OxEon Energy has received a contract from Midrex (purchasing agent for Kobe Steel in the United States) for multiple units of its non-thermal plasma oxidizer. The oxidizer technology was jointly developed by OxEon and Kobe personnel. The oxidizer will be used at the end of a Kobe constructed plant to insure that a gas stream is fully converted to carbon dioxide and water. This contract will take about seven (7) months to complete. The same contract included an order for spare parts to be used in conjunction with the ordered oxidizer equipment. The non-thermal plasma oxidizer is a modified design of the non-thermal plasma reformer offered by OxEon. The reformer design can be used to reform any hydrocarbon that can be vaporized (i.e. e.g. natural gas, diesel, gasoline, various solvents and other hydrocarbons into synthesis gas.

OxEon reformer technology operates as a plasma catalyzed autothermal reformer. The reformers are not sensitive to sulfur since the catalytic action is renewed with each electric pulse on a millisecond basis. The plasma reformer can also reform high BTU natural gas (i.e. natural gas with some entrained natural gas liquids) without the use of a pre-reformer such as is required with a steam methane reformer or a conventional autothermal reformer. The reformers have been manufactured in sizes ranging from ~400 SCF per day of natural gas up to 1 MMSCF (million SCF) per day. The high voltage, extremely low amperage electric pulse uses little energy with the plasma generator for a 1 MMSCFD reformer consuming less than 4 kW. Multiple units can be manifolded to provide larger capacity.