Syntroleum

Last updated
Syntroleum Corporation
Company type Public
Nasdaq: SYNM
Industry Engineering
Founded1984 (1984)
Founder Kenneth Agee
DefunctJune 3, 2014 (2014-06-03)
FateAcquired by Renewable Energy Group [1]
Headquarters
Tulsa, Oklahoma
,
United States
Key people
Edward G. Roth (President and CEO)
Products GTL and CTL technologies
Website www.syntroleum.com

Syntroleum Corporation was a United States company engaged in development and commercialization of proprietary gas to liquids (GTL) process known as the Syntroleum Process [2] . Renewable Energy Group acquired the company on June 4, 2014 [1] and was in turn acquired by Chevron on February 28, 2022 [3]

Contents

History

Syntroleum was incorporated in 1984 by Kenneth Agee. It became a publicly held company on Nasdaq in August, 1998, when it merged with publicly traded SLH Corporation. [4]

On March 16, 2004, the company was reported shipping the first load of diesel from its gas-to-liquids demonstration plant at the Port of Catoosa near Tulsa to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for testing by the Department of Energy [5] .

Syntroleum worked with the U. S. Air Force to flight-test a synthetic jet fuel blend. The Air Force, which is the U.S. military's largest user of fuel, began exploring alternative fuel sources in 1999. On December 15, 2006, a B-52 took off from Edwards AFB for the first time powered solely by a 50–50 blend of JP-8 and Syntroleum's FT fuel. The seven-hour flight test was considered a success. The goal of the flight test program was to qualify the fuel blend for fleet use on the service's B-52s, and then flight test and qualification on other aircraft. [6]

In June 2007, Syntroleum Corp and meat producer Tyson Foods Inc. announced plans to set up a $150 million plant in a Joint Venture that became known as Dynamic Fuels LLC, to produce fuel from animal fat, aimed at the renewable diesel and jet fuel markets [7] . The facility at Geismar, Louisiana, completed in 2010, was the first large scale renewable diesel biorefinery built in the U.S. [8]

The Dynamic Fuels JV represented a significant shift in corporate direction away from GTL technology and was accompanied by restructuring, leading to Kenneth Agee departing the company and buying Syntroleum’s research and laboratory facilities at Tulsa [9] to form a new company Emerging Fuels Technology, also employing several former Syntroleum staff. This company continues to be focused on developing and commercializing GTL and upgrading technology.

It was announced in December 2013 that Syntroleum's operations would be sold to Renewable Energy Group (REG) Inc. of Ames, Iowa. This transaction was completed on June 4, 2014. REG also bought out Tyson Food's interest in Dynamic Fuels. The Renewable Energy Group was acquired by Chevron on February 28, 2022 and is now known as Chevron Renewable Energy Group.

Technology

The Syntroleum Process produces synthetic fuel by the Fischer–Tropsch process, which can use natural gas, coal, biogas or biomass as feedstocks. The technology is detailed in Robert A. Meyers. 2004,1997,1986. Handbook of Petroleum Refining Processes, Third Edition. McGraw-Hill Education. [10]

Related Research Articles

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The Fischer–Tropsch process (FT) is a collection of chemical reactions that converts a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, known as syngas, into liquid hydrocarbons. These reactions occur in the presence of metal catalysts, typically at temperatures of 150–300 °C (302–572 °F) and pressures of one to several tens of atmospheres. The Fischer–Tropsch process is an important reaction in both coal liquefaction and gas to liquids technology for producing liquid hydrocarbons.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electrofuel</span> Carbon-neutral drop-in replacement fuel

Electrofuels, also known as e-fuels, are a class of synthetic fuels which function as drop-in replacement fuels for internal combustion engines. They are manufactured using captured carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide, together with hydrogen obtained from water splitting. Electrolysis is possible with both traditional fossil fuel energy sources, as well as low-carbon electricity sources such as wind, solar and nuclear power.

Carbon-neutral fuel is fuel which produces no net-greenhouse gas emissions or carbon footprint. In practice, this usually means fuels that are made using carbon dioxide (CO2) as a feedstock. Proposed carbon-neutral fuels can broadly be grouped into synthetic fuels, which are made by chemically hydrogenating carbon dioxide, and biofuels, which are produced using natural CO2-consuming processes like photosynthesis.

Power-to-gas is a technology that uses electric power to produce a gaseous fuel.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Renewable Energy Group Completes Syntroleum Acquisition".
  2. ↑ Sunggyu, Lee (2007). Handbook of Alternative Fuel Technologies. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group. p. 167. ISBN   978-0-8247-4069-6.
  3. ↑ "Chevron Announces Agreement to Acquire REG". www.regi.com. Retrieved 2025-01-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ↑ admin (1998-08-10). "Syntroleum finishes merger with SLH" . Retrieved 2025-01-09.
  5. ↑ "First synthetic diesel shipped from DOE Catoosa GTL plant". Oil & Gas Journal. 2004-03-22. Retrieved 2025-01-09.
  6. ↑ Zamorano, Marti, "B-52 synthetic fuel testing: Center commander pilots first Air Force B-52 flight using solely synthetic fuel blend in all eight engines", Aerotech News and Review, 2006-12-22
  7. ↑ "Tyson Foods, Syntroleum joint venture opens advanced biofuels plant in Louisiana". www.reliableplant.com. Retrieved 2025-01-09.
  8. ↑ "REG to buy Tyson's half of Dynamic Fuels renewable diesel plant | Biodiesel Magazine". biodieselmagazine.com. Retrieved 2025-01-09.
  9. ↑ admin (2007-11-20). "Syntroleum restructures, names new CEO, chairman" . Retrieved 2025-01-09.
  10. ↑ Meyers, Robert A. (2004). Handbook of Petroleum Refining Processes (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill Education. ISBN   978-0-07-139109-2.
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