Transformer oil rerefiner Hydrodec has reached agreement with its U.S. partner, transformer recovery firm G&S Technologies Group, to expand capacity at its rerefinery in Canton, Ohio, from four trains to six, in 2014, company officials said at its annual general meeting Monday.
Work on engineering design, permitting and a contracting strategy has already begun, Hydrodec Chairman Lord Moynihan said in a company statement. We would expand this expanded capacity to be commissioned in the summer of next year.
Hydrodec CEO Ian Smale stated that the company also plans to commission a second U.S. plant in early 2015. At this state, it would seem likely that a third plant will be required to fully access the U.S. transmission system; this is being assessed, he added.
Smale also gave a brief update on the companys plans, announced in April, to develop a pilot plant later this year focused on rerefining used paraffinic base stocks and potentially producing API Group II and III base oils.
We are now engaged in a broad testing program defining the limits of the announced proof of concept and building the knowledge required to design a pilot phase, he said. We have applied for grant funding in Australia and are hopeful of a positive outcome. We would also expect to start protecting the evolving process and chemical reaction technology through patent applications starting in the third quarter of this year.
Hydrodec began commercial production at its transformer oil rerefinery in Canton in 2008. The 22,000 square foot plant can recycle up to 8 million gallons per year. The company previously opened a transformer oil rerefinery in Young, Australia, in 2006.