TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH
uODS – Oxidative Desulfurization Technology
Enabling Cleaner Marine Fuel at Scale
TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH
Enabling Cleaner Marine Fuel at Scale
70% desulfurization of fuel oil at atmospheric pressure, without H2
Process can adapt to feed characteristics and end-user needs for an optimal S content (IMO 2020 compliant)
Solvent used in the pre- and pos-oxidation stages can be recovered and recycled
Reaction times are reduced from minutes to seconds
Team Roberts scientists, in collaboration with Saudi Aramco (KSA), are developing Ultrasonically-assisted Oxidative Desulfurization (uODS) as a technology for effective sulfur removal from heavy fuel oils in compliance with IMO 2020 regulations. The uODS process leverages ultrasonically induced cavitation to efficiently and cost-effectively reduce sulfur content in heavy hydrocarbon streams.
The technology can be implemented using a skid-mounted unit equipped with a proprietary acoustic cavitation system that enhances mixing of the reactants required for desulfurization, followed by a centrifugation step to separate the reaction products. The uODS process has been successfully demonstrated at a scale of 10 tons per day under continuous operation for 72 hours, achieving a 70% reduction in sulfur content from a commercial marine bunker fuel oil (MBFO).
Our technology can remove sulfur species from heavy streams (heavy fuel oils, > 3 % wt.), by implementing a customizable stage-process, flexible to the feed characteristics and the user demands to low sulfur (LSFO) or very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO). The sulfur species are converted to sulfones and sulfoxides in the oxidation stage, for easy removal. By using ultrasound/cavitation the reaction times are reduced significantly, from minutes to seconds, resulting in a more efficient and less expensive desulfurization technology.
