Hi Steven, 

My replies are in bold Italic and underline in your questions 

Hello Bernard 

In the New Release of February 15th it contained the following statement 

Gen2 test #007 achieved a Production Yield3 of 13.4%, the highest to date: ten times greater than baseline Gen1 test #63 Production Yield of 1.3% and 1.8 times greater than Gen2 test # 003 Production Yield of 7.4%; (3) Production Yield is the conversion efficiency of Quartz into Silicon Metal of the process

I have been reading up on this process and have a question.

Am I mistaken in assuming that to make 1 KG of Silicon at 100% Yield you would require 2.135 KG of pure Quartz and 0.854 KG of Carbon? 

Well there is no reason to assume these numbers; we give them in our presentation page 21, in fact we make some comparisons between the exact ratio for the Purevap process and other process to produce Solar Grade Si. 

If my above calculation is correct and I believe it can be verified from sources all over the internet, this would mean that at 13% yield, the Gen 2 would require 7.7 times more carbon and Pure Quartz to produce 1 KG of Silicon. 

The Specifications for the Gen 2 was it not meant to produce 2.6 KG / day assuming 300 days a year of production? Again correct me if my math is off. 

I have no clue were you come up with these numbers and this theory, and I have hard time following what you are looking for…    

The Gen2 way not built to produce a specific quantity of material per day but to test some of the key hypothesis regarding the commercial scalability of the Purevap QRR process. 

There are a lot of variables that we do not give out publicly, and that is why one cannot make a straight math equation between the capacity of the 200 TPA plant and its 1/250 scale model, in case that was what you were trying to do.  

So if the Specs are correct, and the goal is 2.6 KG/day of production, at a current yield of 13% that would mean the Gen 2 would need to be loaded with 42.7 KG of pure carbon, (about 7.4 litres) for every 23.5 litres of Fine ground feed stock. 

As I have just stated before, your question about the 2.6 KG/day is not relevant, but you can check the numbers required to transform quartz into Silicon Metal on the net, the raw material needed to produce that quantity of Silicon Metal are pretty straight forward equation.  

Is this not a lot of material to feed into a bench top unit in a single day?  

The experts at PyroGenesis have taken care of all the design and manufacturing of the bench equipment, so I would not waste too much time worrying about it.

Also, I am not sure of this, because I can find no supporting science, but does the power requirements go up to process 7.7 times more feed? Can the current Gen 2 unit's single electrode handle it?  

I am pretty confident that the engineering team at PyroGenesis can accurately handle these type of questions, well in fact I know that because I have regular briefings with them on many technical subjects, with my latest being last Friday… 

Finally, if tapping is not an objective of the Gen 2, like Peter indicated, and you yourself confirmed on this forum, how are the benefits of directional Solidification, frequently touted in the past, going to be proven? 

With Apollon on board, we have come to understand that the benefits of directional solidifications are a know variable in the process, and right now, we have other issues we have chose to concentrate our focus, there will be plenty of time for that with the pilot plant.

Would be interested in the science behind everything, and rest assured it has nothing to do with bashing, pumping or hyping. I just want an idea if the numbers are correct. 

Steven the numbers concerning the transformation of Quartz into Silicon Metal are easily available on the net, but I am sorry, it is not our Job to fulfill your scientific curiosity about the project or the process, but it is our job to protect the intellectual property and knowledge behind our process.  

We divulge publically what is required and we keep the rest close to our chest, and we only allow full access to the information to people that sign NDA and are positive contributors to the project. 

Furthermore past experience made us realized that divulging too much information to someone without the proper qualifications, even with an NDA, just because that person is a shareholder, is not wise, because there is a high probability that they will make erroneous conclusions on the projects and then start spreading false information on the project.

Finally If someone cannot trust the quality of the work being done by PyroGenesis or there technical competency to develop the Purevap project, then this may be a sign that this investment maybe a little to speculative for them.

Regards,

Bernard Tourillon
CEO