|
| Concocted at the German manufacturer’s research facility in Dresden, the only raw materials needed for producing e-diesel are water and carbon dioxide. To demonstrate its suitability for everyday use, German Federal Minister of Education and Research Prof. Dr. Johanna Wanka put the first five liters into her official car (above), an Audi A8 3.0 TDI clean diesel quattro, this Tuesday. This synthetic fuel is free from sulfur and aromatic hydrocarbons, and its high cetane number means it is readily ignitable. As lab tests conducted at Audi have shown, it is suitable for admixing with fossil diesel or, prospectively, for use as a fuel in its own right. The Dresden plant is set to produce over 3,000 liters of Audi e‑diesel over the coming months. |
|
Originally Posted by Rehaan
(Post 3693887)
Wow, this sounds almost too good to be true. What's the fine print? How expensive is it to manufacture / any idea what the production constraints are? |
"This synthesis of fuel is called the Fischer-Tropsch process and it's been known since 1925.
Audi did not invent it. It's been used before by the countries that could not procure enough fuel by other means (i.e., Nazi Germany during WWII).
Also, it's quite energy inefficient, meaning that you will spend way more energy than you'll be able to recover when you burn the fuel. The fuel you make will be much more expensive than producing fuel from oil."
--------------
"Exactly. I worked for a company that was based on the Fischer-Tropsch process 15 years ago. At the time I started with the company I was convinced that this was the future. It was my 2nd job out of university, so I was a bit young and easily swayed. I can say that there is a remarkable impression on everyone when they first see (and smell) the finalized FT product side by side with some traditional diesel fuel. For these reasons we were able to obtain ~10 million USD in funding, which lasted us a whopping 2 years.
After 2 years of working on the FT process my initial impressions were dead. Since that time I've followed every company that remains involved in the process (mainly because I purchased stock in every one), and other than Sasol and the Shell plant in malaysia, they are all dead or dying. Still, about once per year you see a new announcement how people have discovered a new sustainable path for fuel production, and there is a ~100% likelyness that the press release will have a jar containing ~100 mL of clear liquid (exactly like the one in Audi's web page). Realistically, the costs associated with the fabrication of a new plant to produce a usable product on the scale of traditional refineries are simply too high: it is much more cost effective to throw money at other projects.
EDIT: I no longer purchase these stocks, that was a mistake. I bought all of my stock in the years 2000-2002, a significant portion being in Syntroleum and Rentek."
| All times are GMT +5.5. The time now is 12:41. |
