Green Options » Fischer-Tropsch http://greenoptions.com/tag/fischer-tropsch Posts tagged 'Fischer-Tropsch' Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:15:57 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en 6 World Records Set by South African Mines http://ecoworldly.com/2009/04/27/six-areas-where-south-african-mining-leads-the-world/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/04/27/six-areas-where-south-african-mining-leads-the-world/#comments Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:15:57 +0000 Dave Harcourt http://ecoworldly.com/2009/04/27/six-areas-where-south-african-mining-leads-the-world/ South Africa is a world leader both in terms of mineral resources and in the development of mining technology to extract these resources. The industry there leads the world in many areas, and has had enormous impact on the growth of Africa and on the environment.

1. The Biggest Open Cast, Hand Dug Mine in the World

KImberly Big Hole

The Big Hole of Kimberly was dug by hand, using picks and shovels. There is debate about whether the Big Hole is the biggest hand dug open cast mine in the world. Its surface area of 17 hectares (42 acres) and depth of around 200 metres (650 ft) required the excavation of around 25 million tons of earth and rock. This was achieved in 52 years between 1866 and 1914 by a workforce of up to 50,000 miners. What is beyond dispute though is that The Big Hole yielded 2,720 kilograms (6000 lb) of diamonds significantly more than the Jagersfontein mine, the other contender for the title of biggest. After all what better metric is there than output!

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]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2009/04/27/six-areas-where-south-african-mining-leads-the-world/feed/ Air Force Will Be Coal-Powered by 2011 http://gas2.org/2007/12/19/air-force-will-be-coal-powered-by-2011/ http://gas2.org/2007/12/19/air-force-will-be-coal-powered-by-2011/#comments Wed, 19 Dec 2007 18:05:52 +0000 Clayton B. Cornell http://gas2.org/2007/12/19/air-force-will-be-coal-powered-by-2011/ AirForce_C17_240Not everyone has the same definition for the term ‘renewable-fuel’.

The United States Air Force is well on their way to becoming coal-powered. On Monday, the USAF carried out a transcontinental test flight using a 50-50 blend of standard jet fuel and coal-based ’synfuel’.

“The Air Force is taking a leadership role in testing and certifying the use of synthetic fuel in aircraft,” Secretary Wynne said. “We’re working very closely with our Army and Navy colleagues to ensure that this fuel is capable of operating in all of our aircraft. This is especially important because JP-8 military jet fuel is commonly used in the battlefield by the Army and Marines tactical vehicles and generators, as well as our respective aircraft.”

While synthetic fuel has the capacity to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, it could also double CO2 emissions produced by military flight. At the time of this writing, synfuel is made via Fischer-Tropsch process from either coal or natural gas to produce a somewhat cleaner burning but extremely greenhouse-gas intensive product.

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