Company Background

Company Background

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Renuva Energy's patented process pulls liquid, viscous hydrocarbon fluid from coal to be used as a marketable crude oil, while remaining coal "char" still having use similar to traditional coal for energy.  Coal liquefaction dates back to the 1920s—The process was used extensively during World War II in making diesel/synthetic fuel and oils. It came into extensive use when South Africa faced a world oil embargo during the nation’s politically driven apartheid in the 1970s and 1980s, and subsequently created the South African Synthetic Oil Ltd. Corporation, or “Sasol.”  Sasol at its peak was producing as much as 70 percent of South Africa’s liquid fuel needs. Sasol today converts 120,000 metric tons of coal per day to 150,000 barrels of oil at a ratio of 1.25 barrels of oil per ton of coal, and this corporation is estimated to currently produce approximately 200,000 barrels per day. 

Renuva Energy's technology is similar, but there are two significant differences from the coal liquefaction preformed in the 1920s and currently in South Africa.  Renuva Energy's patented improvements produce much higher quantities of oil per short ton of coal, and more importantly, its technology is airtight, preventing any emissions from entering the atmosphere. Renuva Energy has taken old technology and significantly improved it, resulting in a much greater efficiency and much lower emissions. 

In 2000, the current Renuva Energy management team was involved in creating Oil Tech, Inc. (OTI), which became a forerunner of CoalTech, Inc. (later rebranded to Renuva Energy). OTI was the first company to develop and patent a process to economically produce oil from oil shale ($20.00/bl) without the use of water and, unlike other technologies, the OTI process did not plug the heating column (retort). The OTI technology first crushed the shale to ¼ inch minus, dried the shale to eliminate water, and then processed the dried shale through a 40-foot, oxygen-free heating tower (retort), extracting organic vapor under a slight vacuum which was then condensed into liquid crude oil. OTI was not the first to produce crude oil from oil shale, but learning from the mistakes and problems of earlier technologies, OTI was the first to produce shale oil economically. The success of this system was noted by United States senators and Jack Savage was invited to present the OTI process to a panel of congressmen. While in the process of obtaining a permit to open an oil shale mine on government (BLM) property, OTI was acquired by an Australian company, Ambre energy, Ltd. Ambre energy’s business plan was to utilize OTI’s patented process to liquefy coal into crude oil, and Oil Tech investors realized 100% return on their investment.

In 2011, the Renuva Energy team saw the effects of more restrictive environmental laws in the coal industry—for both coal mines and coal-fired plants. They realized the technology they had patented with OTI could be altered to prevent patent infringement against the OTI technology, and in creating new patents the Renuva Energy team could greatly improve the efficiency and process of the OTI technology through alterations, enhancements, and new technology -- applied now to coal. This new process could remove the toxins from the coal in the form of crude oil, leaving a char still suitable for burning in coal-fired plants; and all preformed with little toxic emissions entering the atmosphere.

Renuva Energy was formed as a Utah corporation and the management team invested significant funds and countless hours in to re-designing the coal processing system (retort), resulting in a proprietary system for which a patent was applied, paid for and subsequently issued by and to Lloyd Swain. Lloyd Swain has assigned the patent to the Company pursuant to an assignment and Promissory Note secured by the patent. Additional patent amendments are being prepared for filing. The team funded a six-foot retort unit to obtain the various materials and liquids to be compared with the company’s original goals of clean burning char with all toxins exiting the process in the form of refinery-ready liquid crude oil.

Both products of oil and clean char were sent to Wyoming Analytical Laboratories in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where all tests were conducted. As anticipated, the vast majority of toxic hydro-carbons previously found in the coal escaped first in vapor form and then were condensed into liquid oil. The tests confirmed a total of 2.85 barrels of crude oil extracted from one short-ton of coal. The clean char, now one third the weight of the original raw coal tonnage, was found to still burn at 75% BTU value of the raw coal.

After years of time and management’s personal investment, Renuva Energy's hypothesis—that coal could be cleaned and used in coal-fired plants in an environmentally friendly manner—was not just verified, but revealed the incredible revenue potential for crude oil production.  Finding this clean-coal solution was the goal—but the volume of crude oil produced was an even more-impressive discovery. Lloyd Swain quickly pursued, financed, and received a patent on the newer, more advanced technology.

Renuva Energy is partnering with a small coal-fired power plant in Utah to construct and operate a medium-sized commercial retort unit at the power plant facility. This small commercial retort will provide additional time for heating the coal, extract additional toxic vapors, and produce clean char emitting near zero toxins into the atmosphere. Following these runs and subsequent testing, the company will be ready to embark on a full-scale production campaign both at home and abroad.

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