Environmental

HRC Technology involves deliberate reduction of aromatics and olefins in gasoline, with corresponding increases in paraffins, particularly iso-paraffins – which are higher in octane. Paraffins simply are more “hydrogen-rich” – containing a lower level of carbon than aromatics and olefins. But paraffins also have a higher combustion energy release per pound or per gallon. So HRC gasoline will release less CO₂ simply due to its chemical composition and energy density.

Compared to current gasolines, tailpipe CO₂ emissions (Scope Three Emissions) are about 12% lower. Details of this calculation are found in US Patent 11,434,441 B2.

This is a significant improvement – if applied to the entire US gasoline pool, this would result in a reduction of 155 million metric tons of CO₂ per year, a reduction of 2.68 % in the total US CO₂ release. Details of this calculation are also found in US Patent 11,434,441 B2.

This is only the beginning. As the next section explains, further reductions to CO₂ Scope Three emissions can occur as we learn to incorporate renewable naphtha into the HRC refining process.

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