Ned,
Interesting news release. However, I fail to see where the infrastruture exists to supply "waste" gases in the same manner that GRNO has the waste oil industry.
The technology is available to accomplish the conversion of natural gas into diesel, but if I understand the variety of technical manuals I have been reading this summer, it is complex and must me done on a reasonably large scale to be economical.
The question in my mind is why someone would want to take what is essentially a "light end" hydrocarbon possessing an intrinsic value of its own, only to condense it into a heavier hydrocarbon molecule.
This concept kinda reminds me of the old coal gassification process from years past. However, the only folks that used synthetic coal fuel to any degree of success was Nazi Germany. But then they were forced to and it was never economically efficient enough to compete against traditional petroleum sources.
However, if we make the comparison to oxgenated gasoline which contains a certain amount of Ether or Ethanol, then they may have something here from an EPA perspective. However, a diesel mechanic I once knew once told me that the main reason we see all of that black smoke issuing from those 18 wheelers is due to fouled and improperly maintained injectors.
So my main question would be, How much are we talking about per gallon? And then we must ask to what ratio will fuel need to be blended with current diesel to achieve significant sulphur reduction? (Note: many truckers dislike low-sulphur fuel since sulphur acts as a lubricant in the diesel engine and prolongs engine life.)
And finally, we must remember that if this company indeed succeeds to produce a marketable product and build an industry in synthetic diesel, it will have no impact on GRNO, which will take a product that nobody knows what to do with and makes a higher valued product from it.
Regardless Ned, I do appreciate your posting this news release as it is of some interest.
Regards,
Ron
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