The technology platform

The PIPE™ reactor. Continuous process. Very few moving parts. Industrial-scale throughput.

The patented PIPE™ reactor operates as a horizontal version of a refinery cracking tower, configured as a pipe-in-pipe radiator that gives cellulosic feedstock the extended process path and dwell time required for clean, complete conversion. Recycling heat-transfer fluids propel, torrefy, and pyrolyze biomass at controlled temperatures ranging from 350°C to 850°C.

With very few moving parts, the reactor enables continuous, precisely controlled time, temperature, and feedstock flow, drawing its process heat from perpetually self-generating syngas produced inside the reactor itself. The result is industrial-scale, sustainable throughput — measured in millions of tons per year — from a platform that obsoletes every legacy carbonization technology against which it competes.

01 / Process schematic

How the platform works.

Biomass feedstock enters the horizontal pipe-in-pipe reactor, passes through a torrefaction stage at 300–350°C, then a pyrolysis stage at 500–850°C. Syngas produced along the way is recycled as process heat. Four output streams emerge.

Fig. 01 · PIPE™ reactor process schematic U.S. Pat. 9,758,738 B2 & assoc.

The PIPE™ reactor is a horizontal pipe-in-pipe radiator. Biomass feedstock enters on the left, passes through a ten- to twenty-minute torrefaction stage at 300–350°C, then a pyrolysis stage at 500–850°C. Syngas is recycled as self-generating process heat; four output streams emerge on the right. Industrial-scale throughput exceeds 400,000 tons per year per reactor.

02 / Key operating characteristics

Operating temp. range

350 – 850°C

Controlled across torrefaction and pyrolysis stages, with engineered temperature bands for each process step.

Reactor throughput ceiling

400K+TONS/YR

Torrefaction throughput per reactor. Platform-level outputs measured in millions of tons per year.

Process environment

O₂-free—

Closed-loop, oxygen-free throughout torrefaction and pyrolysis stages. No oxidation, complete conversion.

Process heat source

SelfSUSTAINING

Syngas produced inside the reactor is recycled as the primary process heat. No external fuel required once process begins.

03 / Torrefaction by Permanente

Ten- to twenty-minute pre-pyrolysis at 300–350°C.

Stage 1 · Continuous torrefaction

Torrefaction by Permanente is a ten- to twenty-minute, lower-temperature (approximately 300°C to 350°C) pre-pyrolysis process that “cooks” cellulosic biomass in the PIPE™ reactor under controlled time and temperature to yield high-energy-dense biocoal, biocoke, biochar, wood vinegar, and biocarbon — all through a continuous process in an oxygen-free environment.

The reactor's serpentine horizontal radiator configuration accepts a wide range of cellulosic feedstocks and delivers industrial volumes that can exceed 400,000 tons per year per reactor. Conventional torrefaction is conducted at 200°C to 300°C; Permanente's torrefaction is conducted at an engineered 300°C to 350°C band that improves energy density without sacrificing continuous throughput.

04 / Pyrolysis by Permanente

Second-stage gasification at 500–850°C.

Stage 2 · Gasification & condensation

Pyrolysis by Permanente is the gasification of cellulosic biomass and torrefied biocarbon in the PIPE™'s second-stage oxygen-free environment at higher temperatures (approximately 500°C to 850°C) under controlled time and temperature. The process produces syngas, biochar, and a pyrolysis bio-oil condensed from a major portion of the syngas.

A portion of the syngas is used as a self-generating recycled heating fuel to perpetuate both torrefaction and pyrolysis, so that once the process begins, no other fuels are required. Excess heat can be used to generate further heat and power; excess syngas and condensed bio-oil feed the liquid-fuel side of the platform.

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