1. Any fuel that is made by chemically manipulating hydrocarbon molecules to resemble conventional fuels.
   Any fuel that is made from inorganic materials.
2. Any fuel that is made from synthesizing two different varieties of fuel together.
   Any fuel that is made from synthesizing more than two different varieties of fuels together.

Short for synthetic fuel, synfuel describes any fuel that is created through chemically manipulating organic matter so that its hydrocarbons are similar to the hydrocarbons found in petroleum-based fuels. "Synthetic" can be misleading, since all synfuels are made from organic material.

1. Syncrude is an early stage in synfuel production.
   Syncrude is a type of synfuel.
2. Syncrude is not as expensive as synfuel.
   Syncrude is much more expensive than synfuel.

Syncrude, short for synthetic crude, is a type of synfuel that must be refined to produce a final product, just like regular crude oil. All synthetic crudes are synfuels, but not all synfuels are synthetic crudes.

1. Crude-to-liquid fuel
   Coal-to-liquid fuel
2. Cobalt-to-liquid fuel
   Carbon-to-liquid fuel

CTL, or coal-to-liquid fuel, describes synthetic fuel that is created by smashing coal, gasifying it and condensing it into liquid fuel.

1. Grains fed to cows to help produce methane-based fuels
   Any organic material used to produce synfuels
2. Animal waste that is used to produce synfuels
   Animal organs and byproducts used to produce synfuels

Feedstock is a blanket term used to describe the coal, natural gas, or biomass used to produce synthetic fuels. By the time it is converted to fuel, the feedstock will have been crushed, burned, gasified and liquefied, and won't resemble the raw material at all.

1. Bitumen-to-liquid fuel
   Biomass-to-liquid fuel
2. Barium-to-liquid fuel
   Beryllium-to-liquid fuel

BTL, or biomass-to-liquid fuel, is a type of synthetic fuel that is made from relatively fresh organic matter, instead of fossil fuels. The biomass in question can be plant waste, wood, or organic waste from a landfill.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

Scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory have shown, in theory, the possibility of producing synfuel using captured atmospheric carbon dioxide. The only drawback: Each facility might need its own nuclear power plant to power the energy-intensive process.

1. The relatively high cost of production
   Difficulty accessing feedstock
2. Lack of available feedstock
   Lack of technology

Especially in the U.S., Canada and South America, available feedstock such as coal, oil sands, oil shale and natural gas are abundant. The problem comes in the high costs of facilities and production, and the lack of technology for gathering feedstock that is buried deep underground.

1. A type of chemical reaction used to produce synfuels.
   A type of chemical reaction that occurs underground when oil is formed.
2. A procedure for collecting hard-to-reach fossil fuels from underground.
   The technology used to separate hydrocarbon from oil shale.

The Fischer-Tropsch is a chemical reaction used to produce synfuels. The reaction involves applying heat and pressure to a feedstock in the presence of a catalyst, in order to change the arrangement of hydrocarbons and produce synthetic fuels and other products. The fuels are naturally cleaner and purer than their petroleum-based counterparts.

1. In 1982 in South Africa
   In 1958 in the United States
2. In 1923 in Germany
   In 1964 in Japan

Two German scientists, Franz Fischer and Hal Tropsch, invented the Fischer-Tropsch process in 1923.

1. Ground-to-liquids fuel
   Grain-to-liquids fuel
2. Gas-to-liquids fuel
   Grass-to-liquids fuel

The "gas" in gas-to-liquids fuel is natural gas, which can be altered through an introduction of chemicals, heat and pressure to produce a liquid synthetic fuel.

1. A variety of oil that has been contaminated underground.
   A type of synthetic crude oil processed from rocks.
2. A type of synthetic fuel that is darker and thicker than crude oil.
   A synthetic fuel that has the coloring of marlstone rocks.

The shale rocks that are processed to create shale oil are commonly called "oil shale." But oil shale is actually a rock called marlstone, a naturally occurring rock rich in a substance called kerogen that can be processed and converted into syncrude.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

Because Germany and its allies had limited access to oil reserves during World War II, the Nazis took advantage of synfuels technologies that had been developed in the country years earlier in order to fuel its planes and tanks.

1. A sandy mixture left over after oil is refined.
   An oily mixture left over after synfuel is made.
2. A naturally occurring material that can be used to make syncrude.
   The Gulf beaches damaged during the 2010 oil spill.

Oil sands are natural deposits that have been corroded by bacteria over time that include a mix of sand, clay, water and a substance called bitumen. The bitumen is similar to oil, and can be processed to produce a form of syncrude.

1. A variety of oil that creates more pollutants when burned.
   Botched syncrude that has been damaged during the production process
2. A more viscous form of oil used to produce syncrude.
   A top-tier level of syncrude oil processed especially for SUVs.

A naturally occurring substance, extra heavy oil is very similar to conventional oil, except that it is far more viscous. It can be refined to make syncrude.

1. The price of crude oil would have to increase significantly.
   The price of crude oil would have to decrease significantly.
2. The price of crude oil would have to stabilize for at least 10 years
   The price of crude oil would have to stabilize for at least 20 years

Because synthetic fuels are much more expensive to produce than conventional oil, crude oil prices would have to increase dramatically before most types of synfuels would be considered economically viable to many manufacturers.

1. Tar
   Heavy metals
2. Petroleum jelly
   Water

Impurities contained in feedstocks can be easily filtered out of the synfuel when it is a gaseous state. Heavy metals collect at the bottom of synfuels gasifiers and can then be resold to help defray the costs of the operation.

1. A toxic byproduct of synfuels production.
   A mixture of gases used to produce synfuels.
2. Any type of gasoline made from synthetic feedstock.
   A chemical catalyst used to produce gasoline.

Short for synthesis gas, syngas is the mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen that is produced from heating and compressing feedstock. The syngas is the main ingredient, along with catalysts like cobalt and iron, that fuels the Fischer-Tropsch reaction.

1. Australia
   China
2. South Africa
   Germany

Synthetic fuels, including GTLs and CTLs, have been a major part of the South African oil economy since the 1970s.

1. 10 years
   15 years
2. 100 years
   200 years

At current consumption levels, the oil shale deposits in the Green River Formation in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming could fuel the United States for a century. Those oil shale deposits are still largely untapped.

1. It is thicker and more viscous.
   It is thinner and less viscous.
2. It's more harmful on the environment.
   There is no difference.

Bitumen, the naturally occurring substance that can be found in oil sands deposits, is far thicker and more viscous than conventional crude oil. Through extensive production processes, including rinsing with hot water and exposing to heat, bitumen can be processed to make syncrude.