Plant Profitability Can Increase Substantially as Process is Improved and Simplified Through Use of Less Costly Solvent
CALGARY, AB, CANADA / ACCESSWIRE / October 2, 2014 / Petrosonic Energy, Inc. (OTCQB: PSON), an emerging leader in heavy oil upgrading and related technologies, reported today that it has begun work with Western Research Institute (WRI) (http://www.westernresearch.org/) to install and operate a pilot plant to demonstrate and evaluate its proprietary SonoProcess(TM) technology for heavy oil upgrading. The pilot plant will be installed and operated by WRI at WRI’s state-of-the-art R&D facility in Laramie, Wyoming, USA.
Under the agreement, the parties will collaborate to test and demonstrate Petrosonic’s proprietary Sonoprocess(TM) oil upgrading technology to heavy oil producers from around the globe, on site at this highly regarded energy research institute.
WRI is a multi-million dollar not-for-profit R&D company engaged in research related to all aspects of energy production and environmental controls. WRI' s Energy Production and Generation business unit is well known for its work with industry leaders in process development, process verification and process scale-up. Under its agreement with Petrosonic, WRI will assemble and equip a dedicated laboratory for the SonoProcess(TM) pilot plant. The plant will be used to optimize the process for diverse solvents and heavy crudes. The company will demonstrate the process and will also make available samples of the upgraded oil products for third party analysis. The plant is intended to serve as a reference design for a full-scale commercial plant, and to generate and confirm data on plant economics that was developed from a recent feasibility analysis conducted and documented by Gas Liquids Engineering (GLE).
"We are delighted to be working with one of the most highly regarded institutions in energy research to demonstrate our technology to oil producers around the world," said Petrosonic CEO, Art Agolli. "WRI is an ideal partner to support this work and to present our technology to a broad and influential audience of oil and gas industry decision makers."
"We are excited to embark on this project with Petrosonic Energy," said Dr. Vijay Sethi, Senior Vice President for Energy Production and Generation at WRI. "We are very familiar with the range of technologies for heavy oil upgrading and have worked in this arena for quite some time. Petrosonic Energy’s innovative Sonoprocess technology offers the promise to be a transformative influence in the de-asphalting, upgrading and transportation of heavy oil worldwide and we are looking forward to a very fruitful engagement with Petrosonic."
Petrosonic plans to test not only a broad range of heavy crude types, but importantly will also test and optimize its process for a range of solvent types including solvents as light and affordable as propane. According to the company, this is significant because the solvents typically used in heavy oil upgrading are quite expensive, in many cases, costing more per barrel than the oil itself. As a result, nearly all of the solvent must be recovered in order to have an economically viable process.
Because Petrosonic’s proprietary technology allows oil upgrading facilities to be built in small scale at locations more convenient to the production source, it can provide significant savings to producers who no longer have to transport expensive solvent over long distances because it can be recovered and recycled locally. However, the latest design concepts take this benefit a step further promising to even further improve plant economics.
"Based on newly developed technology, we now believe that we can increase the convenience and profitability of heavy oil upgrading even more," added Agolli. "We are working with our partners at GLE and WRI on a process that would allow us to use lighter solvents, such as propane, which are widely available and substantially less expensive than those currently in use. This promises to dramatically enhance profitability by eliminating completely any need for solvent recovery and recycling, and by allowing the less costly solvent to remain blended with the upgraded oil."
The company recently filed for patents on the improved process, which must use a high-pressure vessel for the sonication, and has successfully completed an engineering feasibility analysis.
About Petrosonic Energy, Inc.
Petrosonic Energy, Inc. is in business to deliver innovative technologies to the energy sector. The primary focus is to provide technologies, which upgrade heavy oil economically and in an environmentally friendly manner. The Company’s patented Sonoprocess(TM) uses cleantech sonic energy to de-asphalt heavy oil at much smaller scale and lower capital costs than conventional upgraders and without the use of water or release of emissions in the atmosphere.
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SOURCE: Petrosonic Energy, Inc.