Payson, AZ, April 8, 2010. James A. Rehkopf, Manager and CEO of J. Jireh Holdings LLC, announced today that the Company’s Pulse Combustion Systems business unit has sold its first dryer specifically designed for drying cyclodextrins and cyclodextrin complexes. The purchaser is NanoSonic Products, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of CTD Holdings, Inc. of High Springs, Florida.

CTD, founded in 1990, is one of the leading companies in cyclodextrins. The company is purchasing a PCS Model P-0.1 Combustor/Atomizer unit, and will procure the balance of the drying system from local suppliers. The C/A unit includes PCS’s proprietary and patent-pending pulse combustor, atomizer, control system, and Motor Control Center.

“We are excited about this sale,” said Rehkopf, “because CTD’s growth has apparently been limited by a lack of in-house drying capacity, and now they are set for rapid growth. We performed a series of drying trials on cyclodextrins late last year, and proved that our pulse dryer makes a superior powder. The results were so successful that we are filing a patent on the pulse-drying of cyclodextrins and cyclodextrin complexes.”

CTD is also enthusiastic about their new dryer, making mention of it prominently in the company’s announcement of Fiscal 2009 results and outlook for 2010. (See pdf file). “Everybody knows about the company’s technical expertise in Cyclodextrins (CD’s), but now they are learning about our CD business-to-business (B2B) expertise that is wholly responsible for our improved financial results….” Mr. Strattan, the CEO, continued, “Having a c-GMP, FDA certified pulse combustion dryer in operation by the fourth quarter, 2010, will make that marketing strategy really sing for our new division, NanoSonic Products, Inc. (NSP).”

For more information contact:
James Rehkopf, Manager & CEO
415-457-6500
jrehkopf@jjirehholdings.com

Distiller’s Syrup Solution: Pulse Combustion Spray Drying of Ethanol Plant CDS (Condensed Distillers Solubles, aka “Syrup”) Featured in Ethanol Producer Magazine

Payson, AZ, August 19, 2009.  James A. Rehkopf, Manager and CEO of J. Jireh Holdings LLC, announced today that Ethanol Producer Magazine has published a very positive article about the Company’s ability to dry Condensed Distillers Solubles (CDS), aka “Distiller’s Syrup,” one of the three major byproducts of corn ethanol production.

 “We are excited about this article,” said Rehkopf, “because CDS is a very difficult product to dry, and until now, ethanol plant operators have been forced to dispose of their CDS in low-value outlets.  By being able to pulse-dry the CDS into Dried Distiller’s Solubles (DDS^®), a shelf-stable powder, we have created a mid-value feed product and two high-value non-feed outlets for the CDS.  Now that the development work is finished and our patents are filed, we are looking for an ethanol industry partner for the commercialization step.  We hope that the article will help us find that partner.”

While DDS^® is a superior animal feed with high metabolic energy content and high nutrient bioavailability, the magazine article cites Jireh’s Dr. Jeffrey Tate, Exec. V.P. for Product Development,  who describes two value-added products based on Dried Distiller’s Solubles (DDS^®) that have been developed: DDS^® Sustained Release Carrier System for pest control delivery, and DDS^® BioComposite, a biorenewable thermoplastic processing additive.

From the article:

Tate also found that by using DDS^® as a sustained release carrier system, one could take advantage of the material and chemical properties of the DDS^®. “When subjected to a little heat and pressure, the dried distillers solubles will polymerize and form a hard durable pellet that’s still biodegradable and breaks down [over] time,” Tate says.  . . . “We’ve developed sample products using this technology for control of slugs, snails, ants and mosquitoes. We’re also working with a couple of companies in the area of nuisance animal repellent.” The sustained release system can also work well to attract animals, such as deer.

J. Jireh Holdings has also worked with a partner to develop DDS^® BioComposite, a biorenewable additive that can be added to thermoplastics and thermoplastic processing and can act as an effective filler. “We have put it in extrusion applications at rates of up to 50 percent, so 50 percent DDS^® BioComposite and 50 percent some other kind of thermoplastic, and we get some very interesting results. I’m not sure if they are commercially viable but we’ve gotten some very interesting results at those high inclusion rates,” Tate says. . . . “We also found that under the right conditions this material will produce a microcellular foam,” Tate says. “It reduces the amount of material required to fill a mold and is extremely compatible with a broad-range of thermoplastics.”

“We have good intellectual property on all of this and have a trademark registered for DDS^®,” Tate says. “We have a facility in Payson, Ariz., where we have the capacity to produce up to eight tons [of DDS^®] per week.”

“Depending on what is put into the feed tanks”, Tate says, “one can get a variety of products – from a custom-formulated feed, a sustained-release pest control product or a biorenewable thermoplastics processing aid. I don’t have to set up a separate factory to make each one of those things because of the way our pulse combustion dryer is capable of handling a variety of feeds. And, that’s significantly different than what goes on at most ethanol plants.”

The full September 2009 Ethanol Producer Magazine article can be viewed online at: http://www.ethanolproducer.com/article.jsp?article_id=5905

For more information contact:

James Rehkopf, Manager & CEO

415-457-6500

jrehkopf@jjirehholdings.com

OR

Jeffrey Tate, Ph.D., Exec. V.P. for Product Development

651-260-2876

jtate@jjirehholdings.com

James A. Rehkopf, President and CEO of Pulse Combustion Systems, announced today the successful completion of a series of drying trials in which the Company perfected a unique method of drying Condensed Distiller’s Solubles (CDS), culminating in the filing of multiple patents with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.  The Company also gained Trademark registration for the terms Dried Distiller’s Solubles^® and DDS^®.  The development of the drying methods and prototyping of product applications for DDS^® was carried out at Pulse Combustion Systems’ Payson, AZ process development and manufacturing facilities.

“We are very pleased to make this announcement,” said Rehkopf, “because we have created an entirely new product from the byproduct streams of corn ethanol plants.  Until now, no one has been able to spray-dry CDS to a stable powder form on an industrial-scale basis – hence, our pending patent applications and the approval of our trademark for DDS^®.”

CDS is most commonly used as the “S” in the production of DDGS (Dried Distiller’s Grains & Solubles), a low value commodity animal feed that is in oversupply.  Ethanol plant operators see very narrow margins on these byproducts, and therefore this development opens up new profit opportunities for ethanol plant owners.

“Our Company has spent considerable time and resources developing this capability,” explains Dr. Jeffrey L. Tate, EVP of Product Development, “and we are excited about now bringing unique and profitable DDS^®-based products to market.  Our DDS^® has already been successfully tested in three applications: (1) DDS^® BioComposite, a biorenewable, energy saving process aid for thermoplastics; (2) DDS^® Sustained Release Carrier Systems, an organic-qualified carrier base for creating sustained release formulations for lawn and garden pest control products; and (3) DDS^® High Performance Feed, a highly palatable and bioavailable animal nutrition product that can be custom compounded to meet specialty livestock and companion animal diet requirements.”

For more information and to obtain product samples please contact Dr. Tate at 651-260-2876 or at jtate@pulsedry.com.

About Pulse Combustion Systems

Pulse Combustion Systems is a business unit of J. Jireh Holding LLC and offers a complete spray drying solution for any product: development of drying parameters in PCS’s pilot facilities; contract drying in the company’s production-size dryer; and dryer sales, fabrication, and installation. Industries and applications served by PCS are diverse and include pharmaceuticals, nutriceuticals, food, chemical and minerals & mining. PCS’s patented spray drying technology makes a superior powder at reduced capital and operating costs, and is well suited for customers with mid-to-high-value products who demand excellent powder quality. The two step PCS process for determining client suitability is 1) performing a sample drying evaluation of the product in question and 2) evaluation of the results in terms of powder application suitability and client return on investment. Complete information and trial drying instructions for Pulse Combustion Systems is available on the web at: www.pulsedry.com .

Payson, AZ, March 3, 2009.  James A. Rehkopf, President of Pulse Combustion Systems, announced today the completion of a series of drying trials in which PCS technicians operated the company’s pulse combustion spray dryer in an “ultra-gentle” mode.

“Conventional spray drying causes considerable degradation to delicate products,” explained Mr. Rehkopf.  “The two main culprits are high-shear atomization and long residence times (15-30 seconds) at high temperatures.  Our pulse combustion spray dryer uses zero-shear ‘gas-dynamic’ atomization, and only uses about ½ second to dry the product.  And, perhaps most importantly, we can use dryer outlet temperatures as low as 125 F on some products.”

The company conducted drying trials on egg whites, which are a delicate protein, and made an additive-free, beautiful white powder.  When reconstituted, the pulse-dried egg whites looked, handled and cooked just like raw egg whites.  In a second trial, brewed coffee was dried to an instant coffee powder that tasted as good as the original brew, and far better than currently available instant coffees.  Finally, the company dried a filter-cake from a yeast culture line, and produced a yeast powder containing a very high proportion of intact microorganisms.

“We are pleased with the results because they exceed the current standards in the marketplace,” continued Rehkopf.  “We have the only technology that can make a pasteurized raw egg-white powder without the traditional processing steps of removing sugars from the whites and then adding artificial ingredients to restore some of the lost characteristics, such as whipping.   And, although there are many instant coffees available, none of them taste nearly as good as ours, because our low drying temperature enables us to retain the flavorful volatiles that are driven off in conventional drying.  Finally, with the yeast we prove our ability to dry products containing delicate microorganisms; currently, these are dried only in slow and expensive freeze dryers.  We are excited about these results, and are planning more trials soon.  We invite customers with delicate products to contact us for a trial run.”

James A. Rehkopf, president of Pulse Combustion Systems (PCS), announced today that the two Pulse Combustion Spray Dryers sold to Altair Nanotechnologies are now operational. The dryers were fabricated at PCS’s Payson, Arizona plant, and a PCS team installed the dryers at the Altairnano facilities in Reno, Nevada during February and March. Commissioning was completed in April, and the dryers are now in 24/7 operation, making powders that exceed Altairnano’s specifications.

“I talked to the president of Altairnano this morning,” Rehkopf said today in a company meeting. “He is pleased with the dryers we have provided and is planning to purchase more and larger dryers in the near future as their company expands.”

During the last few weeks of testing, the twin dryers have proven capable of higher throughput than originally promised. In addition, because the dryers were custom designed and built for the Altairnano application, they are producing better powder than what was demonstrated in PCS’s Pilot-scale dryer in Arizona.

As Rehkopf has said before, “We’re happy when the customer is happy.”

Pulse Combustion Systems is pleased to be the subject of a significant article in the April 2007 issue of Powder and Bulk Engineering. The article, entitled “Xtreme Drying,” describes the lab work and pilot-scale demonstrations that led to the sale of two dryers to Altair Nanotechnologies (Reno, Nevada).

The article also includes an overview of the PCS pulse drying technology and gives an inside look at PCS’s lab and testing department.

The PCS article at powderbulk.com may be purchased for a small fee, or downloaded freely as a PDF from our download center.

Pulse Combustion Systems (PCS) announced today that it would deliver two of its Model PCS P-0.4 Pulse Combustion Spray Dryers to AltairNano, Inc. of Reno, Nevada in January and February of 2007.

After extensive testing at PCS’s pilot plant facilities in Payson, Arizona, AltairNano determined that the pulse combustion spray drying technology offered by PCS makes a better powder than what AltairNano was making on its conventional spray dryer.

Altairnano is experiencing rapid growth, and needed to expand its spray drying capacity to meet customer demand for its innovative lithium battery technology. And, they needed the dryers fast. PCS was able to respond, producing the first dryer in just 14 weeks, and the second in 18 weeks.

“We were very pleased to get this order,” says PCS President James A. Rehkopf. “AltairNano has a state-of-the-art battery product, and as soon as we made some powders for them in our pilot dryer, they knew that our dryer could improve their process and their results. We were also able to meet their demanding schedule, and even exceed it. We are looking forward to starting these dryers up ahead of schedule, and making more and better powder than promised.”

Pulse Combustion Systems (PCS) announced today that its unique pulse combustion spray drying technology is featured in the September 2006 issue of Ceramic Industry.

“It was great to get a call from the editors of Ceramic Industry,” says PCS President James A. Rehkopf. “We had just finished some highly-successful tests and production runs for three innovative ceramics manufacturers, and we were able to turn the results into a highly interesting article for readers of their magazine. We appreciate the opportunity.”

The PCS article at ceramicindustry.com may be viewed directly, or saved as a PDF from our download center.

Pulse Combustion Systems (PCS) announced today that it has completed the fabrication and shipping of four of its Model P-3 Pulse Combustion Spray Dryer “Combustion/Atomizer Units” to South Africa. Three of the units went to one customer, who will use them on three dryers at one location, and the fourth one went to a second customer, who will install it on a dryer at another location.

“For overseas projects where there is a good industrial infrastructure is place, we like to just ship our value-added unit from the U.S.,” says company President James A. Rehkopf. “That way, the customer gets the benefit of pulse combustion spray drying without the cost and delay of sending a spray dryer from the U.S. to South Africa.”

The units will be started up in early 2007, and become the only pulse combustion spray dryers on the African continent.

Pulse Combustion Systems (PCS) has completed the sale of its existing Pilot-scale dryer to one of its customers who needed an immediate installation. The time from order to delivery was only 45 days.

PCS replaced the unit that was sold with a new Pilot-scale dryer, and commissioned it today. During dryer fabrication, PCS also completed a new, state-of-the-art sanitary room to house the new dryer. The new room is dedicated to the dryer only, and is suitable for complete wash down between products. The new dryer also features a unique hinged bottom cone to allow easy and complete cleaning of the drying chamber.

“We didn’t really expect to sell our demonstration and development dryer, but we had a customer with an urgent need, and we were pleased to be able to respond quickly,” says PCS President James A. Rehkopf. “Also, we are able to re-invest the sale proceeds into an even better dryer and a dedicated and very functional space to house the new dryer. We are excited about this opportunity to continue to improve our plant and our ability to meet customer needs.”