Petroleum Energy Center PEC

The Petroleum Energy Center (PEC) was founded in May 1986. PEC was established to promote comprehensive programs for deep renovations and to contribute to the viability of the petroleum industry in Japan. 

Some of the patents reported earlier in Section 23.1 were awarded jointly with PEC. Some of these patents have been filed in the US and others in Japan and Europe. 

Since temperature can reduce oil viscosity, operation at higher temperatures can be beneficial in terms of oil-water contacting, potentially improving mass transfer and possibly improving reaction rates as well. Thus, PEC concentrated its work on development of high temperature biocatalysts [112-128,130], 

A third thermophile, M. phlei WU-F1 also capable of desulfurization over a wide temperature range was patented in 2001 [114], The patent also protects any variant of the strain or a transformant derived from M. phlei WU-F1. 

To improve process conditions and to obtain higher reaction rate, the water/oil ratio was studied. The influence of the oil/water ratio on separation and on the separation cost was studied employing R. erythropolis KA2-5-1 (deposited as FERN P-16277). The use of an oil/water ratio within the range of (3 1) to (8 1) was found to be optimum and was patented [127], 

---

In April 2001, tasks related to the promotion of information exchange and international collaborations were assigned by the Petroleum Energy Center (PEC) to the JCCP. During the last few years, JCCP has continued to promote cooperation and collaboration among the research community interested in oil-related activities including the private companies. Now, JCCP functions under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. 

This study was partly supported by the Petroleum Energy Center (PEC) subsidized from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry of Japan. 

The authors are grateful to New Energy Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Petroleum Energy Center (PEC) and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan for financial... 

T. Hagiwara Gasoline Production Technology and Methods and an Evaluation of Their Economic Viability, Petroleum Energy Center (PEC) of Japan, 2001. 

---