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Torque Titan
We've been in South Africa less than three hours and we find ourselves attaching a leather collar to an anesthetized cheetah. It's clear that this is not going to be your standard road test.
The world's fastest animal is an endangered species in this part of the world and the De Wildt Cheetah Tracker program is committed to ensuring its survival. This is a fascinating project, made more interesting by its choice of support vehicle.
The project is being used as a test for Sasol-Chevron's Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) technology. Each of the Mercedes-Benz M-Class sport-utilities is powered by diesel fuel made not from crude oil but instead from natural gas. GTL diesel technology like this could have major environmental significance, especially in the U.S.
What Is GTL Diesel?
GTL diesel relies on a ready supply of natural gas. In the first stage of production, natural gas and water combine in a reforming process to produce synthetic gas (syngas). The syngas is then put through the Fischer-Tropsch process to become syncrude. This syncrude can then be distilled like traditional crude oil to produce diesel.
GTL has been available commercially since 1993, when Shell opened a GTL plant in Malaysia, but production has only recently gained worldwide momentum. Last year, Sasol-Chevron opened a new $1 billion plant in Qatar that produces around 8 million barrels per year. In 2009, Sasol-Chevron will open a second $2.5 billion GTL facility in Nigeria, and Shell expects to open a plant in Qatar.
By 2015, it's estimated that GTL will account for around 4 percent of the world's diesel.
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Source = Edmunds
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