By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Jan. 14 -- The US Congress has appropriated $3.5 million for a pilot plant for Syntroleum Corp.'s battlefield fuel JP-8 as part of the Department of Defense's 2002 appropriations bill.
Tulsa-based Syntroleum expects to negotiate a contract with DoD under the Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration program for the design of a marine-based fuel-production plant, as well as testing of synthetic (gas-to-liquids) JP-8 fuel in military diesel and turbine engine applications.
The Syntroleum process converts natural gas into liquid fuels and lubricants. The company expects to be able to scale down a plant to below 2,000 b/d and either mount it on a barge or ship or transport it as large modules for land-based production.
It claimed its synthetic jet fuel weighs less per gallon and yields more energy per unit mass than standard jet fuel. It also has 11% more hydrogen per unit mass than diesel and twice as much as methanol, and burns cleaner, possibly making it suitable for fuel cell applications.
The appropriation was secured through the efforts of US Senators Don Nickles (R-OK) and James M. Inhofe (R-OK).
