What is synthetic fuel?

A liquid fuel not from natural crude oil is a synthetic fuel, and synthetic fuels are artificial alternatives to conventional gasoline or diesel. In its simplest form, a synthetic fuel combines hydrogen and carbon atoms to form a compound known as an alkene — usually Ethene, which consists two carbon atoms and four hydrogen atoms.

Nevertheless, there is much variance in how individual companies go about obtaining to an end product that could be pump into the fuel tank of vehicles. Some synthetic fuels use mind-bending chemical processes, and others start as a literal load of old garbage.

 Modern transportation fuels demand uniform physical properties from varying feedstocks with chemical compositions mainly synthesized from petroleum or other fossil fuels. 

 The term gasoline implies that many components are synthesizing using cracking or reforming techniques. Thus, gasoline is rather than synthetic fuel, and reformulate gasoline contains a more significant fraction of petroleum molecules. 

Fuels from oil sands and heavy oil come under the same term as petroleum-based fuels. Liquid fuels from coal, peat, natural gas, and oil shale are synthetic fuels. Renewable biomass from photosynthesis gets converted into a variety of synthetic fuels. Coal gasification and natural gas reforming are sources of synthesis gas. That is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide(CO), the essentials for producing synthetic fuels.

How is it made?

  Independent of origin, Ethanol, methanol, and biodiesel comes under the term synthetic fuel. Coal gasification and natural gas reforming are sources of synthesis gas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

To understand the manufacturing of renewable synthetic fuels, firstly, you must understand what fossil fuels are. They consist of a large number of various hydrocarbon molecules.

The key to component synthetic fuels is syngas. Syngas is a mixture of hydrogen (H) and carbon monoxide, and it is essential to produce liquid hydrocarbon fuel like jet fuel, diesel, or gasoline. Turning syngas into fuel is a confirmed industrial process, using coal and natural gas as feedstocks, which is not sustainable. So that is precisely where the challenge lies: producing sustainable syngas. This production requires a large amount of energy, and to produce it sustainably, it needs to come from a renewable resource like biomass, solar, wind or hydro.

Synthetic fuels can be created via several different processes. One of these processes is coal liquefaction. Usually, this process generates large amounts of carbon dioxide, making it a wrong alternative to conventional fuels.

However, it is also possible to create synthetic fuels through a method that captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This technique is receiving appreciation and investment from car makers and other industries.