Heavy refinery residue is difficult to handle, expensive to blend and often sold into lower-value fuel oil markets. Refineries usually make these streams pumpable by adding lighter cutter stocks such as diesel, kerosene or light cycle oil. That solves the viscosity problem, but it can reduce margin. Higher-value distillates are being blended into a lower-value product instead of being sold separately.
Quadrise MSAR® technology is designed to replace much of that cutter stock with water and a low-concentration chemical additive package. The process converts heavy residue into a stable, homogeneous and pumpable oil-in-water emulsion fuel.
The commercial case is straightforward. A refinery can use less valuable distillate in fuel oil production, retain more higher-value products for sale and create a usable fuel from heavy residue.
MSAR® is based on the Orimulsion® technology platform developed by BP and Petróleos de Venezuela. It addresses viscosity and handling without relying on large volumes of premium blending components.
In a refinery producing 30,000 barrels per day of fuel oil, a cutter stock requirement of 30% to 40% represents around 9,000 to 12,000 barrels per day. Based on the pricing assumptions in the source case, replacing that volume could create annual value of approximately $35 million to $45 million.
That value can be shared with the fuel customer. The example allows for a customer discount of about $15 million to $22 million per year while leaving the refinery with around $18 million to $23 million in retained value. This shared-margin structure strengthens the commercial proposition. The refinery improves residue economics, while the customer receives a fuel priced below conventional fuel oil on an energy-equivalent basis.
Quadrise’s production equipment is modular and based on established bitumen emulsion technology. Its largest Multifuel Manufacturing Unit can produce around 40 metric tonnes of emulsion per hour. This is equivalent to residue capacity of up to about 28 tonnes per hour, or 4,200 barrels per day. Several units can be installed in parallel where more capacity is required. The modular design can also reduce project risk because production can be increased, reduced, paused or restarted as market conditions change.
A refinery does not need to commit all residue production to MSAR®. The technology can operate as an additional route alongside conventional fuel oil blending. This gives the refinery more flexibility when relative product prices, storage constraints or customer demand change.
MSAR® and bioMSAR™ can potentially use residues from atmospheric distillation, vacuum units, bitumen production, visbreaking, deasphalting, hydroprocessing and hydrocracking-related operations. Each residue stream must be tested because composition varies. Quadrise evaluates candidate feedstocks at its research facility in Essex, focusing on pumpability, storage stability, cleanliness, handling temperature and suitability for the intended application.
Quadrise plc (LON:QED) is an energy technology provider whose solutions enable production of cheaper, cleaner, simpler and safer alternatives to fuel oil and biofuels, proven in real world applications. Quadrise technologies produce transition fuels called MSAR® and bioMSAR™, which allow clients in the shipping, utilities and industrial sectors to reduce carbon emissions whilst also saving costs.
