Historical Industry Information versus VISTA’s Approach
We produce a variety of High Octane Liquid Fuels (HOLF™) within our URC projects, which can be used as a pure gasoline additive or a straight fuel on its own. It is easily blended with either gasoline or diesel. With the pressure of crude oil shortage in storage, alcohols and bio-diesel have gained more attention in different countries around the world with usually very limited short term success.
Our various patented, patent-pending and proprietary catalytic technologies convert Syngas into HOLFwhich we call Green-Liquid-Gold™or GLG™ for short. HOLF & GLG can be blended with gasoline or diesel and also as 85% blend (E85), or HOLF & GLG non-blended (E100). HOLF & GLG is biodegradable, carbon neutral, environmentally friendly, and economical to produce. This 110-130+ octane fuel is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency as a fuel additive per 40 CFR 79.23.
This primary catalyst technology was modeled and tested at various labs across the country from New York in the east to California and Wyoming in the west. The data confirmed extreme selectivity to the higher alcohols with a very acceptable Mass-Balance. This process produces predominately straight-chain terminal alcohols in the C2-C5 range. This is our HOLF & GLG alternative fuel or fuel additive. By manipulating the composition of the catalyst and reaction conditions, it is possible to vary the ratio to produce more complex alcohol fuels similar to the processes used by Dow Chemical, Union Carbide and others, whom were the first to develop the process in the 1980’s. Low oil prices at the time did not make these processes financially viable, but now the prices justify the need for our URC and syngas conversion type projects world-wide and made with a USA label.
Corn or other ‘grown’ products are the feedstock that dominates the current ethanol and bio-diesel markets. Almost all of the ethanol produced and marketed in the United States, Canada and most other markets in the world is made from the fermentation of corn, sugars or other grown products essentially in the same manner that distiller spirits are produced. These plants are large fixed facilities and specifically designed for the processing of corn or other grains can be employed. But they are generally always limited to using a select few feedstock’s which are grown, which is always an added cost.
Conversely, VISTA’s URC model will convert virtually any waste source, which contains “free” carbonaceous material i.e. “almost everything”: agriculture and animal waste, human liquid waste, municipal solid waste, biomass, natural gas, coal, coal fines, coal bed methane, flare gas from a refinery or a well, or sour gas wells that are high in sulfur, which our technology can process into GLG. None of these waste feedstock’s are economically employed in the fermentation processes used to make fuels today.
Corn and other ethanol type plants may have similar capital costs per annual production gallon, but operating costs of VISTA’s URC facilities are significantly lower since the feedstock comes from waste, which is not grown thus no additional feed stock costs are incurred. Furthermore, our feedstock costs are minimal; because the material is hydro-carbon based waste material, which we get paid to take the waste. There is no other known catalytic process available in the world capable of converting carbonaceous sources into HOLF at the conversion rate achieved by VISTA’s processes and technologies. All other known technologies in the alternative energy arena require higher capital and operating costs, have lower production yields, and many require subsequent refining to produce a useable and saleable alcohol by-product.
The Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process, designed originally by Germany during WWII to fuel military vehicles was to convert natural gas or methane into a crude product requiring additional refining to produce alcohol fuels. The FT process has primarily produced diesel fuels. The FT process also requires a clean, sulfur-free synthesis or natural gas feedstock and cannot convert other carbonaceous materials into ethanol. In this process, the feedstock is restricted to natural gas, the cost is higher and the yield is far lower than achieved by VISTA’s URC model. Cobalt catalysts have proven to be poisoned by even microscopic amounts of sulfur in the natural gas feedstock. Our patented catalyst can withstand dirty synthesis gas and hydrogen sulfide with far greater output or production yields.
The dumping of municipal waste in traditional landfills is not only undesirable but in many metropolitan areas, a problem of crisis proportions. The production of methane gas from municipal and farm waste poses a serious health problem and it’s a wasted source of energy production that should be captured and utilized. The liquid landfill seepage and run-off contamination of ground water in many areas of the world is well documented. These two areas alone will yields volumes of GLG production, which will be beneficial for all parties involved.
Converting waste to power with direct waste combustion (incineration) can eliminate waste in volume, but causes hidden danger for the atmosphere because poisonous elements from the waste cannot be totally eliminated during the combustion due to the combustion temperatures and the process itself. In addition, the water from the waste before the combustion causes water pollution even though water treatment is applied because the water pollution standard is lower in most developing countries comparing to that of the developed countries. Water pollution from the incinerators has become a challenge for many governments.
Our system will convert these waste streams into an environmentally clean, high-octane marketable motor fuel and eliminate water contamination and air pollution.
The VISTA URC production system can be located near feedstock sources throughout the country and the world. The distributed location of these plants will answer the primary need to expand current fuel production. In addition, by locating these URC facilities near the waste feedstock sources we also help reduce the electrical production needs of these areas as well.
Partial feedstock sources for HOLF & GLG production.
Our URC syngas conversion process and technologies will convert low purity synthesis gases now produced from Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) and other Biomass material into a high purity, clean burning, and mixed fuels. For these applications, larger fixed-base systems will be designed and constructed individually.