HAWKS/BLUE STAR YET TO PROVE 'REVOLUTIONARY' GTL DIESEL CLAIM

Colorado-based Hawks Industries claims its Blue Star subsidiary has "validated" what it calls a "revolutionary advancement for production of clean diesel fuel" via gas-to-liquids (GTL).

But the company is tight-lipped about the basis for its claims, and hasn't tested the concept at pilot-plant

Hawks/Blue Star claims it could eliminate the product work-up stage of GTL, saving up to 15 cents/gallon off the typical cost of producing GTL diesel fuel.

"Composition and production of the new fuel, termed Blue Star S- 2, is currently the subject of multiple patent applications to the USPTO (U.S. Patent & Trade Office) and registration with the EPA," the company claims in a release.

""Preliminary analyses have indicated a cetane number of >60, pour point <0 degrees C, suitable viscosity and lubricity, no detectable sulfur or aromatics, all in the complete absence of any additives of product upgrading subsequent to synthesis gas condensation." However, a diesel fuel with a 0oC pour point isn't good enough for use in northern climes in winter, as such fuel would plug fuel filters.

(Note: Syntroleum likewise has experimented with various Fischer- Tropsch processes that can produce a theoretically useable synfuel without further refining (see Diesel Fuel News 2/7/2000; 8/19/98). However, this research to date has never led to a truly fungible diesel fuel, and isn't seen by Syntroleum as practical for the mainstream diesel industry.)

Hawks/Blue Star says its near-term plan is to "scale-up to a prototype unit sized for semi-trailer, producing 10 barrels/day." This includes "pulsed" catalyzed partial-oxidation (POx) along with auto-thermal reforming, followed by conversion in a slurry bubble- column reactor, Blue Star president Nick Vanderborgh told us. "We have some new catalyst flavors," although he wouldn't explain whether the company might be counting upon using some sort of chain-limiting catalyst to minimize or avoid typical waxy Fischer-Tropsch (FT) product.

While Blue Star's syngas technology isn't "revolutionary," the market idea for the device seems novel. A recent letter to shareholders sees an emerging market for a small-scale device that can serve as a distributed generation (DG) electric power generator and simultaneously produce diesel fuel, FT fuel for fuel cells, or possibly chemical feedstocks.

"Blue Star's proprietary technology is to develop an integrated device that manufactures both electricity and clean fuels from abundant natural gas," the letter says. "Natural gas is used to manufacture steam, which powers a turbine. Resulting electricity can be marketed. Waste steam is then fed into an adjacent synthesis reactor, where more natural gas is utilized to produce liquid fuels. This fuel synthesis process has the potential to enhance the productivity of conventional power generation by up to 15%. The potential commercial value of such enhanced efficiency is huge. The current Blue Star appliance manufactures clean fuels such as Fischer- Tropsch liquids, useful for today's internal combustion engines or fuel cell engines."

Potential applications include apartments or office buildings, offshore oil platforms or other areas with available gas, but unavailable or high-cost electricity.

"We project we can complete overall (gas to energy) conversion with close to 50% efficiency, compared to the 35-40% achieved today," the letter says. Following production of the 10 b/d trailer prototype, "we will move forward to commercial units, modular units that range from small production rates of 5-10 bbl and 25,000 kW-hr/ day, to large production rates. . . . Blue Star's designs are intentionally modular and can be deployed at any gas field . . . (and) can be ganged: five 20,000 bbl/day (units) working the same gas field would produce 100,000 barrels daily and about 5MW of electric power."

According to filings with Securities & Exchange Commission, Hawks is principally an oil & gas exploration company. So far this year, the company has posted a $3.3 million operating loss, on top of a $3.7 million loss last year. It reports a $49,754 contract with the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory "to augment the expertise of Argonne in providing technical support to the Department of Energy program managers for fuel cells in transportation technology development."

- Jack Peckham