[Update: the Sustainable Power Corp website has gone offline and the company seems to be shut down]
Sustainable Power Corporation (SSTP) has been making some very impressive claims about a bio-crude oil fuel they are producing called Vertroleum (virtual petroleum). This fuel consists of agricultural “waste” such as cotton seed shells, cracked soy beans, milo, rice, and other grains. Founded in 2006, Sustainable Power Corp delivers a patented way to produce their fuel and will assist in the creation of power plants to do so along with planning, engineering, and assembly services. Their website makes the following claim: “The company offers a significant energy advancement that creates three times more fuel per feedstock unit than any other biofuel or biodiesel production process. The company has engineered the first bio-renewable fuel able to serve as a replacement to petroleum diesel, with superior weather resistance, performance value, and anti-corrosiveness over other green fuels.”
Sustainable Power Corp reports that Vertroleum can be refined into gasoline, jet fuels, and nearly any other petrochemical that regular fossil fuels are currently providing. The benefit here is that this product doesn’t have to be shipped across the world or come from war torn areas. It also wouldn’t release sequestered CO2 from within the earth, but it still would release CO2 as it was burned as opposed to solar or wind power solutions.
In an interview posted by Slashdot the CEO is quoted as saying: “Our biggest problem is that we are too good to be true. We can literally replace every gallon of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel in the United States using just 12 percent of the waste byproducts in the country.” along with this statement it was said that the Vertroleum product burns at near 100% efficiency.
Indeed, there are some pretty impressive claims being made here and more than a few people are skeptical. I personally noticed that the Sustainable Power Corp website went down and has been migrated to a new domain since 2008 when this story was first published. I also read that Texas A&M had done a study on Vertroleum and confirmed its viability however the stories were not available for direct review when I dug deeper. You can keep up with the company via Yahoo Finance and if you or someone you know has actually worked with Vertroleum or can support the claims of Sustainable Power Corp please share.
