Cross Country on RenDiesel®

One of the Audi A3 TDIs driven during the 2010 "Eureka! Diesel Drives the Future" was driven cross country, from Santa Monica, California, to Washington, DC, on 100% synthetic RenDiesel®.

The Audi A3 TDI as well as Rentech's synthetic RenDiesel fuel are on display at the 2011 Washington Auto Show.

Dr. Robert Freerks, Rentech's Director of Product Development, drove solo, blogging throughout his cross country journey, documenting the fuel's performance and efficiency. You can read Dr. Bob's blog about his journey on this page.

Please click here to read the press release announcing the drive.

About the Driver

Dr. Robert Freerks has been developing synthetic fuels for the last 12 years. He has worked closely with the U.S. Department of Defense to develop synthetic JP-5 and JP-8 jet fuel and for the last four years while at Rentech, he worked with ASTM to certify synthetic jet fuel for commercial aviation use. He has also specialized in evaluating the lifecycle emissions of coal-to-liquids products in comparison to conventional, unconventional and alternative fuels and chemicals. He spent 18 years at Chevron Research where he synthesized automotive engine oil additives and formulated lubricants for gasoline and diesel engines.

Dr. Freerks received his Ph.D in synthetic organic chemistry from the University of California, Irvine where he worked on the total synthesis of Dendrobated Frog neurotoxins. He also holds a BS in chemistry from California State University, Long Beach. He is a member of ASTM; Coordinating Research Council and the American Chemical Society.

Mr. Freerks Goes to Washington

Actually, that would be "Dr. Freerks" -- Rentech's Director of Product Development -- but we couldn't help the word play with Capra's iconic 1939 film, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." In any event, Dr. Robert Freerks (or "Dr. Bob" as we like to call our affable scientist), went to Washington DC driving an Audi A3 TDI running on 100% synthetic RenDiesel fuel. The cross-country trek follows the car's 1,000 mile synthetic fuel journey a few months back from Eureka at the northern tip of California to San Diego at the south, part of Green Car Journal's 2010 Green Car of the Year Tour. This latest 2,700+ mile synthetic fuel trip ended with the A3 TDI on display in the Washington Auto Show's Advanced Technology Superhighway exhibit, following Rentech CEO D. Hunt Ramsbottom's appearance on Capitol Hill at the 2011 Green Car Summit.

On Thursday, January 20th, Dr. Bob left Denver at approximately 6:00 a.m. He drove 600 miles to Kansas City, KS where he refueled at Molle Audi Friday morning. He left Kansas City on Friday, January 21^st, and drove to Louisville, KY for about 506 miles. He refueled at Blue Grass Audi on Saturday morning and drove 577 miles to Washington DC.

Read Dr. Bob's Daily Blog

Day 1| Day 2| Day 3| Day 4| Day 5| Day 6| Day 7

The blog is available on Audi’s media site (http://www.audiusanews.com/progress/blog.do?p=home) and on Diesel Power Magazine's site (http://blogs.dieselpowermag.com/6709601/diesel-car-reviews/rentech-audi-and-diesel-powers-cross-country-road-trip/index.html).

Q & A with Dr. Bob

Q: Are you having any trouble in the cold weather driving with RenDiesel gelling up like regular diesel? Do you have to add an anti-gelling additive?

A: I have not had any problem with the fuel at all in cold weather. The cloud point of this fuel is sufficiently low that I was able to start at 6°F in KY with the car parked outside all night, and it was 13°F when I parked it at about 8:00 PM. The local Audi dealer said that it was actually colder than 6°F that night, with temperatures near or below 0F in some places. But the Audi registered 6°F, so I am sticking with that temperature.

Q: How does the lubricity of RenDiesel compare to traditional diesel?

A: Actually, work I did in the past showed that synthetic diesel fuel with the high cetane of RenDiesel, about 75, will allow starting diesel engines at about 20°F below conventional diesel fuel. And other work shows that the diesel engine starts and runs much better on high cetane fuel. This was the case for the Audi, which started and idled after two engine revolutions with no smoke at all. Not bad for a cold diesel engine!

Facts about RenDiesel

• RenDiesel to be produced at Rentech's Rialto Project is expected to reduce GHG emissions on a lifecycle basis by as much as 97% over conventional diesel fuel and by a comparable amount over electric vehicles
• A vehicle using RenDiesel is expected to be as much as two times more fuel efficient than one running on ethanol
• RenDiesel contains approximately 60% more energy per gallon than ethanol and diesel engines typically achieve 20-40% more miles per gallon than gasoline engines
• RenDiesel produces fewer volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions than ethanol or traditional diesel
• Meets all ASTM D975 requirements
• RenDiesel has been tested by Audi, Walker Caterpillar, Norfolk Southern, U.S. Military, Mine Safety and Health Administration and Purdue University
• Drop-in fuel
• Higher cetane index for easy cold starting
• Can be produced from a variety of domestic resources

The 2011 Washington Auto Show

Green Car Summit™

Rentech's President and CEO, Hunt Ramsbottom, will be participated in the fourth annual Green Car Summit™ hosted by The Washington Auto Show and Green Car Journal. Hunt shared his insights on energy security with other panelists including Jim O'Donnell, President of BMW of North America; Sue Cischke, Group Vice President of Sustainability, Environment, and Safety at Ford; Don Hillebrand, Director of the Advanced Transportation Center at Argonne National Laboratory; Michael O'Brien, Vice President of Product and Corporate Planning at Hyundai; Dr. Joseph Romm, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress; and Arun Banskota, President of NRG EV Services.

The panel took place on Wednesday, January 26^th from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Capitol Hill - Cannon House Office Building's Caucus Room.

Please visit www.washingtonautoshow.compolicy-makers/public-policy-days/green-car-summit for more information.

Exhibit

Rentech is displaying the Audi A3 TDI driven on 100% synthetic RenDiesel as well as the synthetic fuel during:

• The Washington Auto Show's Public Policy Day at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The event was open to regulators, ambassadors, members of Congress, White House staff, industry executives and media. Please visit www.washingtonautoshow.com/policy-makers for more information.
• January 28th – February 6th while the Washington Auto Show is open to the public. Please visit www.washingtonautoshow.com for more information.