Umbra Applied Technologies Group, Inc. announced that it has successfully tested a new crude oil treatment technology that removes metal ion particulate reducing costs of oil refining and reducing the environmental impact of refineries. The removal of metals and sulfur during the refining of crude oil carries with it specific challenges. The techniques currently used to process crude oil are expensive, energy inefficient, environmentally unfriendly and quite often are the bottleneck in the process.

Soluble sulfur and metal compounds containing vanadium and nickel are the most challenging to manage leading to complications such as environmental pollution, elevated corrosion, potential human exposure, human health impact and rapid catalyst deactivation. Metals in crude oil further carry the potential of interfering with the oil refining processes through excessive coke formation which is why many refineries will not accept heavy crude with high ion count. Currently, many oil producers that exceed an iron range of 0-10 ppm are penalized between $10-$40 per barrel of oil with producers providing in excess of 500 ppm being rejected entirely.

Many oil producers are left stuck holding and storing oil that cannot be sold or refined. The newly developed technology by H2O Processing, Inc. resolves this currently global issue. The proprietary technology and process developed by H2O Processing is environmentally friendly and cost-effective with little to no impact on oil yield.

This is a technology that is not only “green” but makes it more profitable to produce energy in a more efficient and responsible way. H2O Processing expects to deliver a full-scale mobile version of this technology to its first customer within 90days.