According to our current understanding of the strong nuclear force, it is not possible to separate quarks from a proton or any other strongly interacting particle. This phenomenon is again due to confinement, which states that quarks are always bound together and cannot be observed in isolation.
When one attempts to separate the quarks within a proton by expending energy, the energy stored in the strong force between the quarks increases. As the separation distance increases, the energy also increases. At a certain point, the energy is sufficient to create new quark-antiquark pairs, resulting in the formation of new bound states. These new bound states combine to form new particles, preventing the observation of isolated quarks.
If by some hypothetical means we could separate the quarks within a proton, an enormous amount of energy would indeed be required. However, it's important to note that the energy required to separate quarks is not readily convertible into a usable form of energy. The energy would be consumed in creating new quark-antiquark pairs and generating new bound states, rather than being released as a usable form of energy.
The confinement of quarks is a fundamental property of the strong nuclear force as described by the theory of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). While our understanding of physics can evolve over time, there is currently no scientific basis to suggest that quarks can be separated from a proton or that such a process would release a substantial amount of usable energy.