Impact and
Benefits

The successful implementation of SULFAWAY project is expected to shift the interest of the scientific and industrial communities towards the identification of DES solutions as significant extraction solvents for the removal of oxidized S-containing compounds from Heavy Fuel Oil. The market demand of low-sulphur heavy oil fuel alongside with the strict rules that were introduced by IMO since January 2020, drives the need for new, low-cost and effective desulfurization procedures and methodologies. Besides, the proposed methodology is based on eco-friendly, biodegradable and non-toxic natural products that can be used as solvents with the vision to eliminate the use of toxic, cancerogenic organic solvents like DMF or ACN. 

Social, economic, scientific impacts will be triggered by the project and its implementation, summarized below:

Social

  • Reduce the emission of toxic gases from the exhaust of ships and factories, thus easing the pollution situation near coasts, ports and industrial zones, from health and aesthetical perspective.

  • Developing process that has a direct impact on the shipping industry and benefits most of society.

  • Employment of at least one person for the project implementation.

     Health

  • Reduction of SOx emission that are known to cause various health issues like respiratory and cardiovascular problems.

  • Cleaner air which increases the life quality of human that live near coast or islands.

     Enviromental

  • Elimination of waste generation, originated from both the hydrogenation procedures (no catalysts, less solvents etc.) but also from the ships’ emissions (less sulphur content).

  • Reduction of SOx emissions that cause the acid rain phenomenon.

  • Protect the flora and fauna of the maritime eco-system by the acidification caused by the acid rain in the regions as well as by the waste disposal from scrubbers.

  • Protect crops, forests and animals that are near the coasts which can be affected by the SOx from the ships.

      Industrial Application

  • SULFAWAY proposed process aims at introducing a new desulfurization technology in the Heavy oil
    market, which needs a cost-efficient methodology in order to produce fuel with S-content and comply
    with the international rules. Therefore, SULFAWAY’s process will disrupt the market by introducing a
    desulfurization process that combines the state-of-the-art scientific approach of the DES extraction,
    the eco-friendly and biodegradable character of these solvents and their low-cost. For this reason, the
    industrial oil refinery market in Cyprus, Greece, Europe and globally, will be the main target group of
    commercialising the SULFAWAY process.