by Ron Bengtson
25-11-05
A few weeks ago we were paying over $ 3 for a gallon of gas. Today, the price
of gasoline is much lower... I wonder how long before $ 3 gas prices return.
Hurricanes off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana pushed the price of oil over $
70 per barrel. What would another Arab oil embargo do? Or, God forbid, what
would happen if Iran gave a nuclear bomb to Islamic militants who then detonated
the bomb in the Saudi oil fields, destroying Saudi oil production? The price of
oil would skyrocket over $ 200 per barrel. Gasoline and diesel would rise over $
5 per gallon and could go as high as $ 6-$ 10. Are we prepared for that?
The US military is concerned about America's dependence on foreign oil. Enter
the following URL addresses into your computer's Internet browser and read what
the Pentagon is telling your governor and legislators:
www.westgov.org/wieb/meetings/boardsprg2005/briefing/ppt/congressionalbrief.pdf
The US Department of Defence has asked the governors of the Western states to
consider the development of local synthetic fuel refineries: "The Department of
Defence is working to produce synthetic fuels from coal, biomass, and oil shale.
Given the West's vast reserves of these natural resources, DoD would like to
open a dialogue with Western governors on the opportunities to the West that
such an effort presents.
www.westgov.org/wieb/meetings/boardsprg2005/briefing/CleanFuelsPro.pdf
It is time for US leaders -- our governors and elected legislators -- to end
our nation's oil dependence.
American technology has put a man on the moon, built an orbiting space station,
mapped the human genome and successfully landed robotic exploration vehicles on
Mars. It seems reasonable to believe that American scientists and engineers
could also achieve a down-to-earth practical accomplishment like developing a
technology that will make synthetic gasoline and diesel from America's vast
natural resources.
Can synthetic fuels made in America replace imported oil? Yes! The place to
stop oil dependence is at the refinery. The job of the oil refinery is to break
down the crude oil at the molecular level and recombine the molecules in such a
way that they become useful fuels and chemicals. The refinery needs only a cheap
source of hydrocarbon molecules. In the past, crude oil has always been the
cheapest source.
The US has an abundance of natural resources that can replace imported crude
oil: coal, biomass and oil shale. When crude oil is selling above $ 40 per
barrel, it is cheaper to make gasoline and diesel from coal or other sources of
hydrocarbon molecules, using a technology known as Fischer-Tropsch chemistry.
Synthetic fuels -- diesel, gasoline and jet fuel -- are obtained from
synthesis gas, which is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide molecules
produced by a process involving the gasification of hydrocarbons. Any source of
hydrocarbons can be used to produce the synthesis gas, which then feeds into the
Fischer-Tropsch process to obtain synthetic fuels.
When synthesis gas is produced from coal, the synthetic fuels obtained are
called CTL (coal-to-liquids). When synthesis gas is produced from biomass, the
synthetic fuels obtained are called BTL (biomass-to-liquid).
Ethanol will blend with synthetic gasoline the same as with gasoline made
from crude oil. And biodiesel will blend with synthetic diesel the same as with
diesel made from crude oil. There would be no conflict between a BTL synthetic
fuels refinery and existing ethanol and biodiesel producers.
Idaho's vast agricultural resources, in addition to existing farm production,
offer tremendous potential as a source of raw material for a modern
biomass-to-liquids refinery.
Ron Bengtson is the founder of AmericanEnergyIndependence.com in Meridian.
Source: AmericanEnergyIndependence.com.