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Sulphco commissions 30,000bpd of crude oil capacity in Fujairah

Sulphco — the company that has designed and patented Sonocracking technology — has reported the completion of infrastructure and ancillary facilities, including electric, cooling, water tanks, sludge tanks, pumps, control systems, a water separator and external feed lines, sufficient to allow continuous operation of one of the six commercial scale 30,000 barrel per day (bpd) Sonocracking units earlier installed at the facility.

Initial testing began on August 5 with a run of 285 barrels of heavy oil (less than 13 degree API gravity, sulphur content 2.63 per cent by weight) through a 5,000 bpd skid. Six of these operating in parallel comprise a 30,000 barrel per day commercial unit.

The oil was supplied by a tank truck through external piping into the plant, with flow rates averaging 2,500 bpd and peak rates as high as 3,500 bpd, said president of SulphCo, Brian Savino. "The limiting factor was the discharge rate of the tank truck, not the throughput capacity of the Sonocracker."

Larry Ryan, CEO of SulphCo said: "We now have the ability to operate a commercial scale prototype unit for extended runs on tank truck quantities of the types of heavy oil for which this unit was designed. What's more, this installation was completed on schedule under our revised timetable." He added: "The ultrasonic probes performed flawlessly during this test, showing no evidence of inconsistency or mechanical breakdown."

Sensitive to the fact that potential customers and investors alike are anxiously awaiting test results validating the technology on a commercial scale, Ryan counselled patience. He said: "This is just the first run on a heavy oil we have never before tested. More than 50 samples were collected under various combinations of power settings, water content, and flow rates, with the goal of optimising system performance. The samples were then sent to a respected outside laboratory for testing.