Syntroleum Corporation was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

company engaged in development and commercialization of proprietary

gas to liquids Gas to liquids (GTL) is a refinery process to convert natural gas or other gaseous hydrocarbons into longer-chain hydrocarbons, such as gasoline or diesel fuel. Methane-rich gases are converted into liquid synthetic fuels. Two general strategies ex ...

(GTL) and coal to liquids (CTL) processes known jointly as the Syntroleum Process. Renewable Energy Group acquired the company on June 3, 2014.

History

Syntroleum was incorporated in 1984 by

Kenneth Agee Kenneth is an English given name and surname. The name is an Anglicised form of two entirely different Gaelic personal names: ''Cainnech'' and '' Cináed''. The modern Gaelic form of ''Cainnech'' is ''Coinneach''; the name was derived from a by ...

. It became a publicly held company on Nasdaq in August, 1998, when it merged with publicly traded SLH Corporation. 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. On July 15, 2010 it was reported that Energy Opportunity Ltd. out of the

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made the commitment to purchase $10 million in Syntroleum stock. The commitment was to purchase stock in Syntroleum over a 24 month period. Energy Opportunity was limited to a purchase no more than 4.9% of Syntroleum stock ownership. It was announced in December 2013 that Syntroleum's operations would be sold to Renewable Energy Group Inc. of

Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is best known as the home of Iowa State University (ISU), with leading agriculture, design, engineering, and veterinary med ...

Technology

The Syntroleum process produces

synthetic fuel Synthetic fuel or synfuel is a liquid fuel, or sometimes gaseous fuel, obtained from syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, in which the syngas was derived from gasification of solid feedstocks such as coal or biomass or by reform ...

by the

Fischer–Tropsch process The Fischer–Tropsch process 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 temperatu ...

, which can use natural gas, coal, or biomass as feedstocks. One of the unique features of the Syntroleum process is that it uses

air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

instead of

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as we ...

to produce

synthesis gas Syngas, or synthesis gas, is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, in various ratios. The gas often contains some carbon dioxide and methane. It is principly used for producing ammonia or methanol. Syngas is combustible and can be use ...

from natural gas in the gas to liquids process.

Operations

Syntroleum has been working with the U. S. Air Force to develop 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 The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic aircraft, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the ...

took off from

Edwards AFB Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is Edw ...

for the first time powered solely by a 50–50 blend of

JP-8 JP-8, or JP8 (for "Jet Propellant 8") is a jet fuel, specified and used widely by the US military. It is specified by MIL-DTL-83133 and British Defence Standard 91-87, and similar to commercial aviation's Jet A-1, but with the addition of corrosi ...

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.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 Syntroleum has opened the $150 million Dynamic Fuels facility in

Geismar, Louisiana Geismar is an unincorporated community in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, United States and is at the heart of Louisiana's chemical corridor. The community is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area. Geismar is south of Prairievill ...

. The facility operates as a joint venture with

Tyson Foods Tyson Foods, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, based in Springdale, Arkansas, that operates in the food industry. The company is the world's second-largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork after JBS S.A. It annual ...

. They produce synthetic fuel by utilizing Syntroleum's technology and Tyson sourced agricultural feedstock. Starting from October, 2010, the facility produces or of synthetic fuel.

References

External links

Renewable Energy Group
Company Website

Wright Patterson Air Force Base Tests Syntroleum R-8 Blend

Companies based in Tulsa, Oklahoma Defunct oil companies of the United States Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq {{Oklahoma-stub