Dennis
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And it still is an intersting artical....maximize..or turn on your pop-up blockers...reads fine for me or I wouldn't have placed it.
(Anyone else having a problem with that website?)
July 29, 2005 - This week at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, the military tested the synfuel that could fly today’s planes tomorrow.
Synfuel, in this case, is a synthetic aviation petroleum, made by the American company, Syntroleum. According to Jerry Hereden, Communications spokesperson for Syntroleum, the Department of Defense ordered 100,000 gallons of the fuel. From the Syntroleum website, "Our process also represents a solution to flaring. Because stranded natural gas is often associated with oil and production, producers typically flare this valuable asset to get to the crude, burning off as much as 10 billion cubic feet each day. The practice is not only wasteful, it is the target of worldwide environmental laws designed to reduce global warming."
According to Hereden, Syntroleum’s synthetic fuel burns up to 90 percent cleaner than conventional jet fuel and can be made from coal or natural gas. Currently, Syntroleum’s fuel is being made from natural gas, gas that used to be flared during the oil production process. In an effort to maximize the efficiencies of all fuels, to increase the supply of domestic aviation fuel,the Department of Defense created an Assured Fuel Initiative in 1999.
According to Michael A. Aimone, Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Installations and Mission Support, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C, the initiative was really spurred on by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. "President Bush sent a letter to all agencies to conserve energy. We took this to heart and we became aware of the long-term issues. We are not focused on cheaper prices for gas, but price stability, regularity for our budget cycle and for getting off the dependence of foreign oil. We started doing detailed analysis’ of our airplanes, including the basic premise of the fuel loading; the theoretics and the actuaries. And we started looking at homegrown fuels."
Aimone went on to say that, "there was an executive order to decrease, by 30 percent, the use of energy by the military. That objective was met. Most people don’t know that the military’s consumption of energy is only 2 percent of the nation’s energy usage. Of that 2 percent, 50 percent of it is because of the United States Air
Mr. Jerold Smith Chief Engineer B-52 327th Aircraft Sustainment Group at Tinker AFB Okla. July 18 for the B-52 synthetic fuel engine demonstrationCourtesy photo U.S. Air Force.
Force (USAF), with 80 percent of that coming from aviation fuel."
Syntroleum’s website says they have been testing and evaluating fuels and specialties products for more than six years in pilot plant and demonstration facilities. For example, in one particular program, performance and emissions tests were conducted in Chrysler and Toyota motor vehicles. In these tests, Syntroleum liquid diesel delivered 72 MPG, a Daimler-Chrysler diesel-hybrid demonstration vehicle, and met advanced emissions standards and showed no perceptible reduction in power or performance.
Under an additional program - sponsored by the Department of Energy - Syntroleum produced up to 150,000 gallons of various grades of diesel fuel and 10,000 gallons of synthetic jet fuel. This fuel has been evaluated by several laboratories under DOE contracts. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology conducted an extensive emissions program over three years looking at the inherent benefits of synthetic paraffin diesel fuels in modern emissions compliant engines. This work includes tuning the engine to perform optimally on synthetic diesel fuel. AVL Laboratories has conducted an extended duration durability test of Syntroleum using a DC bus engine and Caterpillar 2004 compliant engine. Both engines completed a 1500 hour test cycle
< Message edited by Dennis -- 9/20/2006 11:10:29 AM >
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Printable Version
Synfuels - 
