24. Jan 2022
Aduro achieves first milestone with independent validation of its process
Aduro Clean Technologies, Inc. a Canadian developer of patented water-based technologies to chemically recycle plastics and to transform heavy crude and renewable oils into new-era resources and higher- value fuels, has announced the achievement of the first milestone under the securities exchange agreement dated October 22, 2021.
Aduro’s chemical conversion technology has now been successfully reviewed and independently validated in a third-party report compiled by Dr. Paul Charpentier, an expert in chemistry and alternative energy applications.
The objective of the review and independent validation was to confirm that Alberta bitumen, flowing continuously through the R2 reactor, was upgraded to lighter crude compared to the feedstock.
Aduro has developed patented water-based technologies to chemically recycle waste plastics, convert heavy crude and bitumen into lighter, more valuable oil and transform renewable oils into higher-value fuels or renewable chemicals.
The review specifically focussed on using Aduro Hydrochemolytic chemical conversion technology (HCT) to improve the properties of bitumen feedstock with an "API gravity" (density) of 14.6 ºAPI, upgrading it to lighter petroleum with a density of 19.5 ºAPI. Higher ºAPI values mean lower density and higher market value.
"Aduro was able to demonstrate upgrading of Bitumen on a flow-through reactor in a controlled laboratory environment and therefore meet the objectives of the First Milestone" said Dr. Paul Charpentier.
The company’s management believes these results further validate that the patented HCT, developed and proven by Aduro in small-batch R1 reactors, is viable for use in the types of continuous-flow reactors commonly used in commercial applications. The main benefits of HCT, when applied to bitumen, include partial upgrading of bitumen that improves viscosity, density, and market value, while reducing capital costs.
"Third-party evaluation increases confidence that our projections regarding lower operating costs and lower energy consumption in commercial applications are technically grounded" said Marc Trygstad, Chief Technology Officer of Aduro.
The results of the work completed by Aduro and evaluated by Dr. Charpentier support continuation of work to establish the foundation for HCT scaleup to pilot plants, precommercial deployments, and full-scale commercial systems. It also creates opportunities for Aduro to continue engagement of potential partners and customers through demonstration projects.
The R2-scale work on bitumen supports the next-phase design and development of the pilot-scale R3 reactor system to process barrels-per-day of bitumen. R3 reactor design work started in June 2021 and continues to proceed at a rapid pace. Furthermore, lessons learned from bitumen processing are also being applied to accelerate the design of an R2-scale demonstration system optimized for upcycling of plastics, such as polyethylene and polypropylene.
"My thanks to Dr. Paul Charpentier for his efforts to evaluate our work, and my highest appreciation to the Aduro technology team for their tireless efforts enabling completion of this milestone. We are moving forward and growing our team, focusing our attention on pilot plants and customer demonstrations, and continuing acceleration of our commercialisation efforts," said Ofer Vicus, Chief Executive Officer of Aduro.
Image: Marc Trygstad, Chief Technology Officer of Aduro.