tear the seawater apart

[KLPNO]

Hello everyone
I'd like to ask about the meaning of the phrase "tear the seawater apart" in the following context.

With the best alloys in the world, insulated tanks were built, and they were filled with methane and dangled far beneath each Isle, using sea's own pressure and cold to help keep the gas liquified. That gas would eventually power lights and hydroponics, with enough energy in reserve to tear the seawater apart... to carve hydrogen from the precious oxygen, allowing everyone to breathe without any cumbersome masks.

Does "tear the seawater apart" mean to decompose/separate/analyze seawater into constituent parts?

 

[Horsa]

Yes that is its meaning here - it is an original expression though and so not one you could reuse. This is why the writer has explained it in the next sentence.

 

[riverkid]

Is this a sci-fi novel, KPLNO?

 

[KLPNO]

Is this a sci-fi novel, KPLNO?

Yes, this is a sci-fi story, riverkid.