Startup turning natural gas glut into gasoline

Fuel Fix ^ | March 11, 2013 | David R. Baker

[thackney]

Team’s Work Uses a Virus to Convert Methane to Ethylene
http://siluria.com/admin/Resourcesfiles/4e6a10889621fnyt.pdf

Not Fischer-Tropsch

[cicero2k]

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.

A power producing gas turbine at say 25% efficiency can produce electricity from natural gas with copious exhaust gas at 900 DEGF.

Plenty of heat for a back end Fischer-Tropsch catalyst.

[SoothingDave]

Yes, but also plenty of heat for an expander or some other use of the “waste heat.”

Keep in mind this is talking about a different process.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

They’re more likely to get government interference.

[Red Badger]

The only ‘Government assistance’ they will get is to stop them from what they are trying to do...............

[TexasTransplant]

***** “I definitely wouldn’t invest in these guys unless it was play money” ******

I invested play money in Turkey Guts to Gas and lost Boardwalk and Park Place.

TT

[FreedomNotSafety]

“Dineen most recently served as CEO of LS9, a renewable fuel and chemical company in South San Francisco”

That is all I need to know. Renewable=Subsidy.

[catfish1957]

but their business model could be destroyed by a massive crude price collapse to $50 a barrel or something.

Exactly. Case in point, in the early 80's oil recyclers and reclaimers were booming, rolling in the dough, and living the good life. By the mid '80's most of them became industrial metal graveyards and superfund sites.

[catfish1957]

Most operating crackers have a nameplate capacity in the 3-5 B lb. range per year. That would be a lot of hard working viruses there.

[truth_seeker]

Fischer-Tropsch predates WWII, where the Germans used it.

It has been used by Sasol in South Africa, since the 1950s.

Now this guy promises a pilot plant next year, has raised $66 million.

As a fellow Californians, and not wanting to be too cranky, I wonder if this South San Francisco venture is science or finance?

It doesn’t seem like super high tech, and I would expect the major oil and refining companies would be all over it, if it really makes sense and cents.

[Doc91678]

I’m all for the use of natural gas. The use of LP gas is used within the U.S. exisiting gasoline powered vehicles are easily converted to use LPG. BTW I heat my home with it. Seems it’s more efficient than fuel oil and a Hell of a lot cheaper.

[muffaletaman]

Japan LNG imports in 2012 ranged from about $15 to $18 per million BTU (MMBTU).

WTI crude oil is about $93/bbl, at 5.8 MMBTU/BBL = $16/MMBTU.

Brent crude at $110/BBL = $19/MMBTU.

So there is a reasonable match in the cost of LNG shipments to Japan, versus the world crude prices.

Now to Natural Gas versus Gasoline in North America.

Natural Gas at the Henry Hub is running about $3.50 per MMBTU.

Gasoline is generally 8 gallons per MMBTU, so at $3.50 a gallon that is $28 per MMBTU

So natural gas is 1/8th the cost of gasoline per MMBTU.

Liguid gasoline is roughly worth 8 times more than natural gas.

This leaves a good amount of margin for a cost-effective NG to Gasoline conversion process here at home.

THIS is also why we need to develop LNG exports, there is a big market for this as well. All in all, exporting LNG and bringing $’s into the US is a good thing.

[dalereed]

“Anybody got an idea how this impacts the carbon issue?”

Quit parroting the BS that was fed you in the public doctronazation system and smarten up, CARBON ISN/T AN ISSUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[thackney]

WTI crude oil is about $93/bbl, at 5.8 MMBTU/BBL = $16/MMBTU.

Brent crude at $110/BBL = $19/MMBTU.

So there is a reasonable match in the cost of LNG shipments to Japan, versus the world crude prices.

WTI is the price at land-locked Cushing, Oklahoma. If you bring the same grade oil to the coast, it rises in value about ~$20/barrel. WTI has not represented world prices of light sweet for years. Brent is the new world standard and now trades a higher volume than WTI.

[muffaletaman]

I know.

That is what it is now.

That is part of the point, these are the current economic conditions.

I’ve been in the oil business since 1977 so I’ve seen all the booms and busts in natural gas and crude prices for a while...

;-)

[webstersII]

“I invested play money in Turkey Guts to Gas and lost Boardwalk and Park Place.”

What ever happened to that technology? It looked really promising.

[American Constitutionalist]

Because the current infrastructure supports another technology that has been in place for over 100 years ? therefore more easy to get it to the market place and can make a profit on it ? i.e. the gasoline internal combustion engine.
Your right, why convert natural gas in it's natural state that can be used in vehicles anyway ?
Because there are more internal combustion engines that run on gasoline than natural gas and many people can't afford to covert their cars, trucks over to running on natural gas.
Yes, there are inherent dangers in running both but I still feel safer running gasoline in my car that running natural gas.

[American Constitutionalist]

In the near or far future at some point the business case won't matter and the need for any kind of fuels to run cars will take priority.
Can't have a economy without oil at this time.
Yes, I know that you can't work for free but also said is ? can't live without water, the same goes with fuel, gasoline.

[American Constitutionalist]

Would garbage incinerators produce the same amount of heat ?
What about bio-mass incinerators ? bio-mass power plants ?
Wood pellet power plants ?
In one of those western states there is a woman CEO that claims that their bio-mass/garbage incinerator that operates on the gasification process can produce high grade " Racing Fuels " for race cars... would it not also be able to produce high grade jet fuels also ?

[American Constitutionalist]

If it can be produced from a heat source of the bio-mass/gasification process that uses bio-mass or garbage then it would be carbon neutral to make the environmental wackos happy.