28-03-01 Sinclair Oil, the second-largest independent refiner in the US, announced it has fully verified that FilmWorld's wholly owned subsidiary, SulphCo., desulphurisation technology is capable of producing low-sulphur diesel fuel and gasoline that meets future federal standards for low-sulphur motor fuels. The announcement concludes the last round of due diligence performed by Sinclair Oil in evaluating the effectiveness of the SulphCo. technology in removing sulphur from petroleum products early in the oil refining process, at a cost significantly less than traditional desulphurisation methods.
"Our lab results have demonstrated the effectiveness of this technology in reducing sulphur levels to less than 10 ppm in light gas oil, the precursor to gasoline, and less than 15 ppm in diesel fuel," said Paul Moote, Sinclair Oil's Manager of Planning and Economics. "This new technology will allow refiners to meet future US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB) standards for low-sulphur fuels at a cost less than they are paying now to remove sulphur from petroleum products."

Earlier, Dr. Alan C. Lloyd, the chairman of CARB, said the SulphCo. technology holds "the clear promise to produce low-sulphur diesel in California at a reasonable cost." The US EPA this month upheld plans to require a 97 % reduction in the sulphur of diesel fuel by mid-2006, providing greater impetus for refiners to implement new reduction-reduction technologies.
"With the final verification of the SulphCo. process by Sinclair Oil, we are now poised to begin the commercial phase of the technology," said Dr. Mark Cullen, CEO of SulphCo. "Over the next two weeks, we will be finalizing the design of the first commercial unit, which will be operational at a Sinclair Oil refinery by the middle of this year."

The final round of due diligence by Sinclair Oil involved testing the SulphCo. system for purification of water used as a medium in sulphur removal. The SulphCo. technology uses a unique energy source to remove sulphur from oil streams, lowering sulphur concentrations in crude oil from several thousand ppm to less than 15 ppm. Skid-mounted and self-contained units will be located on-site at refineries, oil production facilities and fuel terminals.
Removal of sulphur early in the refinery process represents a cost-savings for refiners compared with conventional hydro treating to remove sulphur. Published reports recently estimated that the cost of the SulphCo. process would be approximately half the cost of an equivalent hydrotreater. The company is based in Reno, Nevada.