Here’s an update to the Sasol-Chevron GTL Challenge. The GTL stands for “gas-to-liquids” and you can learn more about it here. This is the group that’s travelling from South Africa to Quatar to demonstrate the performance of their NG Diesel fuel in one of the caravan vehicles. In the picture you can see oil from the test vehicle on the left and from one of the other vehicles running on conventional diesel on the right.

The halfway stage of the Sasol Chevron GTL Challenge, over 6,500 kilometres, has provided the most graphic evidence so far of GTL diesel’s clean fuel performance. During a scheduled oil change in Nairobi, it became clear that, whilst the oil from the vehicles using traditional diesel had deteriorated and needed to be changed, the oil from ‘African Renaissance’, the vehicle running on GTL diesel, was barely affected.

Expedition Leader Ian Myburgh said: “We’re delighted. We are using a standard commercial motor oil and the implications for overall vehicle economy and reduced running costs are huge. The essential performance difference between GTL and the conventional diesel is related to the cleaner burning of the GTL diesel which leads to less soot formation in the combustion chamber. GTL diesel performs better due to its uniquely clean composition.”

You can learn a lot more about the expedition, the fuel and the companies involved here.