1. Synthetic Natural Gas and Synfuels
By: Riley Sunday, Caroline Miller, Alison Mundell, Taylor Kovats

2. Definition & Description
Gaseous fuel containing mostly methane
Produced from solid coal by the process of coal gasification, which removes impurities
Synfuels produce less air pollution than coal when they’re burned, but burning these requires more mining and using more coal than if coal is directly burned.

3. Net Energy Outcome -low to moderate energy yield
-net energy outcome is calculated by estimating total amount of energy available from resource over its lifetime and subtracting estimated amount of energy used in finding, extracting, processing, and transporting useful energy to consumers

4. Advantages & Disadvanages
large potential supply in many countries
vehicle fuel
lower air pollution than coal
Disadvantages
low- moderate net energy yield
higher CO2 emissions than coal
requires 50% more mining: land disturbance, water use and pollution

5. Negative Environmental Affects

6. Availability of Synthetic Natural Gas
-The United States has a lot of cheap abundant gas
-In order to keep up with the growing population and bigger transportation, they will need a substitute which is the Synthetic Natural Gas

7. Depletion Time
The amount of time it takes to use a certain fraction (usually 80%) of a nonrenewable resource at an assumed rate of use. Findin 20% usually costs more than its worth
Synthetic gas is a new technology and the estimated depletion time is still under research

8. Extra Terms
coal gasification: removes sulfur and other impurities from coal
coal liquefaction: coal is converted into liquid fuels such as methanol and synthetic gasoline through this process
Great Britain and Australia are evaluating burning coal seams underground, trap the gases, burn the CH4 and trap CO2 underground.

9. References
Text Book