How was the PyroDynamics system designed?

These Cardinal Design Rules Were Used:

  1. Safety first (H2S rapid elimination)
  2. Begin with end in mind (produce oil at less than market cost)
  3. Efficient & fast use of energy
  4. Working fluid facilitates process control
  5. Design uses ‘down hill’ energy schemes
  6. Balance between thermodynamics / electrical energy
  7. Build machine (system) around thermodynamics (method)
  8. Minimize hardware & mechanics
  9. Use known industrial components / concepts
  10. Equipment easily transported to & assembled at remote site

Why is PDE’s Process So Fast?

  1. Gas heat transfer vs. solid heat transfer
  2. 85% retort full vs. 15% full
  3. Subsonic speed of working fluid
  4. Condensable working fluid (predominantly)
  5. Easily handled working fluid with heat boosting
  6. Working fluid open-loop system with e-generation
  7. Long shale soak time
  8. One-way solids (shale) movement
  9. Multi-jet maximum working fluid ΔT all places in bed
  10. Shear and roll of shale under heat exchange surfaces

Is the PyroDynamics process environmentally friendly?  Yes!

  1. The PyroDynamics design includes no no smoke stack.
  2. In the PyroDynamics oil plant envisioned for Jordan's oil shale, CO2 and heat are rejected to water in algae ponds for additional oil production.
  3. The PyroDynamics process recovers and purifies the water in Jordan's oil shale for beneficial use and distribution.
  4. The PyroDynamics process removes the significant sulfur concentrations from Jordan's oil shale, producing a saleable agricultural product (H2SO4) from the natural sulfur constituents.
  5. The PyroDynamics process recovers and prevents atmospheric discharge of sulfur compounds.
  6. Up to an additional 50% of oil production can be co-generated as algae oil using algae, solar energy, and byproducts from from producing oil from Jordan's oil shale.  This boost from algae and solar energy can make oil production green and renewable as an energy resource.

What are the key system features of the PyroDynamics process?

  1. Efficient process and thermodynamic design (steady-state)
  2. Tightly controllable thermodynamic plant design maximizes yield and can accommodate up to 200,000+ bbl / day capacity output – in a 3-gang, full-scale oil production system
  3. Requires only a small processing-plant footprint
  4. Minimal pre-production preparation of shale ore required
  5. Process energy requirements beyond initial startup are fully met from internal byproducts
  6. Water not required for post-production cooling
  7. Water is produced at a higher volume than oil (assuming  the oil shale contains 25% water)
  8. The process is scaleable.  Key features can be demonstrated & validated with a small-scale pilot plant.
  9. The system has lots of “levers” and “steering wheels” to control the process.

What commodities and materials are produced with the PyroDynamics product-rich system in addition to oil from oil shale?

  1. The PyroDynamics system produces its own electricity:  up to 1,290 MW surplus electrical production in a full-scale plant.
  2. The system produces its own hydrogen for the hydrotreater, rather than from imported materials.
  3. Lighter hydrocarbons
  4. Water recovered from oil shale
  5. An agricultural product (sulfuric acid, H2SO4) is produced and can be used in agriculture as fertilizer.
  6. A cementitious material is produced that may be used in construction or landfilled as waste.