GTC strikes deal with ConocoPhillips to license sulfur recovery technology
Process technology licensor GTC Technology reached a global agreement with ConocoPhillips for its selective partial oxidation of sulfur (SPOC) technology for sulfur recovery, the company said on Tuesday.
ConocoPhillips has a long heritage of technology innovation, including technologies for LNG, delayed coking, clean fuels, gasification and alkylation, GTC officials said.
GTC says its SPOC technology is the most significant innovation in the “modified Claus” technology space in the last 30 years.
Given the prevalence of “modified Claus” technology, SPOC technology is expected to impact the global sulfur recovery space for the foreseeable future, according to the company.
The agreement expands GTC’s platform of acid gas removal technology, which currently includes GT-CO2, a process technology for CO2 removal; GT-SSR™, a Claus process for sulfur recovery; and GT-DOS, an innovative direct oxidation technology.
“SPOC technology eliminates the Claus furnace and addresses many of the endemic issues associated with conventional modified Claus technology, such as COS and CS2 formation, and challenges with startup and shutdown,” said Dr. Matt Thundyil, sulfur business leader for GTC.
“In addition, it is anticipated to offer better efficiencies than conventional modified Claus technology with significant savings in capital cost,” he added. “This technology may also be able to upgrade conventional modified Claus plants, delivering improved performance with minor capital outlay.”
“This collaborative agreement with GTC allows us to bring valuable innovation to a marketplace that has been seeking better technology,” said Merl Lindstrom, interim senior vice president of technology at ConocoPhillips.
“ConocoPhillips developed and tested the SPOC technology and believes it sets a new cost and performance benchmark for sulfur removal processes,” Lindstrom added.
ConocoPhillips is the third-largest integrated energy company in the US and the fourth-largest refiner worldwide.
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