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Startup turning natural gas glut into gasoline
Fuel Fix ^ | March 11, 2013 | David R. Baker

Posted on 03/11/2013 11:02:28 AM PDT by thackney

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1 posted on 03/11/2013 11:02:28 AM PDT by thackney
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To: thackney
Natural Gas..... heat..... pressure...... gasoline.

What could go wrong?

(on the other hand, I think that a well managed nuclear facility is ok....)

hypocritical? maybe nuts?

ok, don't answer that.

2 posted on 03/11/2013 11:06:07 AM PDT by garyb
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To: thackney

I am in a wait and see mode on this one.
Waiting to see if they “need government assistance” to get this process off the ground.
If the process is viable, they will not need any government assistance.


3 posted on 03/11/2013 11:08:59 AM PDT by Tupelo (Old, Bald, Ugly, Fat and Broke in Arizona)
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To: garyb

And... I live less than a mile from an underground gasoline pipeline.

And... one of my frequent work locations is 700 feet away from that same pipeline.

Maybe I should write a book: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Gas.


4 posted on 03/11/2013 11:09:41 AM PDT by garyb
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To: garyb

San Francisco, there fore eath quake prone destruction, therefore bad


5 posted on 03/11/2013 11:09:56 AM PDT by bert ((K.E. N.P. N.C. +12 .....The fairest Deduction to be reduced is the Standard Deduction)
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To: thackney

Why would anyone want to change the properties of a product that is already efficient and useful in it’s natural state?


6 posted on 03/11/2013 11:10:38 AM PDT by Doc91678 (Doc91678)
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To: garyb
Natural Gas..... heat..... pressure...... gasoline.
What could go wrong?

Just like a Crude Oil Refinery, it works well when kept inside the pipes.

7 posted on 03/11/2013 11:10:59 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: Doc91678
Why would anyone want to change the properties of a product that is already efficient and useful in it’s natural state?

Because it is far more valuable as liquid transportation fuel. The value per BTU is 8~10 times higher as gasoline.

8 posted on 03/11/2013 11:13:05 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: Doc91678

Probably the installed base of gasoline-powered internal combustion engines has something to do with it. A lot easier (goes the thinking) to change gas into gasoline than to retrofit every vehicle out there to work on natural gas.


9 posted on 03/11/2013 11:21:37 AM PDT by SoothingDave
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To: thackney

They will be based out of Texas in the next year or so. The regulations Kalifornia will impose on them will put them out of business.


10 posted on 03/11/2013 11:22:53 AM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (Got a problem? Nothing a drone strike can't fix.)
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To: thackney

Turn the American genius on to this problem and in a few years the Greenies and hate-America types will be going crazy with frustration.


11 posted on 03/11/2013 11:28:37 AM PDT by Oatka (This is America. Assimilate or evaporate.)
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To: garyb

If the germans were doing it... for a profit, I’d have no problem. But with all the “green incentives” being tossed around like candy by our criminal govt, every upstart energy project/company should be looked at with suspicion, since they are most likely simply collecting free government money.


12 posted on 03/11/2013 11:30:16 AM PDT by SpaceBar
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To: thackney

Anybody got an idea how this impacts the carbon issue? I would assume gasoline would release the same carbon whether it was made from NG or oil.


13 posted on 03/11/2013 11:31:49 AM PDT by Sherman Logan
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To: thackney

The best part is that it won’t be too much longer that the middle east and Venezuela for that matter will be awash in crude, with no where to go with it. Get me my violin. :)


14 posted on 03/11/2013 11:36:22 AM PDT by catfish1957 (My dream for hope and change is to see the punk POTUS in prison for treason)
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To: Sherman Logan
Natual gas is C1..... Gasoline is complex blend generally C5 through C12. NG has a general combustion of 1030 btu/scf, and if my memory serves correctly (and with liquid to gas conversion) gasoline has significantly less latent heat of combustion, ie therefore many more carbon atoms needed to get the same result.

But also remember.... 99+% of vehicles in the US do not run on NG. And from my persepctive, I am not too hip on having a NG cylinder strapped to my vehicle.

If the technology is truly there to cost effectively convert NG to gasoline..... this will be a true game changer.

15 posted on 03/11/2013 11:43:29 AM PDT by catfish1957 (My dream for hope and change is to see the punk POTUS in prison for treason)
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To: catfish1957; thackney

I would think “cost effectively” is the key term here. Conversion of natural gas to gasoline in a pilot plant is one thing, conversion on a commerical scale to make it worthwhile is a different matter.


16 posted on 03/11/2013 11:50:35 AM PDT by henkster (I have one more cow than my neighbor. I am a kulak.)
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To: thackney

still sounds like Fischer-Tropsch to me...that’s been around >60 years.


17 posted on 03/11/2013 11:55:02 AM PDT by bigbob
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To: henkster
I would think “cost effectively” is the key term here. Conversion of natural gas to gasoline in a pilot plant is one thing, conversion on a commerical scale to make it worthwhile is a different matter.

The crux of their whole proposal is the break-even point in cost comparison to gas refined from oil, and the whole future of the company depends on assumptions on future oil prices; they have to hope that increased tight oil production won't simply drop the cost of crude so much that it doesn't make sense to make gasoline from natural gas.

I definitely wouldn't invest in these guys unless it was play money. All their technology could be brilliant and work perfectly, but their business model could be destroyed by a massive crude price collapse to $50 a barrel or something. And they have no control over that.

18 posted on 03/11/2013 11:55:46 AM PDT by Strategerist
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To: bigbob
The most common process for making liquid fuels from natural gas or coal, a process known as Fischer-Tropsch, needs temperatures on the order of 600 degrees Fahrenheit. Dineen won’t specify the temperature needed for Siluria’s process, but says it is far lower. It is also less complex, requiring less-specialized equipment.
19 posted on 03/11/2013 12:14:37 PM PDT by SoothingDave
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To: henkster; catfish1957
I would think “cost effectively” is the key term here. Conversion of natural gas to gasoline in a pilot plant is one thing, conversion on a commerical scale to make it worthwhile is a different matter.

Cost effective in the US. Under our price and regulation conditions. Shell, Sasol and I think some others already have commercial scale Gas-To-Liquid plants in other countries. Both have been looking to bring it to the US, if it can be done economically.

Example:

About Shell > Our strategy > Our major projects > Pearl GTL
http://www.shell.com/global/aboutshell/our-strategy/major-projects-2/pearl.html

20 posted on 03/11/2013 12:15:28 PM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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