By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, July 7 -- The US Department of Defense has ordered 100,000 gal of Fischer-Tropsch synthetic aviation fuel from Syntroleum Corp., Tulsa, for performance testing in military turbines. The deal caps Syntroleum's 4 years of research and development to produce an acceptable alternative fuel for military applications.
The fuel is a synthetic liquid hydrocarbon converted in the Fischer-Tropsch process from natural gas or synthesis gas derived from coal and other carbon-based feedstock (OGJ, Sept. 19, 2005, Newsletter).
DOD will evaluate the fuel, test it in a B-52 flight at Edwards Air Force Base later this year, and determine the feasibility of setting up long-term domestic manufacture and supply. The government currently is seeking up to 200 million gal of the synthetic alternate fuel, which would be supplied in 2008 from Syntroleum's plant near Tulsa.
