Rentech Inc. announced that it has successfully produced synfuels at it’s Pilot Demonstration Unit (PDU) in Denver, Colorado. Coal Gasification News had previously reported that Rentech had completed construction of it’s PDU.

Rentech’s pilot demonstration unit has a capacity to produce 420 gallons of synthetic fuel per day using Rentech’s proprietary Fischer-Tropsch technology. The PDU is currently producing synthetic fuels from syngas produced from natural gas, but the Rentech Fischer-Tropsch technology is targeted for syngas projects that gasify coal and biomass. The natural gas syngas is produced using a steam methane reforming (SMR) unit. It’s not known if Rentech will add a pilot scale gasfication unit to the PDU.

The synthetic fuels have not been tested and approved yet, but Rentech is confident that the testing will be successful. Rentech believes that the PDU provides them with valuable data that will assist them with the design of full scale commercial projects. The production of synthestic fuels from the PDU is major milestone for the company.