Synthetic fuel
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Synthetic fuel or synfuel is any liquid fuel obtained from coal or from natural gas. It can sometimes refer to fuels derived from other solids such as oil shale, tar sand, waste plastics, or from the fermentation of biomatter. It can also (less often) refer to gaseous fuels produced in a similar way. The best known process is the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis which was used on a large scale in Germany during World War II. For other processes, see coal liquefication. An intermediate step in the production of synthetic fuel is often syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen produced from coal which is sometimes directly used as an industrial fuel.
One of the leading companies in the commercialization of synthetic fuel is Sasol, a company based in South Africa. Numerous US companies (TECO, Progress Energy, DTE, Marriott) have also taken advantage of synfuel tax credits established in the 1970s, however some of the processes qualifying for the subsidy (for example slurries or briquettes) used are not true "synthetic fuels" since they do not produce liquid hydrocarbon fuels. The United States synthetic fuel industry was estimated to produce 73 million tons in 2002, and projected to expand to 117 million tons by 2005.
At the present price of crude petroleum, synthetic fuels are not competitive with petroleum-based fuels without subsidies. However, they offer the potential to replace petroleum-based fuels if oil prices continue to rise. Several factors make synthetic fuels attractive relative to competing technologies such as biofuels, ethanol/methanol or hydrogen:
- The raw material (coal) is available in quantities sufficient to meet current demand for centuries
- Can produce gasoline, diesel or kerosene directly without the need for additional steps such as reforming or cracking
- No need to convert vehicle engines to use a different fuel
- No need to build a new distribution network
See also
- Coal liquefication
- Fischer-Tropsch process
- Bergius process
- Karrick process
- Syngas
- Gasification
- Biofuel
- Gas to liquid
- Synthetic oil
- Synthetic Liquid Fuels Program
External links
- [Synfuel Plants Expand In W. Va] (Coal Age, Feb 1, 2002)
- [Synfuel Capacity To Increase By 2004] (Coal Age, Feb 1, 2003)
- [Coal-Based Synfuel Continues to Grow] (Coal Age, Nov 1, 2002)
- [Synfuel Producers Hit Paydirt!] (NCPA Policy Digest) - an analysis of synfuel subsidies in the USA
- [U.S. Coal-Based Synfuel Plants, Prospects, & Forecast through 2007] (Hill and Associates, January 2003 study)
- [A magic way to make billions] (TIME Magazine, February 2006)
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