Synthetic Fuels Market Growth Projected to Continue in 2003

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). As noted by Industrialinfo.com in its recently released 2003 U.S. Industrial Outlook, current studies indicate that renewable fuels could boost the U.S. economy by $300 billion and create as many as 300,000 new jobs in the synthetic fuel sector of the economy by 2016. Increased use of American-made ethanol and biodiesel, would generate billions in income for Americans through increased gross production, job creation, and a reduction of foreign oil imports.

Once the new congress gets back to work in 2003, pending legislation pertaining to the energy bill and the renewable fuels standard (RFS) could ban the use of MTBE and increase the use of ethanol. President Bush has said he will sign such a bill if it passes through both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Because of the RFS portion of the energy bill, the ethanol industry is currently in its largest growth mode ever and broke a new ethanol production record in 2002 for total U.S. gallons produced. Investments in grassroot construction and plant expansions are projected to reach $2.5 billion in 2003 and add another 1.7 billion gallons per year to the existing 2.7 billion gallon per year market.

Biodiesel, a long time favorite in Europe, has also been getting attention recently in the U.S. and in 2002 two new biodiesel plants came on-line. Biodiesel is a renewable fuel produced from soybean oil and spent yellow grease and can be used as a substitute for sulfur in petroleum diesel. 2003 should see significant growth for this renewable fuel sector with five new plants planned with an investment value of over $48 million.

The commercialization of gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology continues as well. Efforts to further the technology are taking major steps forward in making GTL products an economic reality. GTL is an emerging product for super clean synthetic fuels and can do more to address the serious issue of global emissions than any other available technology.

Coal Gasification trends continue as well. As petroleum and natural gas supplies decrease, the desirability of producing gas from coal will increase. It is also anticipated that the cost of natural gas will increase, allowing coal gasification to compete as an economically viable process. Research is in progress on technologies that should lead to the invention of new processes to accelerate the industrial use of coal gasification.

The Synthetic Fuels sector and much more are highlighted in Industrialinfo.com's recently released 2003 U.S. Industrial Outlook. Click image at right to view a demo of the 2003 U.S. Industrial Outlook.