Most pyrolysis units that ‘don’t work’ were never set up to succeed during the procurement phase. Buying a reactor isn’t just about the stainless steel; it’s about the Day 2 reality.
I put together this Hardware Evaluation Guide to help teams distinguish between a polished sales deck and a machine that actually stays spinning.
A few things to look for:
– The 2,000 Hour Rule: If they can’t show 2,000 hours of runtime, you are funding a pilot rather than buying a finished product. That is fine, as long as you aren’t paying commercial prices for R&D grade risk.
– The FAT is Non-Negotiable: If you don’t see it run in their factory, don’t expect it to run in yours. A Factory Acceptance Test fixes issues before the unit ships. It takes longer to get to site, but a shorter SAT means you start generating income sooner.
– Support Local: A failed seal should take 4 hours to fix, not 4 weeks waiting on international freight.
The goal isn’t to find the “perfect” machine. It is about choosing the right series of trade-offs for your specific project. Some of the trade-offs you’ll encounter are:
– Compliance vs. Effort: You can buy a machine from a new region to save on CAPEX, but you must be prepared to work with the supplier to ensure the electrical and emissions systems meet your local laws.
– Customisation vs. Scale: You can pay more to have a supplier use locally available pumps and gearboxes. This increases your upfront cost and lead time because the OEM loses their scale advantage and requires re-working their designs, but it slashes your long-term downtime risk.
– On-site Inventory vs. International freight: If you choose a supplier without a local warehouse, you can mitigate that risk by purchasing and running a larger spare parts department on-site.
– Automation vs. Labor: Higher upfront CAPEX for advanced automation can reduce your daily onsite labor costs. A simpler manual system saves money now but requires a dedicated, skilled team to manage the process.
– Technical Ability vs. Support: You can rely on a supplier’s “Domestic Support Bridge” or build your own in-house maintenance crew and trusted local contractors. If you don’t have the team to troubleshoot PLC code locally, you are paying a premium for the supplier to be your safety net.
Every option is just a trade-off between upfront CAPEX and “Day 2” operational responsibility. Buying the wrong hardware for your team’s specific profile is a $500k+ mistake that rarely gets fixed once the unit is on-site.
Match the equipment to:
– Your risk profile,
– Your feedstock,
– Your production goals,
– Your product specs,
– Your technical ability,
– Your budget, and
– Your operational footprint.
Some want to do it all; others prefer to outsource the risk to a turnkey partner. There is no right way, just the right way for you.
We can help you de-risk these trade-offs at Lyntra.
Why most pyrolysis projects fail before the reactor even arrives
