137. Synthetic Gas Factory, Curing Bubble-Boy Disease, Alzheimer’s Blood Test

<p><a href='https://arstechnica.com/cars/2022/12/porsches-synthetic-gasoline-factory-comes-online-today-in-chile'>Porsche’s synthetic gasoline factory comes online today in Chile</a> | Ars Technica (01:07)</p> <ul><li style="font-weight:400;">A Chilean startup called <a href='https://hifglobal.com/'>Highly Innovative Fuels</a> officially opened its first <a href='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_fuel'>synthetic gasoline</a> production facility.  <ul><li style="font-weight:400;">Result of a collaboration between the automaker Porsche, Siemens Energy, Exxon Mobil, Enel Green Power, the Chilean state energy company ENAP, and Empresas Gasco. </li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">What is synthetic fuel or synfuel? <ul><li style="font-weight:400;">A feedstock is a raw material that is used as a source of energy or as a starting material for the production of a product.</li> </ul> <ul><li style="font-weight:400;">A type of fuel that is made from synthetic hydrocarbons</li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Typically produced from coal, natural gas, or biomass through a process known as the <a href='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischer%E2%80%93Tropsch_process'>Fischer-Tropsch process</a>. </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Synthetic fuel is a direct drop-in for pump gasoline</li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Initially, the site will produce around 34,000 gallons (130,000 L) a year, <ul><li style="font-weight:400;">Scaling up to 14.5 million gallons (55 million L) a year by 2024.</li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Plans to increase that tenfold to 145 million gallons (550 million L) a year by 2026. </li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">The site, located in Punta Arenas in Southern Chile, will use wind to power the process<ul><li style="font-weight:400;">The area sees high winds roughly 270 days a year, and a wind turbine can expect to produce up to four times as much energy as one in Europe.</li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Conversion process of the plant:<ul><li style="font-we