The religious wars over what is a true synthetic or not are really rather amusing and amazing.
It all starts out as something pumped out of the ground. The question is how much processing has to be done to the input material in order for the resulting output to be labeled "synthetic" rather than "refined".
Of course there is real nonsense going on in the world of coal processing where US tax credits are available for making synthetic fuel ... and many companies get by with spraying some fluids on the coal in a secret process to wave the magic wand and turn regular coal into a synthetic fuel. You can read about this at many sources on the web, here is but one:
"Synthetic" Coal Tax Credit Article
The problem is in the very notion of a synthetic motor oil as distinct from a so called dead dino derived motor oil. Well guess what folks ... ALL motor oils trace their molecules back to dead plants and or dinosaurs which decomposed into crude oil and natural gas long ago.
If you want to be mad about marketing, get mad at Amsoil and/or Mobil for popularizing the notion that synthetic motor oils are by nature completely different exotic beasts.
In the end what matters is the performance of the product and the price it is sold at.
Synthetic Oil is really a misnomer all together.
John
[ May 07, 2004, 02:08 AM: Message edited by: jthorner ]