A new type of diesel – and it’s not made from crude oil
The first cars in the world to run on a revolutionary new diesel have been unveiled. The pair of Mercedes M-Class SUVs are powered by GTL. It stands for Gas-To-Liquid and is refined from natural gas, not crude oil. It’s not big news yet, but GTL is going to be hugely important to drivers for one reason. While the planet’s reserves of the black stuff are running low, there are trillions and trillions of square feet of natural gas just waiting to be exploited. Shell is already blending GTL into its V-Power premium diesel, though it doesn’t publicise the fact. Now cars that operate on a neat version have taken to the road in South Africa. They’ve been developed by local petro-chemical firm Sasol in partnership with US fuel giant Chevron, and have gone into service with the De Wildt Cheetah Trust, a wildlife conservation charity near Pretoria. Which explains the dodgy paint job.
So what are the benefits of GTL?
GTL has a much higher cetane rating than regular diesel. Cetane is diesel’s equivalent of the octane in petrol, and means combustion in the cylinder is more efficient. Regular diesel is usually rated at about 51, a premium diesel such as BP Ultimate is 55, but GTL is 70 or higher. Better combustion means the engine block doesn’t need to be so bulky because the compression ratios can be lower. And that means less kerb weight, so higher mpg for drivers. GTL engines also runs quieter, with the traditional clatter of the diesel engine virtually eliminated. Emissions are cleaner, too. The only downside is a 5 percent cut in fuel economy compared with a regular diesel car. The reason we’re not all running round in cars powered by neat GTL now is that the technology is too new. Sasol Chevron recently opened its first dedicated GTL plant in Qatar in the Middle East, and another one in Nigeria is under construction. Sasol Chevron’s rivals are on the case, though. As well as Shell, BP and Exxon are both working on GTL.
So when can I buy a production car running on neat GTL?
Mark Schnell is Sasol Chevron’s general manager for global marketing, and admitted it will be at least a decade before anyone is buying neat GTL on a filling station forecourt. ‘The initial use is as a blending agent. It will help upgrade the quality of some of the diesel that’s traditionally not been able to be used because it’s too low quality. That will start to happen this year,’ he said. GTL will then be used to upgrade diesel from regular to premium, then a neat version will be used in niche applications, such as buses or local authority vehicles. ‘That will happen in the next two to three years and probably in Europe and the UK,’ said Schnell. He wouldn’t talk about the potential price per litre for drivers as it’s too far in the future, but it’s fair bet it will be a premium price for a premium product.