With petroleum prices spiraling upward, making synthetic fuels or "synfuels" from coal, natural gas, and biomass has become more economically competitive. Advanced energy companies now focus exclusively on alternative fuels, and many oil companies have programs dedicated to developing synthetic fuels. The Fischer-Tropsch process, which uses a collection of chemical reactions to convert mixtures of carbon monoxide and hydrogen into liquid hydrocarbons, is the studied method of choice for producing synthetic petroleum substitutes.

Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis, Catalysts, and Catalysis:...