By OGJ editors
Houston, Oct. 2 -- UOP LLC signed a technology cooperation agreement with Petrobras and Albemarle Corp. to demonstrate and further commercialize its catalytic crude upgrading (CCU) process technology.
The agreement calls for UOP to provide the technology, equipment, and system design, and Albemarle is providing the FCC catalyst for the process. Petrobras has run the process in a pilot plant, and will provide its knowledge and experience in FCC catalysts and heavy crude processing.
UOP developed the CCU process in 2005 as an option for upgrading heavy crudes and bitumen-derived crudes. The process reduces the crude's viscosity, which allows it to travel through pipelines without the use of diluents.
