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Show fckntitt-IU-MiaS.an--f'-ri-VT:J'' - ' '----, J SYNTHETIC FUELS COMING ON-STREAM Early in November, Congress approved ap-proved a key proposal advanced by President Carter authorizing and funding fun-ding a $20-billion first-phase program for the development 'of synthetic and alternative fuels. In broad terms, the legislation is aimed at creating an energy industry offshoot capable of producing pro-ducing 1.5 million barrels per day of oil-equivalent oil-equivalent fuels by the year 1995. It would also devote a lesser portion of the funds to continued research on solar power and to purposes of fuel conservation conserva-tion in general. SYNFI EL ECONOMICS As the energy crunch has developed over the past few years, further intensified inten-sified by the attitude of the OPEC producers pro-ducers of oil and gas, attention has been focused on alternatives offering reliable sources of energy. Until fairly recently, unit costs of petroleum products pro-ducts were at levels making most other energy concepts uneconomic. And there is the real need for supplementing petroleum, a declining world resource. In terms of a time frame, some predictions see demand for oil outstripping outstrip-ping supply by the 1990's, and accelerating ac-celerating into the next century. Therefore, from several points of view, a synthetic fuel program assumes a high priority in energy planning. A synthetic fuel may be broadly defined as the product of energy material converted fru,i one form oi a natural resource, or other non-mineral substance, into an unlike form. For example, ex-ample, a usable liquid fuel oil may be derived from a plentiful supply of rocklike rock-like oil -Ni.e, or from tar sands. Natural g;r may be converted into high-octar. ga-.line. and a wealth of organic waste meterials are readily processed into alcohol and similar products. pro-ducts. The petrochemical industry is a volume consumer of feedstocks produced produc-ed from natural gas, w hich in itself is supplemented by synthetic gas made from coal. El EI.-KUOM-I O l. Of the resources available and feasible feasi-ble for production of synthetic fuels, coal appears to be the most abundant. It is estimated that in the U.S. alone there are some AM bill, on tons of coal suitable fur mining. The liquefaction of coal is not a new process, dating back to the 1900s in Germany where in World War II it provided a valuable supplement supple-ment to the country's natural oil supplies. sup-plies. For many years, coal was the primary energy source in this country, declining in usage proportionately with Ihe advent in the licliis of long-distance natural gas pipelines feeding fuel to all sections of the nation, abundantly and economically. As the demand for natural gas came to the point of exceeding ex-ceeding capacity, a look at coal gasification identified a capability for a clean fuel in the form of synthetic gas derived from coal. on, mi u: - Tl SM) Oil shale has a lengthy history, but until now costs of recovery, waste shale disposal, and land reclamation have deterred full scale production. Today, however, modern recovery technology and refining methods have largely overcome these drawbacks. Tar sands located in west-central Canada offer a potential of 2:1 billion barrels recoverable by proven methods and many more billions by recovery methods now testing Canada's harsh climate and the low oil to sand ratio make for difficult operations, but current cur-rent prices of $2.r) a barrel for conventional conven-tional crude oil makes the oil produced from these tar sands relatively competitive. com-petitive. OI I I.OOK With the incentives provided by federal assistance and with Ihe present t state of technology, a synthetic fuel industry in-dustry of substance seems to be assured. There is, in fact, considerable investment appeal in those companies in the field of synfuel production and in firms offering related construction and service facilities. |