RTI begins construction on facility to replace petroleum with pine tree pyrolysis oil

In North Carolina, RTI International has started construction on its new 3,000-square-foot energy technology development facility at its main campus in Research Triangle Park. The project is possible thanks to a $7.1 million research grant from the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The facility will include a biomass pyrolysis reactor and will use RTI’s technology to use locally-sourced biomass, such as pine trees, to produce pyrolysis oil for petroleum substitution in existing oil refineries.