2046.     LAMP.  Synthetic Gasoline.   Vol. 29, No. 2, March 1947, pp. 7-11.

        Development and present status of the synthesis process for producing gasoline from gas are discussed with special emphasis on the so-called fluid catalyst process of the Standard Oil Development Co.  The reduction in the number of reactors for a 10,000-bbl.-per-day plant from 128 in the Fischer-Tropsch process to 4 in the fluid process is considered one of the outstanding achievements in its development.  Even so, the heavy initial investment involved and the rigid location requirements will inevitably limit the number of commercially feasible synthesis plants.  The commercially available potential reserve of synthetic gasoline from sources other than natural gas, such as coal, tar sands, and oil shales, is pointed out also.  Whereas production of synthetic gasoline from these sources is not at present attractive commercially, it will become more competitive as research continues.  The quantities of gasoline that could be brought into commercial production from each of the above sources would, of course, depend upon the service station price range per gal.  For instance, a price of up to $0.26 would make marketable 300 billion bbl. from coal and 1 billion from tar sands; $0.26-$0.31, 18 billion bbl. from oil shales, 3,500 billion from coal, and 2 billion from tar sands; $0.31-$0.36, 38 billion bbl. from oil shales, and 2 billion from tar sands; and over $0.36, 45 billion bbl. from oil shales.