Airliner on synthetic fuel

[Lazarus]

United A319 makes first flight with synthetic jet fuel.

The synthetic jet fuel, derived from natural gas and converted to liquid fuel through the Rentech Fischer Tropsch process, is approved by the ASTM International and is safe for use on passenger flights.

Here's another interesting article.

The USAF aims to certificate its entire fleet to use 50% Fischer-Tropsch blends by 2011, and is now looking for biofuel alternatives

[dcb]

dunno what is so great about "natural" gas, or running a turbine on it. A turbine can burn almost anything you can imagine.

[Frank Lee]

I'd like to get off natural gas... at the same time they're proposing burning lots more?

Supplies were tight and prices skyrocketed...

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

I'd like to get off natural gas... at the same time they're proposing burning lots more?

Supplies were tight and prices skyrocketed...

LoL, we have tremendously HUGE deposites of natural gas, if the ideots in the gulf would have been sucking methane hydrate off the ocean floor instead of blowing holes in it the entire southern coast wouldn't be getting permanently destroyed now.

We do have enough natural gas to last about 50 years running all cars if you count offshore assets.

I have often thought one part of getting off oil would be to convert natural gas into a gasoline like substance (but not methanol)

[dcb]

I think it is still considered a "fossil fuel" though.

[Frank Lee]

50 years? Oh, well then, let's burn it up!

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by dcb

I think it is still considered a "fossil fuel" though.

Fossil or not natural gas can be made naturally from people, cattle and, trash etc. Its nothing more than dirty methane.

So getting ourselves off foreign oils to some extent by using Natural Gas as a gateway drug would be fine with me. From what i've read converting natural gas into synthetic gasoline or fuel oil is much more efficient than corn to ethanol, possibly could be made more efficient than cracking crude since you don't have to crack anything. Its sad that this tech has been more or less left alone.

It certainly wouldn't lower prices any though (even if it cost less than oil) because of the embedded government and oil lobby. But still I feel worthwhile to get our country to stop exporting money for oil.

Sad to say half of all so called retail sales last year were for gasoline, which I think is a scam, gas should be left out since it is only a drain on society and not really a normal "retail" item, can't wear it, can't eat it, can't build anything with it, but you can use it.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

50 years? Oh, well then, let's burn it up!

Exactly, would give us time and money back into our pockets to develop other solutions