Development

Synthetic fuels are produced using a three stage process based on Fischer-Tropsch technology which has been around since the early Twentieth century. This technology has been continually refined and updated, most notably in South Africa where synthetic fuel has been produced from coal since 1955 and from natural gas in Malaysia since 1993.

 

Initially the production of synthetic fuel used the high temperature Fischer-Tropsch process but the development of a low temperature method has allowed the production of more advanced, high performance, synthetic fuels with an impressive environmental profile.

 

 

 

 

Synthetic fuels can be produced from a range of feedstocks; Biomass to Liquids (BTL), Coal to Liquids (CTL) and Gas to Liquids (GTL). Of the three, GTL is at the most advanced stage of commercial development.