It's still around, trying to achieve lift off. If you've never heard of Sulphco, it is a one-technology company hoping to provide big value to oil producers by using sonocracking to desulfurize crude oil. According to the Sulphco website (www.sulphco.com) ...
"Our technology is designed to use high power ultrasound to alter naturally occurring molecular structures in hydrocarbons, which are the predominant molecular components of crude oil and crude oil fractions. The altering of these structures can include breaking large hydrocarbon structures into smaller hydrocarbon structures potentially, which in turn can reduce the density and the viscosity of the crude oil and crude oil fractions. Carbon bonds that contain sulfur and nitrogen can also be broken in the same manner potentially, thereby allowing for easier removal of some of these compounds from the remaining hydrocarbon compounds in the crude oil through a variety of commercially available techniques."
source: www.sulphco.com"
The company's prospects get mixed reviews. According to "Saving SulphCo From Investor Confusion," written by Abraham Gaines (February 25, 2008), the company has addressed its major problems, but investor sentiment has not kept pace. It should be noted that he owns shares of the company (at least at time of publication.)
On the other hand, Motley Fool's Rich Duprey writes (July 30, 2008) ""Sonocracking" hasn't lived up to the hype so far, and that could be why the collective wisdom of the 110,00-strong Motley Fool CAPS community has bestowed a lowly one-star rating on SulphCo."
Which brings us to today's search tip: Remember to include the financial / investment press in researching a new technology. The research that goes into such articles can provide valuable insight into whether the technology is worth pursuing.
View the full text of the two articles referenced above at:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/65902-saving-sulphco-from-investor-confusion
and
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2008/07/30/sulphco-will-burn-your-portfolio.aspx
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