History

Three Seconds To Oil

Local Waste, Local Renewable Fuel used Locally

History— Technology and Tharpe Process

Fast Pyrolysis Technology

TSTO History

The Process of producing Bio Oil

Beginning with extensive readings on the thousands of published documents on fast pyrolysis, John Tharpe diagramed the five functions of all pyrolysis processes.

1. Material Handling

2. Heat Process

3. Solids separation from gas

4. Liquid separation from gas

5. Instrumentation, data collection, controls

“You bring these functions to the table and you get oil. You get it every time and while the bio oil may vary slightly in BTU from different feed stocks the variance is minimal.”

Existing commercial pyrolysis plants throughout the world numbered between 30 and 50 in 2008 while several hundred lab models exist worldwide for research on feed stocks and catalytic properties.

Tharpe’s Commercial Enhancement Process

With a history of over 9000 commercial engagements for the functions 1—5 enumerated above, Tharpe set out not to just build a fast pyrolysis plant but rather to build an enhanced performance plant which would improve the economics of Bio Solids to pyrolysis liquids and char.

The enhancements engineered were:

1. Smaller footprint (from 2 plus acres down to less than 1000 Square feet)

2. Greater throughput of feedstock for greater output of oil

3. Automated operation for reduced manpower

4. Automated cleaning during operation

5. Open ended data platform for catalytic enhancements

6. Modular components for permitting and portability

Leaning on the intellect accumulated in 30 years of commercial engineering engagements, John was able to draw on information not found in text books or published patents . With a crew of 2 to 4 tradesmen and a procession of vendors to match shape, size, temperature range, acidity, pressure and composition of materials, John spent nearly 16 months assembling and testing components which demonstrated his enhanced process. With tests using sawdust, pecan hulls, straw, horse stable litter and other materials, John was successfully able to demonstrate:

1. oil yields greater than 60% liquid per pound of biomass

2. Combustion/BTU/Viscosity/Ash/Acidity levels

3. The cleaning process

4. Automation of all operational functions

From here John began converting the process to drawings and specifications which allow commercial vendors to match these specifications to their “market available components”. This compilation of market available engineered components and their related warranties is what has allowed John’s Companies to provide maintenance and warranty agreements on all of the 7500 plus engagements during the past 30 years. It is also what allows John Tharpe, R&L Engineering and APEC to provide a 7 year 100% parts and labor warranty on MBOPs.

When asked recently by an individual why he didn’t build a commercial unit to demonstrate the steps, John made reference to the international uproar Korea is causing by shooting off rocket after rocket. He said “when you can’t get engineered parts, its all trial and error, but for most modern innovations, with legal intent, the engineered parts do exist. I point as reference not only to my commercial engagements around the world but also to the space shuttle, the 747 and the aircraft carrier I served on in Vietnam, the USS America, all of which are an assembly of market available engineered components”