Rentech Fuels First Cross-Country Drive on 100% Synthetic Diesel

(Rentech) Over 5000 Mile Round-Trip Drive Includes Stop at the 2011 Washington Auto Show
Rentech, Inc. (NYSE AMEX: RTK) today announced that its synthetic RenDiesel^® fuel is powering an Audi A3 TDI in a cross-country drive from California to Washington D.C. for the first time.
The cross-country trek follows the car's successful and “flawless” performance on 100% synthetic RenDiesel fuel during a 1000 mile journey which spanned the state of California, beginning in Eureka and ending in San Diego. The October 2010 journey was part of Green Car Journal's 2010 Green Car of the Year Tour^TM.
The Audi A3 TDI and Rentech’s synthetic RenDiesel fuel, produced at the Company’s Colorado production facility, will be on display at the 2011 Washington Auto Show’s Advanced Technology Superhighway exhibit during Policy Day on Thursday, January 27^th, and during the time the event is open to the public, from Friday, January 28^th through Sunday, February 6^th.
Rentech’s President and CEO will participate in the Washington Auto Show’s Green Car Summit^TM on Capitol Hill on January 26^th. Mr. Ramsbottom will share his insights on energy security with other panelists including Jim O'Donnell, President of BMW of North America; Sue Cischke, Group Vice President of Sustainability, Environment, and Safety at Ford; Don Hillebrand, Director of the Advanced Transportation Center at Argonne National Laboratory; Michael O'Brien, Vice President of Product and Corporate Planning at Hyundai; Dr. Joseph Romm, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress; and Arun Banskota, President of NRG EV Services.
The Audi A3 TDI will be driven cross-country by Rentech’s Director of Product Development, Dr. Robert Freerks. Dr. Freerks, or Dr. Bob as he is affably known, has been developing synthetic fuels for the last 12 years. He has worked closely with the U.S. Department of Defense to develop synthetic JP-5 and JP-8 jet fuel and for the last four years while at Rentech, he worked with ASTM to certify synthetic jet fuel for commercial aviation use.
Dr. Bob will be blogging about his cross-country journey titled “Mr. Freerks Goes to Washington” at http://www.rentechinc.com/crosscountry.php and will also post answers to readers’ questions about his journey and Rentech’s synthetic fuels. Questions can be submitted to drbob@rentk.com during the course of the drive.
Rentech’s synthetic RenDiesel fuel can be produced from a variety of domestic resources using the Company’s proprietary technologies to create sustainable and environmentally friendly diesel fuel. RenDiesel fuel is biodegradable, exceeds all global sulfur requirements and has virtually no aromatics. When compared to traditional petroleum-derived low sulfur diesel, tailpipe emissions from RenDiesel fuel generate lower amounts of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides (NO_X), sulfur oxides (SO_X) and carbon dioxide. Also, when compared to traditional diesel fuels, RenDiesel fuel has higher hydrogen content, heating value and cetane index, making it very energy-efficient.
Rentech is developing the Rialto Renewable Energy Center (Rialto Project) in Rialto, California, which is designed to produce approximately 9 million gallons per year of renewable synthetic fuels, primarily RenDiesel fuel, and approximately 35 MW of renewable RenPower^TM electric power from urban green waste diverted from landfills. Both of these products will have low carbon footprints and help California reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, consistent with the State’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard and Renewable Portfolio Standard. The project is anticipated to create over 1,000 direct and indirect jobs during the construction and operations phases and is a candidate for a U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee.
The renewable RenDiesel fuel to be produced at the Rialto Project is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a lifecycle basis by as much as 97% over conventional diesel fuel and by a comparable amount over electric vehicles. A vehicle using RenDiesel fuel is also expected to be as much as two times more fuel efficient than one running on ethanol. RenDiesel fuel contains approximately 60% more energy per gallon than ethanol, and diesel engines typically achieve 20-40% more miles per gallon than gasoline engines. RenDiesel fuel also produces fewer volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions than ethanol or traditional diesel.
Dr. Robert Freerks, Director of Product Development of Rentech, said, “I’m proud to participate first-hand in the nation’s first cross-country drive on 100% RenDiesel synthetic diesel. Rentech’s synthetic diesel offers our country a viable solution to help our nation reduce its dependency on imported oil while lessening the transportation sector’s environmental impact.” Dr. Freerks continued, “Rentech’s synthetic RenDiesel fuel is a superior alternative fuel option due its low emissions profile, the ability to use the fuel with no blending limitations or modifications to pipelines or engines, and its high mileage per gallon.”
The blog will also be available on Audi’s media site and on Diesel Power Magazine’s site (). READ MORE