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.
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.
Why would anyone want to change the properties of a product that is already efficient and useful in it’s natural state?
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.
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.
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. :)
still sounds like Fischer-Tropsch to me...that’s been around >60 years.
“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.
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.
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.