Quote:
Originally Posted by ksusha_k
I sent an e-mail to SYNTEC BIOFUEL INC. recently asking to evaluate our technology.
Here is what they wrote:
Dear ...,
I am not very familar with USSE but I have read through their website. The website doesn't provided too much detail about their technology but they appear to be using soybeans to produce biodiesel. The production level of 250 gallons of biofuel from a ton of soybeans sounds a bit high for the average process, but if they have perfected a method of extracting more potential energy from the soybean, that is great. I think all green fuel technologies will have their place.
Assuming that USSE is using the current technology to produce their biodiesel, this would mean that they would make oil from the soybeans and then use methanol (or ethanol) to produce esters for the transesterfication process. The yield would be tied to the amount of oil generated per pound of soybean and the usage of all fatty acids during the transesterification process.
They have made some references to the Rivera Process but have not stated what that process is other than to say that it will produce cellulosic ethanol at a greatly increased yield.
Our process is a thermochemical process. We can use any feedstock that is comprised of carbon. The feedstock is gasified and passed over our proprietary catalysts. Our catalysts convert the gas into a mixed alcohol product.
We feel that our process has an economical advantage because we are not limited to agricultural crops as feedstock. We will be able to purchase our feedstock at a greatly reduced price as it is considered waste by most companies. The price of our feedstock will not fluctuate with the commodities market (as it would if we used corn or soybean).
Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Regards,
Nancy Ross
SYNTEC BIOFUEL INC.
Ethanol from Biomass using a thermochemical catalyst - the Syntec Biofuel process |
Checked out their Web site, this is on it,
Methanol (methyl alcohol) is also known as wood alcohol or wood spirit. It’s a colorless liquid that burns with non-luminous flame and is a violent poison. Methanol is one of the basic building blocks of the chemical industry and one of the largest-volume commodity materials produced in the world today, with primary outlets being resins for building products and numerous types of polymers and plastics.
Methanol Fuel
Methanol is primarily used as base for the production of other important chemicals which in turn are utilized in the plastics, textile, paint and auto industries. Methanol is higher in octane than gasoline and often used as a fuel additive in reformulated gasoline (MTBE), rocket propellant and as a fuel blend for a variety of vehicular racing sports.
Methanol Production
Methanol is made primarily from natural gas sources via catalytic synthesis similar in methodology to the Syntec Process. Natural gas is reformed with steam to produce syngas which is catalytically reacted to make methanol.
While conversion costs for this technology are low, the price of methanol in the past few years has ranged from $0.70 - $1.80 a gallon. The key driver is the price of natural gas - a non-renewable and permanently declining resource.
Production capacities for methanol are estimated to be in the range of 30-40MM metric tons per year.
MTBE
In 1990, the United States passed the Clean Air Act, which required gasoline to contain 2.7% oxygen by weight. This was achieved by adding oxygenates such as ethanol and methanol to reformulated gasoline. Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) is a methanol derivative and was the most widely used oxygenate with an annual consumption of over 4 billion gallons in the US alone. Concerns over the health and safety risks of MTBE contaminating water supplies, however, led to legislative bans in several states including California and New York.
Wouldn't it be better to have plastics etc, be made with a substance that doesnt have....It’s a colorless liquid that burns with non-luminous flame
and is a violent poison. in the same sentance.
Come on JR, lets get some healthful Bio Plastics going!
