The SPR is especially well suited for biogas and other biofuels.  HDI is already an industry leader in biodiesel reactors and is active in commercial trials for ethanol and biogas.  HDI commercialized its first biodiesel reactor in 2005 and has since sold over 450 million gallons in annual capacity.  In ethanol, the SPR provides substantial yield increase with single reactors capable of handling 2,000 gpm, processing most plants in a single SPR.   In biogas extensive lab/pilot work have shown gas yield increases over 20% and a commercial trial is currently ongoing at a 1 MW plant in Italy showing excellent initial results.  We have also commercialized two devices for algae oil extraction and the SPR has shown exciting promise during research in cellulosic ethanol and other next generation renewable fuels.

Ethanol: The need for cost reduction and increased production efficiency provides an enormous opportunity for the SPR. When corn is processed to produce ethanol it is imperative that the maximum amount of starch and sugars be removed.  This is typically accomplished with heat, enzymes and a minimum amount of stirring in a conventional tank mixer.  When corn is processed with the SPR, the strong forces of cavitation produce pressure fluctuations that go deep into the corn kernel's system of pits and pores, resulting in a significantly higher ethanol yield.  This represents significant and immediate savings to the ethanol producer.  The SPR is an easy retrofit for existing process lines.  Flows of up to 1500 GPM are easily handled by our patented equipment.

Biodiesel:  Superior process intensification allows less expensive feedstocks to be used to process biodiesel. The SPR can process low-grade soy, poultry fat and beef tallow without compromising results while producing tremendous savings. The SPR offers numerous advantages over conventional technologies because it can run as a continuous process or in batch mode.  SPR's are installed in one of the largest biodiesel plant in the world providing it with the capacity to produce over 200 million gallons annually. Conversely, an SPR can also produce superior reactions and savings at lower production rates of 500,000 annual gallons.  To date we have sold over 400 million gallons of biodiesel capacity.  Please visit our biodiesel page for additional information.

Waste to Energy: Every year millions of tons of wood, plants, plastics, waste oils and other organic residual substances are dumped into landfills. These materials have intrinsic energy content that has the potential to be converted into a usable fuel. The SPR has successfully been used in the conversion of wastes into diesel fuel in pilot testing.

Second generation Biofuels: Corn ethanol will be the leading renewable fuel in the US for the next three-to-five years; however, it is a transition fuel. The fuels of the future will be derived from new technological processes that can produce fuel from cellulosic products and wastes and the SPR is well positioned. Preliminary testing with corn stover, sawdust, kudzu and other non-edible feedstocks such as algae and jatropha have proven to be very promising using the SPR technology. Our superior mixing capability from "controlled cavitation" will be a key component in the commercialization of these emerging fuels of the future.