[2ndamendment]

Originally Posted by Gerald

I am not familar with the Regulations on diesel fuels.

If I am reading your post right......

In summary, the Gov. is lowering the requirments on allowable Sulphur in diesel fuels.

That is correct Gerald. Eventually all things that use diesel fuel will have to run ULSD. ULSD will be the only one available.

This will drive up the cost of diesel even higher than it is now.

Once again this is correct. In order to make ULSD a diesel hydro-treater unit plus support units will need to be built. This cost refiners millions to construct. In turn, this adds processing costs to the refiners electricity, water, catalyst, maintenance etc. This will add to the cost of ULSD at the pump.

Just curious.....what is the market for the sulphur that is taken out when the fuel is produced? What is it used for?

Sulfur compound has a wide range of uses from agricultural to medical and many in between. There is a market but for profit selling sulfur is not that good in respect to other by products of refining.

I remember that we had tanker trucks coming into the refinery to load up with that bright "Yellow" liquid stuff. FYI.....sulphur will be a liquid if the temperature is in the proper range. If sulphur is heated it will melt and become a liquid. But if it gets too hot, it turns back into a solid. I don't remember exactly what the temperature range is......but it is something like between 230 to 260 deg it will be a liquid. Low pressure steam was used to keep the underground pit at the proper temperature so the liquid could be pumped into the tanker trucks.

Sulfur will turn molten at roughly 252 degrees F. Sulfur pits are normally used to collect the sulfur product. 150# steam coil is normally used to keep the sulfur molten while in the pits. Back in the day when you were in the business Gerald you would pump the molten sulfur from the collection pits to a truck or rail car for shipping. Now days the federal government is requiring a degas type vessel added to the process, to run the molten sulfur through first, before it can be loaded to trucks or rail cars. Again another processing cost added per environmental regulations.