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Making Gas-Guzzlers "Green" with Synthetic, Wood-derived Gasoline

If you have not heard of synthetic gasoline, you will soon. Much like its dinosaur-derived counterpart, it can be burned and run in the car that you are already driving. As the technology develops, it could revolutionize the car industry by decreasing the cost of renewable gasoline to lower than the current $4/gal. Hydrogen expert, Dr. Robert Buxbaum, believes the synthetic has a "real advantage for a broader market". Pure Electric cars are still niche products based on their high upfront cost and slow charge rates. They are also limited in the distance they can travel. Within five years we could see cheap, wood-derived synthetic gasoline at the pump.

What does this mean for the consumer?

The development of this green technology has numerous implications. Lower prices at the pump and cost savings should be the most significant. Synthetic gasoline would potentially be produced locally. The need for local suppliers would become immediate. Many companies already have the capacity to fill this role. It would also mean local jobs.

Local Based Green Jobs Boom?

Green jobs would benefit greatly from the creation of synthetics. Local plants would be needed, which would need workers. Manufacturing would be greatly benefitted. High gasoline prices hurt business, especially manufacturing. Dramatically curving the cost of delivering goods to stores creates jobs. A lot of the research is already being done by scientists in Chicago and many other cities. Some of the best work that Buxbaum has seen has been from the Gas Technology Institute out of Chicago, Illinois. The gas is produced by injecting hydrogen into wood or other organic materials. Another firm that is researching is Cella Energy out of the UK. These companies are at the forefront of changing the energy industry for the good. Instead of a goal of 2025 for electric, government should put forth a goal for 100% synthetic gasoline.

Tremendous Potential

With the potential of being a game changer in the fight against global warming, one has to wonder why this research has not been put into hyper gear. With so much government funding going into green Technology and green jobs, synthetic gas has been left on the backburner by many politicians. Perhaps because of a perception, expressed in 2009 by secretary of energy Steven Chu, that hydrogen energy is "20-30 years out" and "unlikely." But this is hydrogen that comes delivered to the customer in a form they are used to, synthetic, wood-gasoline: wood + hydrogen --> gasoline + water. Green jobs and green technology go hand in hand. Synthetic gasoline could be the game changer that politicians from all sides of the isle can promote. The hydrogen might be derived from clean coal- or from wood or natural gas. Clean gasoline is for real.

Dr. Robert Buxbaum received his doctorate from Princeton in Chemical Engineering and his undergraduate from Cooper Union. He has been researching hydrogen and selling hydrogen-related products for over 35 years through his work at Michigan State University and his company, REB Research.