Grainnet

Syntec Biofuel Inc. Acquires Access to Catalyst Technologies to Convert Biomass to Diesel, Jet Fuel

Vancouver, BC—Syntec Biofuel Inc. (OTCBB:SYBF), a biofuel technology company developing catalysts to convert biomass wastes into ethanol and other alcohols, announced April 10 it has joined the Brigham Young University (BYU) Fischer-Tropsch Consortium giving it access to methods for preparation, characterization, and testing of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) catalysts and mechanistic/reactor models of FTS.

Access to this information and the expertise of the BYU Catalysis Laboratory will enable Syntec Biofuel to jump-start their development of proprietary Fischer-Tropsch catalysts and their own process for conversion of biomass into diesel and jet fuels.

Professor Calvin Bartholomew of BYU will also serve as a consultant and advisor to Syntec on the development of these technologies.

The Syntec FTS process will gasify biological wastes, e.g., cellulosic wood waste, to a synthesis gas consisting of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which in turn will be converted into liquid hydro-carbons of various forms, including synthetic diesel and jet fuels.

This process mirrors the Syntec process for producing ethanol, methanol and other alcohols.

Michael Jackson, President of Syntec Biofuel Inc., said, "Participation in the new BYU FTS Consortium is an extremely important step for us as it will enable us to benefit from the experience of the strong BYU scientific team and synergistic partnerships with other members of the Consortium to bring this new, Fischer-Tropsch process to early commercialization.

"It compliments Syntec's ethanol catalyst technology which recently saw us achieving a yield of 105 gallons of bio-alcohols per ton of biomass at the laboratory scale."

"It is fair to say that this relationship with BYU lab, under the direction of Dr. Calvin Bartholomew, a recognized world expert and leader in F.T. catalytic processes, provides Syntec Biofuel with a broader range of expertise in green biofuels."

The ultimate application of the BYU and Syntec catalysts will be to construct commercial plants and license the technology to produce Fischer-Tropsch diesel and jet fuels as well as ethanol and other alcohols from cellulosic waste, which while qualifying for tax and carbon credits, will also help wean us from a dangerous dependence on increasingly expensive petroleum.

Jackson emphasized that their biomass-based synthetic diesel will be a truly renewable fuel, as it will be based on waste biomass feedstocks instead of food crops such as corn, canola, soybean or palm oil.

The synthetic diesel will be sulphur-free and CO2 neutral with a high energy content.

DaimlerChrysler expects that Biomass-to-Liquid (BTL) fuels could achieve a market share of 10% in Europe by 2015.

Volkswagen has already developed a commercially-available automobile engine specifically to benefit from syn-diesel.

The U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 set a mandatory Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requiring fuel producers to use at least 36 billion gallons of biofuel in 2022.

This creates a substantial market potential for Syntec's stable of catalysts.

For more information, call 604-688-3836.