
I was watching Sentro last night, the upstart news program from ABC 5, and heard Ms. Ali Sotto do some lighter take on the news as she reported how hydrogen-fuelled cars were already running in the streets of Washington D.C.. This particular news segment was apparently so short that I had to scour the Internet for a more elaborate rendering of the news item. I read a couple of related news articles from not-too-famous news sites on the net.
It was reported that the United States Government, through the Department of Energy and General Motors had unveiled an $88 Million joint project in order to put a fleet of hydrogen-fuelled cars on the streets of Washington D.C., New York and Los Angeles within a year’s time. The fleet would consist merely of 40 of such cars but most of the money would be spent on putting up a number of hydrogen refueling stations all over the streets of those pilot cities since the main cause why consumers are not buying too many hydrogen-fuelled cars these days is basically due to the lack of gas stations peddling or selling hydrogen gas or liquid hydrogen. Come to think of it, even if any of us had all the money to buy this car stuff right now, like for example if some of us are sons and daughters of Taipans with money to burn, we wouldn’t be able to use them anyway, at least not for long, unless we all fly all the way to America to buy gallons and gallons of hydrogen fuel.
But again come to think about the possibilities. If only there were enough hydrogen-refueling stations all over our city streets, our days of being dependent on crude oil (freshly-drilled from the dusty sands of Sahara) would soon be over and our atmosphere would be a lot more livable since the only end product of hydrogen fuels is water. Water, instead of carbon dioxides that make our urban landscape looked orange or yellow at dusk.
I really hope that this project of GM and the United States Government would entirely succeed for reasons that we all should know by now.
And so this bit of news on hydrogen-fuelled cars reminded me of the high school talk I had with an old friend from the neighborhood concerning deuterium. What is deuterium and how does it become an energy source? Deuterium is the end product when a common tap water (H2O) is subjected to enormous pressurize of gigantic proportion that the oxygen element in the H2O compound is forced out of the combination, making the hydrogen element to purify and consolidated all the more. Since in deuterium, the hydrogen becomes so solid and unadulterated, hydrogen gas can be easily obtained from it since a natural electrolysis happens immediately the moment deuterium is exposed to room temperature. Meaning to say, when deuterium is used as a base in obtaining hydrogen gas, the generation process is much less expensive. Right now, hydrogen gas and liquid hydrogen that are often used to power jets and giant trucks, are sold at very steep prices (much more expensive than gasoline) because it is so costly to produce them, necessitating an energy-consuming and lengthy electrolysis process that are undertaken in order to separate the hydrogen compound from common water. When deuterium is used, the very expensive process of electrolysis would be bypassed and set aside in the production of hydrogen gas and therefore, obtaining hydrogen fuel becomes more efficient and less expensive by a mile.
The Philippines is identified to hold the greatest amount of deuterium deposit, somewhere in the area known as Mindanao Trench, the part of the Pacific Ocean just off the shores of Surigao. Deuterium is most prevalent in an area more widely known in the whole world as The Philipppine Deep. In the Freeman news article (dated August 2004), Dr. Anthony B. Halog, the Filipino scientist working at the Sustainable Technology Office of the Institute for Chemical Process and Environmental Technology, and the National Research Council of Canada described the Philippine deuterium wealth in this manner:
“A big deposit of 868 miles long, 52 miles at widest point, and 3 miles at deepest point, replenished by nature 24 hours a day after deuterium travels more than 12,000 kilometers from Central America to the Philippines through the span of the Pacific Ocean when Planet Earth turns on its axis from West to East in unending perpetual motion.”
And it’s potential in this breathe:
“At 12 million barrels per day capacity priced at US$7.00 per barrel, this is US$84 million per day or US$30.66 billion per year, enough to wipe out all existing foreign debts of the Government in one year, revenue-wise in foreign exchange.
Public works, private construction, economic and financial booms are expected to happen in the Philippines in the same manner as those which happened in the Middle East and financial centers of the world from 1974 to 1984, with everybody earning their respective comfortable livelihood, while pricing basic prime necessities at reasonable and affordable levels.”
At present, deuterium seems to be produce exclusively through an expensive synthesizing process, by subjecting ordinary tap water to enormous pressure using some highly-advanced machinery or equipment and thus the price of hydrogen fuel remain relatively out of reach from the ordinary consumers of fuels. But if the deuterium deposit under the Philippine seas can be obtained, hydrogen gas prices could become far more reasonable and affordable. If natural deuterium is utilized as the base in the production of hydrogen fuel—in both its most widely used form as hydrogen gas and liquid hydrogen—the generation process would become more efficient and much cheaper. And mind you, deuterium as a source of energy is not only useful to power cars, trucks and planes. It is also being utilized to power factories and power plants in the same manner that nuclear power plants are operated. With deuterium as moderator, nuclear power plants could do away with enriched uranium as a main fuel source and this means, deuterium use could generate a whole new specie of power plants that are a lot safer—safer by a grand mile.
The problem faced by those who wants to extract natural deuterium from the Philippines seas is probably the enormous pressure that is existing in the very area where deuterium are supposed to be found. To reach the area of deuterium concentration, a drilling system should reach a level of at least 30,000 feet deep into the ocean, where the water pressure could reach as high as 10,000 psi, or the equivalent of 10,000 tons of load pressuring from all direction. Apparently, there is no material known today that could withstand such enormous amount of pressure. Maybe diamonds could be strong enough to endure the extraordinary pressure down there but imagine how much diamonds should be needed in order to manufacture a very long tube. That’ll be unimaginable in both cost and expanse. But scientists nowadays always finds a way and when the time comes that a kind of metal could actually be developed, one that could reach ten thousand meters underwater without breaking apart and efficiently drill out barrels and barrels of sea water that contains deuterium, then that’ll be the time the Philippines could become the main hawker of fuels for the world’s cars, airplanes, buses, factories, power plants and whatever that runs and hums not by its own accord.
So deuterium may be the gasoline of the future, the main energy source of the next millennium, and the Philippines is the only country that has them naturally tucked under its seabed in an amount and breathe that replenishes on its own every time the Earth rotates and the sea shifts from side to side.
Look in Wikipedia for more information.
(Note: This is an old post that I am resposting since I am so very busy these days. You might find this write-up interesting since it's the most searched post that I have, almost twice a day.)
lazarus says; June 19, 2008 @ 3:20 pm
you know what Major Tom, i wrote a short sci-fiction in high school entitled, "The Quest for Deuterium".
I lost my manuscripts when my mom burned then when we transferred residence sometime in 1995. The plot is somewhat similar to your friend's story, even the location. But there is a little twist in the story. Sci-fi it is.
barrycade says; June 20, 2008 @ 10:04 am
is this really true? how come i haven't heard the government taking advantage of this 'hidden wealth'?
bw says; June 21, 2008 @ 4:03 am
I had a chance to speak to a former Macapagal govt technocrat in the 80's about this deuterium deposit in Mindanao in an informal chat and he was giddy about the prospect of Pinas making money on this precious element.
So far nothing significant has happened re the exploitation of the deposits in Mindanao. Today the CANDU ( Canadian Deuterium Uranium) nuclear reactors used in electricity generation are the prime users of deuterium.
Major Tom says; June 21, 2008 @ 12:40 pm
To Lazarus: Oh, That might have been so swell. Why not rcereate it. I did similarly lost old manuscripts and I guess if I really want to finish them, I just have to rewrite them.
Major Tom says; June 21, 2008 @ 12:42 pm
To Barrycade: It escapes me similarly bro. That's just how our government is, always politicking but not good in other endeavors, like in energy development.
I bet we should have been making cars by now only if our government are useful that way.
Major Tom says; June 21, 2008 @ 12:43 pm
To BW: If Canada could take advanatge of this novel form of energy source, then it should really be a makeable proposition. Our government should be well-wised to pursue it.
donG hO says; June 22, 2008 @ 1:03 pm
very interesting! i can already imagine power-hungry people trying to make way to connect to this porject as they know how much they can get from this. corrupt people.
that's why i really hope that before this project begins (if it happens), i hope the government will have a stable and just system.
our country is truly rich in resources but as long as corrupt people handle them, we cannot expect change.
but still very hopeful. i can see that this project will help us in many ways!
good research major tom! very nice article.
pining says; June 24, 2008 @ 8:11 pm
interesting post indeed!
My husband is very much interested in this sort of article, so I'll recommend that he read this post
Mon says; June 25, 2008 @ 1:08 pm
it is amazing how hydrogen (a flamable element) and Oxygen (an element that supports combustion) when put together produce water.
this is the first time I heard of Deuterium.
PS Do you really think your classmate's father has some connection in the CIA?
paetechie says; June 25, 2008 @ 10:03 pm
such huge potential actually. foreign investors only since pinas doesn't have the money to develop the deposits...
i guess that hydrogen fuel cells will be commercially avaible in a few years time. it's only running in CA due to refueling problems...
haze says; June 27, 2008 @ 4:11 am
Very informative ! Not familiar about this Deuterium, is it a nonradioactive or toxic to human ? And if this will contribute to have an economic growth this is indeed a genius idea to help save our country
! I've learned a lot from this post, thanks for this important info 
MJ !
Major Tom says; June 27, 2008 @ 11:51 pm
To Dong Ho: Thanks for the good note. I wouldn't be surprised at all if some scrupulous people are now salivating for the big moolah possible.
Major Tom says; June 27, 2008 @ 11:53 pm
To Mon: That's the thing I am not sure of; but it might be just possible since he was a USAFFE veteran.
Major Tom says; June 27, 2008 @ 11:54 pm
To pining: I hope he will and react on this subject.
Major Tom says; June 27, 2008 @ 11:57 pm
To Paetechie: The potentila is just very enormous, I hope we can take advantage of it to the hilt.
Major Tom says; June 28, 2008 @ 12:12 am
To Haze: toxicity is not really a problem like in terms of radiation and blood contamination for it could be handled well without any fear of combustion or undue explosion and besides it is not corrosive. It'll be harmful only if taken in heavy amount, juts like water when one drinks overly too much.
It's one of the main advantage of Deuterium as an energy source, it is far less harmful to humans and to the environment.
joanne says; July 2, 2008 @ 8:14 am
I read somewhere the Philippines is rich in resources. It's the ability to process or gather it that may be lacking.
This is off topic but along the same vein: One of the regulars in the cafe we used to own was happily surprised I was a Filipina. By chance, he was planning a trip to the Philippines to research more about a possible mining opportunity (I forgot exactly what they wanted to mine). He asked me the usual what to do, where to go, what to expect type of questions and of course, I tried to answer to the best of my abilities. I never did get to ask how his trip was, or if he ever went at all... But it just goes to prove the kind of discoveries waiting underneath Philippines soil.
Major Tom says; July 3, 2008 @ 3:24 am
To Joanne: New mining activities have been opening here almost one every week. I wonder why foreigners know more about our deposits than we do for all of them companies have foreign backers.
bingskee says; July 6, 2008 @ 10:00 pm
i just hope that a large portion of those who will benefit in the discovery of this element will be the poor people of this country. it's futile that projects prosper and will benefit only the crocs of this country.
Mark says; October 11, 2008 @ 1:31 am
Deuterium really exist in the Philippines... but one big question is why we are not extracting this natural gas? the answer is simple... POLITICS... I don't believe that there is no way we can extract this gas (technology evolves very rapidly)...
Rodel Sabino says; December 30, 2008 @ 7:16 am
This might sound so religious, but I felt God urged me last night to research on Dueterium. The impression he gave me was that it will be the propelling commodityfor the Philippine economy together with gold this 2009. I also want to ask your permission to post some articles I wrote thru the urging of the Holy Spitrit, (this is what I believed) about the Phlippines in relation to the prophecies of recognized prophets in the Christian world.
sonia argoso says; January 24, 2009 @ 3:45 pm
its so interesting to know that there is something waiting underneath our country's soil to be fully discovered..if its really exist in our land..then all we can do is pray to God who gave us this natural resources to bring us people who are honest, just, not corrupt and have real love and concern to our country and our fellowmen..and always acknowledge that everything here on earth belongs to him and we are all only steward of His great creatures living an non-living.
marian says; February 10, 2009 @ 1:30 pm
sabi nila hoax lang daw itong deuterium naito,sa tingin ko 75percent i believed na hindi toto o or 25percent true na naka deposit sa mindanao trench.as u can imagin during corazon aquino pa ito a hangang ngayon ilang presidente nang dumaan,naunahan pa ang pag drill nang oil exploration sa malampaya hay nako.maraming mga oil companies na interesado sa mga new discovery oil sites kahit saan saan may mga scientest and geology pero wala naman akong narinig sa sa mindanao trench nayan ehhh wala talaga hoax lang ito.
mars says; February 10, 2009 @ 1:47 pm
kung totoo na may deuterium deposit sa mindanao trench sana
masimolan naito and pag explorarion,imagine digging 10,000 mtr from floor to ceiling just to pumping the prescious oil.eh ang mt apo nga eh 2000 to 2800 mtrs lang ang taas.eh yang ang pinaka taas na bondok ng pinas .
halos 5x ang taas nako.eh ang mt everest nga ay 8,000 mtr ang taas at pinaka mataas sa buong mundo.can u imagine,siguro ang government kailangan humanap ng bussiness patners,it involves huge of money.kaya siguro parang walang gats ang ating governo dahil ang mindanao trench are the second deepest sea in the world.many oil exploration in the world never encounter to digging this 10,000 mtrs of deap seal level.
sisi says; April 24, 2009 @ 12:32 am
How Much Heavy Water?
Cold fusion with palladium requires heavy water (deuterium oxide). Cold fusion with nickel appears to work as well with ordinary water as with heavy water. I expect nickel will become the dominant cathode material, in which case the fuel cost will be as close to zero as any fuel imaginable. Even heavy water fuel would be cheap. Heavy water costs about $1000 per kilogram retail, even though it is ubiquitous (it is 1 part in 6000 in every drop of water on earth). It is expensive because a lot of energy is required to separate it from ordinary water, and because demand is limited, so new separation technologies have not been developed.6 But you get a fantastic amount of energy out of a fusion reaction. Even at $1000 per kilogram, heavy water would be thousands of times cheaper than oil. In a heavy water cold fusion economy, a fraction of a percent of the fuel would have to be recycled to keep the heavy water separation plants working, whereas today 7% of oil goes to refinery use and loss.7 There are some indications that the cathode metal itself plays a role in the reaction. It may be transmuted, in which case it would be used up. A cold fusion reactor may require new metal from time to time, the way a fission reactor requires new uranium. Palladium and nickel are cheaper than uranium, and all three produce energy cheaper than oil does.
How much heavy water would it take to run the world economy, and what byproducts would it produce? Let us assume that cold fusion works like plasma fusion (hot fusion), converting deuterium into helium and releasing energy. Actually, it is probably more complicated than hot fusion, but broadly speaking it releases energy on the same scale, with roughly the same amount of fuel, and it does produce helium. Worldwide annual production of all fuels, converted to an equivalent mass of oil, equals approximately 6.8x1013 kilograms of oil.8,9 This produces 2.7x1015 megajoules (at 40 megajoules per kilogram). A kilogram of heavy water contains 200 grams of deuterium. Converted to helium in a d-d fusion reaction, this produces 1.2x108 megajoules, with 1.3 grams of matter annihilated.10 Thus, present world energy needs could be met with 2.3x107 kg of heavy water, or ~24,000 metric tons. Actually, as I pointed out above, Carnot efficiency is likely to improve with cold fusion, so less fuel will be needed. Byproducts would include 18,800 tons of free oxygen and 4,700 tons of helium. Thirty tons of mass would be annihilated, the same amount we lose today with chemical fuel, which also obeys Einstein's mass-energy equivalence law. To put it another way, a kilogram of heavy water has as much potential energy as 2.9 million kilograms of oil. The earth has ~2x1013 metric tons of heavy water,11 enough to last 851 million years at this rate, and there is plenty more in Rings of Saturn and elsewhere in the solar system.
echo kilo says; May 3, 2009 @ 12:46 pm
To Sisi: This is very informative Sisi. Now the big question Sisi is how true that there is Deu in our deep water. I've been doing research about Deu for almost 3 years but I can not find article, report or any conducted exploration that this element is present in our own territory. Logically, yes this element will settle at the bottom because this element is 10 percent heavier than ordinary water. I read so many forums saying the big obstruction is how to siphon this liquid from 10km below just like "Mars" asked. Well Mars, I've solved the problem and this idea aint took a rocket scientist. ...(wink);) And I think my proposal is way much cheaper than what other is thinking about. My next problem is to patent my "Idea". Now is there anyone can send link that proves the Philippines has this so called "WHITE GOLD"?
ANGEL says; August 18, 2009 @ 5:51 am
good