Hydrodec Group plc, the cleantech industrial oil re-refining group, announced last Friday that it will file a Provisional Patent application to protect what it calls a novel and innovative method for hydrogenation refining of used oil and otherwise contaminated oil, to produce a high quality refined base oil product. The patent has particular application to the re-refining of used oils.

The new patent is the next step in Hydrodec’s technology programme and an extension of the current transformer oil re-refining technology into the broader waste lubricant oil market. According to the company, the technology increases the robustness and recovery rates of the central hydrogenation processes used in all high quality re-refining systems, while producing the highest quality products, enabling significantly enhanced re-refining economics.

The new method described by the patent application alleviates known problems of fouling and catalyst poisoning caused by lubricant and industrial oil additives as well as common impurities that are present in used industrial and lubricant oils. By increasing the robustness of the central hydrogenation processes, the technology also has the potential to expand the range of waste oil and hydrocarbons acceptable for re-refining. This submission extends the commercial protection of Hydrodec’s proprietary technology leadership in the production of sustainable and high quality re- refined oil products at market competitive prices.

Submission of a provisional patent application builds on the proof of concept originally announced in December 2012, where Hydrodec established a step-out application of its transformer oil methodology into industrial and used lubricant oils. The application creates a “priority date” for the technology giving Hydrodec precedence for protection of the intellectual property, while allowing up to a year to file a complete patent application.

Ian Smale, Chief Executive Officer of Hydrodec, commented: ‘This step out for our proprietary technology builds on the further innovation in our core transformer oil process, now provisionally patented in March of this year, and has the potential to significantly improve yield, quality and efficiency in Hydrodec’s own, or indeed any current, re-refining process for general lubricants and industrial oils.’

Hydrodec's technology is a re-refining and chemical process initially targeted at the multi-billion US$ market for transformer oil used by the world's electricity industry. Spent oil is currently processed at two commercial plants with distinct competitive advantage delivered through very high recoveries (near 100%), producing 'as new' high quality oils, according to the company, at competitive cost and without environmentally harmful emissions. The process also completely eliminates PCBs, a toxic additive banned under international regulations. Hydrodec's plants are located at Canton, Ohio, US and Young, New South Wales, Australia. Hydrodec recently acquired the business and assets of OSS Group, the UK's largest collector, consolidator and processor of used lubricant oil and seller of processed fuel oil, with a national network of oil storage and transfer stations, currently serviced by a fleet of more than 90 trucks which collect used oil and other garage workshop waste from over 30,000 customers. Used oil is converted into processed fuel oil at OSS’s plant at Stourport and principally sold on to the UK quarry and power industry.