Business
Nigeria patent granted for fuel oil reclamation
Nigeria patent granted for fuel oil reclamation.
About this update from Sulnox Group Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n \n21 January 2025 \n \nSulNOx Group Plc\n(the \"Company\" or \"SulNOx\")\nNigeria patent granted for fuel oil reclamation\n(Aquis Stock Exchange: SNOX)\nSulNOx, the green decarbonisation company helping industry reduce emissions, lower fuel costs and meet sustainability targets, is pleased to announce that it has secured an important patent in Nigeria, its first in the significant fuel oil reclamation market.\nThe new patent protects an improved oil / water separation methodology developed by SulNOx, incorporating its already patented Berol 6446 product. This development has considerable potential for supporting the maritime industry in tackling its perennial problem of \"ships' slops\", a hydrocarbon-rich industrial waste produced in various parts of a ship's operations, including tank cleaning, purifying fuels and use of ballast water.\nSlops typically contain around 70% water in what would otherwise be useful heavy fuel oil (HFO). Traditional separation processes often require high heating temperatures and long separation times to allow gravity to drag out the water from the oil in a separation tank. Often, the HFO that is recovered can still contain significant amounts of water (5% and above) which reduce its value and usefulness. \nAugmenting an existing separation plant with the SulNOx process brings the following outcomes: \n· Separation is accelerated with a typical process of around 10-12 hours reduced to approximately three, allowing higher processing capability for an existing plant\n· Lower temperatures are required, leading to savings on heating and a lower on CO2 footprint\n· Water recovered is cleaner and may be disposed of easily\n· Oil recovered has typically less than 1.5% water content which means added value and saleability\nSlops are a feature of ship operations in ports worldwide. Growth in the wider market for eco-friendly demulsifiers, used to separate water from fuel oil, is supported by environmental regulation and a corporate imperative to adopt more sustainable practices. The global demulsifier market is estimated to...