§ 04 · The PIPE™ Reactor Platform Pipe-in-pipe reactor · oxygen-free continuous process
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, built as a pipe-in-pipe design 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 300 °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 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 GRC88® product streams emerge. Co-processing configurations make the minerals in red mud faster and cheaper to extract, and upgrade sour heavy crude and lignite.

Fig. 02 · PIPE™ reactor process schematic Patented
PIPE™ reactor process Cellulosic biomass, with optional co-feeds of red mud, sour heavy crude or lignite, enters the pipe-in-pipe PIPE™ reactor. Stage 1 torrefaction runs at 300 to 350 degrees C for 10 to 20 minutes; stage 2 pyrolysis runs at 500 to 850 degrees C. Syngas from pyrolysis is recycled as process heat. Outputs are biocoal at about 12,500 BTU per pound, metallurgical biocoke, biochar sequestering 2.8 tons of CO2 per ton, and bio-oil for GRC88® marine fuel, with a single reactor scaling beyond 1,000,000 tons per year. FEEDSTOCK IN Waste biomass Forestry, agri & urban wood residues OPTIONAL CO-FEEDS Red mud Sour crude Lignite STAGE 1 Torrefaction 300–350 °C 10–20 minute cycle STAGE 2 Pyrolysis 500–850 °C Syngas · bio-oil · biochar Syngas recycled as process heat PIPE™ REACTOR Pipe-in-pipe reactor · continuous · oxygen-free PRODUCTS OUT Biocoal ~12,500 BTU/lb Biocoke Metallurgical grade Biochar 2.8 t CO₂ per ton applied Bio-oil Base of GRC88® marine fuel 1M+ tons/yr per reactor + co-processing outputs: minerals, upgraded crude & lignite
The PIPE™ reactor is built as a pipe-in-pipe design. Biomass feedstock — optionally with a co-feed of red mud, sour heavy crude, or lignite — 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 GRC88® product streams emerge on the right; co-processed feeds yield their own separate outputs. A single reactor scales beyond 1,000,000 tons per year.
02 / Key operating characteristics
Operating temp. range
300–850 °C
Controlled across torrefaction and pyrolysis stages, with engineered temperature bands for each process step.
Reactor throughput
1M+TONS/YR
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 pipe-in-pipe configuration accepts a wide range of cellulosic feedstocks and delivers industrial volumes that can exceed 1,000,000 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 pyrolysis at 500–850 °C.

Stage 2 · Pyrolysis & condensation

Pyrolysis by Permanente is the oxygen-free thermal decomposition of cellulosic biomass and torrefied biocarbon in the PIPE™ reactor's second stage, at higher temperatures (approximately 500 °C to 850 °C) under controlled time and temperature. The process produces biochar and pyrolysis vapors. Most of the vapors condense into bio-oil; the remaining non-condensable syngas is recycled as process heat.

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 syngas and heat can generate further heat and power; the condensed bio-oil feeds the liquid-fuel side of the platform.