The focus for these kind of alternatives should be on aviation—with the most difficult fuel to replace. Maybe we'd need this for classic cars, emergency generators and a few other smaller things, but even classic cars can get electric refits. Cars, motorbikes, trucks etc should be electric; shipping needs to embrace sail-electric hybrids; and bio-fuels/synthetic fuel should be aimed at aviation (and maybe as a stop-gap for shipping). My 10¢.
> It’s essentially a manufactured replica of gasoline, designed to power internal combustion engines while potentially offering a more sustainable alternative to fossil fuels.
Key word: "potentially". Because it is less accurate than the word "currently" - as in, "currently, the cost of production is a significant barrier" - I would argue the word "potentially" at the outset frames the whole description of benefits as an unsubstantiated faith.
When all processes for deriving synthetic gasoline require more input energy than available energy from the output, you're not describing processes that "potentially offering a more sustainable alternative to fossil fuels."
The concept is very old. Germany had synthetic Gasonline starting in 1927: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leuna-Benzin
Honest question: how do you all sense when a page is AI-written? To me, the many headings, lists, and frequent use of bold stand out stylistically. Additionally: the multilevel numbered table of contents; the parenthetical acronyms (to the point of silliness, as in "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)" stand out.
Non-stylistically, the non-answers to questions or misinterpreted questions (read the bolded final sentence under "What is the octane rating of synthetic gasoline?") are a tell.
I heard about Aircela- a modular gasoline from thin air generator company- from a comment in here earlier this week. It was never discussed in any posts so I looked into it because it sounded fascinating. The details are it costs about $20k for a unit, and one unit can produce about 1 gallon of pure 90 octane gasoline using water and a replaceable catalyst cartridge in a day. And that requires 75 KWh of electricity! On my grid that’s like $15 of power at carbon neutral rates. So it sounds like an amazingly impressive and economical impractical technology.
Chile has a synthetic gasoline plant that started operating in 2022:
https://en.clickpetroleoegas.com.br/haru-oni-plant-starts-pr...
https://www.siemens-energy.com/global/en/home/stories/haru-o...
Dumb question, and I might not understand the difference. Don't we already have synthetic gasoline in the form of trufuel and the ilk? I can buy that at walmart; expensive, sure, but is indoor-safe and lasts forever. Smells good when it burns as a bonus!
I can never figure out how to do this in my garrage, these overviews are too high level. Sure it would lively cost me $50 per gallon, but just once I want to mow my lawn on fuel I made myself.
Outside of working in existing vehicles without modification, what is the benefit of this over a methanol or ammonia electric fuel cell or an ammonia-burning ICE?
Apparently atmospheric carbon capture + Fischer-Tropsch process currently produces gasoline that costs 100x the market price. So probably a long way to go before it's commercially viable.