17
Fuels and Trends
modification to the vehicle engine or fueling infrastructure. Shell markets
FT diesel as a premium diesel blend in Europe and Thailand. The output
of the Fischer–Tropsch process is typically 50% high-quality, sulfur-free,
high cetane synthetic diesel; 30% naphta; and 20% other products. Some of
the production plants in the world is listed below (Rehnlund 2007; Nylund,
Aakko-Saksa, and Sipilä 2008).
Sasol, South Africa:
156,000 bpd, mainly coal
Shell, Malaysia:
15,000 bpd, natural gas
Qatar:
2 × 34,000 bpd, natural gas
Sasol Shell, United States:
5,000 bpd, waste coal
Shell, Qatar:
140,000 bpd
Currently, the following three technologies are used to produce liquid fuel
viz. (CTL: coal to liquid, BTL: biomass to liquid, and GTL: gas to liquid. Coal
to liquid process converts coal directly into liquids (direct liquefaction).
Liquefaction is a thermal conversion process of biomass or other organic
matters into primarily liquid oil in the presence of a reducing reagent.
Liquefaction generally carried out at the moderate temperatures (from
550 to 675 K) and at high pressures. Biomass to liquid is a term describing processes for converting biomass into a range of liquid fuels such as
gasoline, diesel, and petroleum refinery feedstocks. BTL can convert types
of biomass, such as wood and agricultural residues that are difficult to
handle using other biofuel production processes. In the gas to liquid process, biomass is turned into synthesis gas by gasification. Syngas can be
burned directly to produce electricity or converted into hydrocarbons (such
as gasoline and diesel), alcohols, ethers, or chemical products. In the long
run, FT fuels compatible with existing vehicles are predicted to take the
lead as alternative fuels for transport. The VTT Technical Research Centre
of Finland reported that as the quality of FT diesel fuels is high, FT diesel
might also be used to upgrade lower quality diesel fuels (Nylund, AakkoSaksa, and Sipilä 2008).
The number of alternative fuels on the road are increasing every year.
The growth of vehicles run on alternative fuel is depicted in Table 1.3. Ever
increasing population of vehicles aggravates the demand of fuels. The alternative fuels can partially substitute the petroleum demand. The research on
alternative fuels for its use in commercial vehicles is at peak in this scenario.
Automotive manufacturers, oil industry, and academic institutions are doing
research on production and storage of alternative fuels as well as to reduce
the exhaust emissions of vehicles and increase the percentage of alternative
fuels in petroleum fuel. However, the success of alternative fuels depends
upon government polices and cost of the fuel.
Fuels and Trends
modification to the vehicle engine or fueling infrastructure. Shell markets
FT diesel as a premium diesel blend in Europe and Thailand. The output
of the Fischer–Tropsch process is typically 50% high-quality, sulfur-free,
high cetane synthetic diesel; 30% naphta; and 20% other products. Some of
the production plants in the world is listed below (Rehnlund 2007; Nylund,
Aakko-Saksa, and Sipilä 2008).
Sasol, South Africa:
156,000 bpd, mainly coal
Shell, Malaysia:
15,000 bpd, natural gas
Qatar:
2 × 34,000 bpd, natural gas
Sasol Shell, United States:
5,000 bpd, waste coal
Shell, Qatar:
140,000 bpd
Currently, the following three technologies are used to produce liquid fuel
viz. (CTL: coal to liquid, BTL: biomass to liquid, and GTL: gas to liquid. Coal
to liquid process converts coal directly into liquids (direct liquefaction).
Liquefaction is a thermal conversion process of biomass or other organic
matters into primarily liquid oil in the presence of a reducing reagent.
Liquefaction generally carried out at the moderate temperatures (from
550 to 675 K) and at high pressures. Biomass to liquid is a term describing processes for converting biomass into a range of liquid fuels such as
gasoline, diesel, and petroleum refinery feedstocks. BTL can convert types
of biomass, such as wood and agricultural residues that are difficult to
handle using other biofuel production processes. In the gas to liquid process, biomass is turned into synthesis gas by gasification. Syngas can be
burned directly to produce electricity or converted into hydrocarbons (such
as gasoline and diesel), alcohols, ethers, or chemical products. In the long
run, FT fuels compatible with existing vehicles are predicted to take the
lead as alternative fuels for transport. The VTT Technical Research Centre
of Finland reported that as the quality of FT diesel fuels is high, FT diesel
might also be used to upgrade lower quality diesel fuels (Nylund, AakkoSaksa, and Sipilä 2008).
The number of alternative fuels on the road are increasing every year.
The growth of vehicles run on alternative fuel is depicted in Table 1.3. Ever
increasing population of vehicles aggravates the demand of fuels. The alternative fuels can partially substitute the petroleum demand. The research on
alternative fuels for its use in commercial vehicles is at peak in this scenario.
Automotive manufacturers, oil industry, and academic institutions are doing
research on production and storage of alternative fuels as well as to reduce
the exhaust emissions of vehicles and increase the percentage of alternative
fuels in petroleum fuel. However, the success of alternative fuels depends
upon government polices and cost of the fuel.