Study: Synthetic energy can fuel military

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South African scientists have found the U.S. military can fuel its vehicles with the same chemical technology used by Germany during World War II.

In the study, Delanie Lamprecht of Sasol Technology Ltd. noted the U.S. Department of Defense has been seeking alternative ways of obtaining "Jet Propulsion 8," or JP-8, fuel for most of its gas turbine and diesel engine applications. That fuel is nearly identical to commercial aviation fuel. The defense department also wants an alternative route to JP-5, a slightly different fuel used on aircraft carriers. Invited to participate in the effort to develop alternatives, Lamprecht studied use of so-called Fischer-Tropsch technology that's used to convert coal, natural gas, or biomass into a synthesis gas and thereafter into a "syncrude" suitable for refining into JP-8, JP-5 and other liquid fuels. The study concluded it is feasible to use that process, together with modern refining technology, to produce a "battlefield fuel of the future" that could power the military without reliance on imported oil. The research is scheduled for the May 16 issue of the American Chemical Society journal Energy and Fuels.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/55099.html

[eppur_se_muova]

1. Anything's possible, if you want to blow enough money on it.

Maybe we could just trim the US military down to a fraction of its current size, and save fuel that way? No?