Page 10 - Synthetic Fuels Handbook

PREFACE

Petroleum-based fuels are well-established products that have served industry and consum-
ers for more than 100 years. For the foreseeable future automotive fuels will still be largely
based on liquid hydrocarbons. The specifications of such fuels will however continue to
be adjusted as they have been and are still being adjusted to meet changing demands from
consumers. Traditional crude oil refining underwent increasing levels of sophistication to
produce fuels of appropriate specifications. Increasing operating costs continuously put
pressure on refining margins but it remains problematic to convert all refinery streams into
products with acceptable specifications at a reasonable return.
However, the time is running out and petroleum, once considered inexhaustible, is now
being depleted at a rapid rate. As the amount of available petroleum decreases, the need for
alternate technologies to produce liquid fuels that could potentially help prolong the liquid
fuels culture and mitigate the forthcoming effects of the shortage of transportation fuels that
has been suggested to occur under the Hubbert peak oil theory (Hirsch, 2005).
To mitigate the influence of the oil peak and the subsequent depletion of supplies,
unconventional (or nonpetroleum derived) fuels and synthetic fuels are becoming major
issues in the consciousness of oil importing countries.
On the other hand, synthetic fuels, such as gasoline and diesel from other sources, are
making headway into the fuel balance. For example, biodiesel from plant sources is similar
to diesel, but has differences that include higher cetane rating (45–60 compared to 45–50
for petroleum-derived diesel) and it acts as a cleaning agent to get rid of dirt and deposits.
As with alcohols and petrol engines, taking advantage of biodiesel’s high cetane rating
potentially overcomes the energy deficit compared to ordinary number 2 diesel.
For example, coal (coal-to-liquids), natural gas (gas-to-liquids), and oil shale (shale-
to-liquids) have been touted for decades. At this time, the potential for liquid fuels from
various types of biomass (Chap. 8) is also seeing prominence. Shortages of the supply of
petroleum and the wish for various measures of energy independence are a growing part of
the national psyche of many countries.
However, the production of liquid fuels from sources other than petroleum has a check-
ered history. The on-again-off-again efforts that are the result of political maneuvering has
seen to it that the race to secure self-sufficiency by the production of nonconventional fuels
has never got much further than the starting gate! This is due in no small part to the price
fluctuations of crude oil (currently in excess of $90 per barrel) and the lack of foresight by
various levels of government. It must be realized that for decades the price of petroleum has
always been maintained at a level that was sufficiently low to discourage the establishment
of a synthetic fuels industry. However, we are close to the time when the lack of prepared-
ness for the production of nonconventional fuels may set any national government on its
heels.
In the near term, the ability of conventional fuel sources and technologies to support
the global demand for energy will depend on how efficiently the energy sector can match
available energy resources with the end user and how efficiently and cost effectively the
energy can be delivered. These factors are directly related to the continuing evolution of a
truly global energy market.

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