1. synthetic fuels produced artificially from coal, natural gas, or other sources as alternatives to petroleum
Usage: technical; plural form

Examples

• The government invested billions in synfuels research during the energy crisis.
• Coal-to-liquid synfuels offer an alternative to imported oil.
• Environmental groups oppose synfuels due to their high carbon emissions.
• The synfuels industry struggled when oil prices dropped.
• Scientists are developing cleaner methods to produce synfuels.
• Many synfuels projects were abandoned in the 1980s.