A Reno company last week landed a $6.8 million deal with a company in the United Arab Emirates to develop a technology to remove sulfur from crude oil.
Axial Vector Energy Corp., a publicly traded company headquartered in Dubai, said it struck the deal with Reno's Petrosonics LLC.
The two companies will form a joint venture, with Axial Vector Energy putting up an initial contribution of $6.8 million, to develop and market the technology.
Dr. Mark Cullen, the chief executive officer of Petrosonics, said the deal makes sense because Axial Vector
Energy can draw on the resources of Emirates International Capital Advisory, which has provided backing for other Axial Vector Energy projects.
Privately held Petrosonics has developed a proprietary method for removal of sulfur from sour crude. Tests of the technology indicate it can cut refiners' costs for sulfur removal by about 75 percent.
The company says its technology uses high-power ultrasound to reduce sulfur, nitrogen and trade metals in refined petroleum products.
Cullen worked earlier this decade as president and chief executive officer of SulphCo Inc. That company, which was headquartered at Sparks before it moved to Houston, also has developed a sulfur-removal technology.
Sulfur occurs naturally in crude oil, and U.S. environmental regulators have pushed refiners to remove it to reduce air pollution from vehicles.
