Attention: TDR Forum Junkies Hey guys, Been doing searches on synthetic diesel and can't find anything
but oil!! Does anybody remember any threads on it they could post. TIA
Why I ask, Marathon is putting it in stations around town (and other places)
and thinking about trying it. From what the article says, it sounds pretty good.
I'm going to go ahead and post the article, since I can't get a direct link.
Hope it ain't against the rules.
Tell me what you think of this new diesel.
I wouldn't of posted it if I didn't think it was good article. (And the direct link thing)
Marathon testing synthetic diesel fuel in local trucks
By MIKE SOBCZYK
Staff Writer
A possible fuel of tomorrow is being tested today on the streets of Findlay.
For the past several weeks, a couple of Marathon Ashland Petroleum (MAP) transport trucks, operating out of the Lima terminal and running on a synthetic diesel fuel, have been delivering regular fuel to various retail locations, including some in Findlay.
Made from natural gas, the synthetic diesel fuel is being tested for fuel efficiency, emissions and engine wear.
Throughout the course of what likely will be a six-month evaluation, between 21,000 and 25,000 gallons of the synthetic fuel, produced using gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology, will be used.
The project is part of Marathon Oil's ongoing integrated gas strategy.
Paul Weeditz, a Marathon Oil spokesman in Houston, explained Tuesday that a key component of the company's integrated gas strategy is examining ways to commercialize "the enormous volume of natural gas worldwide. "
The synthetic diesel fuel powering the local transport trucks was produced at a $64 million synthetic fuels demonstration plant located near Tulsa, Okla.
This plant was built via a joint development agreement between Marathon Oil and Syntroleum. Since 1997, Marathon Oil has been working with Syntroleum to explore energy alternatives.
Production from the 100 barrels-per-day Catoosa GTL demonstration facility, which received about $11 million in U. S. Department of Energy construction funding, began in early 2004.
While GTL technology is not new, having first been employed in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, it has gained new momentum in recent years.
Lary Kocher, Marathon's manager of gas utilization technology in Houston, said Tuesday that advantages of the clear, odorless synthetic diesel include that it contains zero sulfur, zero metals and zero aromatics.
He explained that Marathon, through more traditional methods, is already gearing up to meet the more stringent clean air standards which will come into play over the next few years, and the GTL technology being studied now is for the "decade down the road. "
However, he did note that, among other applications, this fuel could be used as a blending stock to comply with low-sulfur standards.
By 2006, the sulfur content of regular on-road diesel must not exceed 15 parts per million, down from the now permitted 500 parts per million.
But the greatest asset of the GTL technology lies in its ability to take stranded natural gas and convert it into high-value liquid fuels. Stranded natural gas is just that, natural gas which lies thousands of miles away from demand centers. Oftentimes, this remote natural gas is either left in the ground because there are no pipelines to ship the gas to market or else it is burned off in a process known as flaring.
However, by using a three-step process further developed by Syntroleum which incorporates the GTL technology, stranded natural gas may be put to a better use.
The first step in this process is the reforming step where the natural gas is reacted with oxygen or air to produce synthesis gas or syngas. At the Tulsa demonstration plant, air is used because it is safer.
Then this syngas is processed through a Fischer-Tropsch reactor which converts it to a waxy synthetic crude oil through a series of chemical reactions using a catalyst. This synthetic crude oil then is further refined into products such as diesel and naphtha.
Besides the ongoing local evaluation of the synthetic diesel fuel, since last summer the fuel also has been tested in the public bus system in Washington, D. C. and with National Park Service vehicles in Alaska to see how it performs under extreme heat and cold conditions. This testing is scheduled to conclude this summer.
As for the local transport truck evaluation, Rob Roy, MAP's manager of transport operations in Findlay, said Tuesday that each truck runs about 550 miles daily.
He said areas being studied include miles per gallon and engine wear. The performance of the two transport trucks running with the synthetic diesel fuel is being compared with two trucks not running the test.
Roy said the drivers of the synthetic diesel-fueled trucks are seeing more power out of the engines. "They are not using as much pedal,'' Roy said of the drivers' experience. He noted that the drivers being used in the test have extensive driving experience.
Also, Roy said, the drivers report that there's "no (diesel) smell to speak of. "
Asked about the market for the synthetic diesel fuel, the Marathon representatives explained that most other countries, including Europe, mostly use diesel fuel. The European truck market, for example, is diesel dominated.
Long term, it's hoped that if the demonstration project is deemed successful, larger commercial-grade plants could be built near natural gas reserves.
Contact staff writer Mike Sobczyk at: (419) 427 8421 -- email address removed --
Sorry its so long . Marc
but oil!! Does anybody remember any threads on it they could post. TIA
Why I ask, Marathon is putting it in stations around town (and other places)
and thinking about trying it. From what the article says, it sounds pretty good.
I'm going to go ahead and post the article, since I can't get a direct link.
Hope it ain't against the rules.
Tell me what you think of this new diesel.
I wouldn't of posted it if I didn't think it was good article. (And the direct link thing)
Marathon testing synthetic diesel fuel in local trucks
By MIKE SOBCZYK
Staff Writer
A possible fuel of tomorrow is being tested today on the streets of Findlay.
For the past several weeks, a couple of Marathon Ashland Petroleum (MAP) transport trucks, operating out of the Lima terminal and running on a synthetic diesel fuel, have been delivering regular fuel to various retail locations, including some in Findlay.
Made from natural gas, the synthetic diesel fuel is being tested for fuel efficiency, emissions and engine wear.
Throughout the course of what likely will be a six-month evaluation, between 21,000 and 25,000 gallons of the synthetic fuel, produced using gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology, will be used.
The project is part of Marathon Oil's ongoing integrated gas strategy.
Paul Weeditz, a Marathon Oil spokesman in Houston, explained Tuesday that a key component of the company's integrated gas strategy is examining ways to commercialize "the enormous volume of natural gas worldwide. "
The synthetic diesel fuel powering the local transport trucks was produced at a $64 million synthetic fuels demonstration plant located near Tulsa, Okla.
This plant was built via a joint development agreement between Marathon Oil and Syntroleum. Since 1997, Marathon Oil has been working with Syntroleum to explore energy alternatives.
Production from the 100 barrels-per-day Catoosa GTL demonstration facility, which received about $11 million in U. S. Department of Energy construction funding, began in early 2004.
While GTL technology is not new, having first been employed in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, it has gained new momentum in recent years.
Lary Kocher, Marathon's manager of gas utilization technology in Houston, said Tuesday that advantages of the clear, odorless synthetic diesel include that it contains zero sulfur, zero metals and zero aromatics.
He explained that Marathon, through more traditional methods, is already gearing up to meet the more stringent clean air standards which will come into play over the next few years, and the GTL technology being studied now is for the "decade down the road. "
However, he did note that, among other applications, this fuel could be used as a blending stock to comply with low-sulfur standards.
By 2006, the sulfur content of regular on-road diesel must not exceed 15 parts per million, down from the now permitted 500 parts per million.
But the greatest asset of the GTL technology lies in its ability to take stranded natural gas and convert it into high-value liquid fuels. Stranded natural gas is just that, natural gas which lies thousands of miles away from demand centers. Oftentimes, this remote natural gas is either left in the ground because there are no pipelines to ship the gas to market or else it is burned off in a process known as flaring.
However, by using a three-step process further developed by Syntroleum which incorporates the GTL technology, stranded natural gas may be put to a better use.
The first step in this process is the reforming step where the natural gas is reacted with oxygen or air to produce synthesis gas or syngas. At the Tulsa demonstration plant, air is used because it is safer.
Then this syngas is processed through a Fischer-Tropsch reactor which converts it to a waxy synthetic crude oil through a series of chemical reactions using a catalyst. This synthetic crude oil then is further refined into products such as diesel and naphtha.
Besides the ongoing local evaluation of the synthetic diesel fuel, since last summer the fuel also has been tested in the public bus system in Washington, D. C. and with National Park Service vehicles in Alaska to see how it performs under extreme heat and cold conditions. This testing is scheduled to conclude this summer.
As for the local transport truck evaluation, Rob Roy, MAP's manager of transport operations in Findlay, said Tuesday that each truck runs about 550 miles daily.
He said areas being studied include miles per gallon and engine wear. The performance of the two transport trucks running with the synthetic diesel fuel is being compared with two trucks not running the test.
Roy said the drivers of the synthetic diesel-fueled trucks are seeing more power out of the engines. "They are not using as much pedal,'' Roy said of the drivers' experience. He noted that the drivers being used in the test have extensive driving experience.
Also, Roy said, the drivers report that there's "no (diesel) smell to speak of. "
Asked about the market for the synthetic diesel fuel, the Marathon representatives explained that most other countries, including Europe, mostly use diesel fuel. The European truck market, for example, is diesel dominated.
Long term, it's hoped that if the demonstration project is deemed successful, larger commercial-grade plants could be built near natural gas reserves.
Contact staff writer Mike Sobczyk at: (419) 427 8421 -- email address removed --
Sorry its so long . Marc
Last edited by a moderator:
