ROCKLEDGE, FL – December 5th, 2014 – Mainstream Engineering Corporation, a 28-year-old research, development and manufacturing company located in Brevard County, has been awarded a contract from the Air Force Test Center to develop a transportable reactor to convert organic waste material to liquid fuel.

Many landfills across the country, including some on military bases, are reaching capacity. Faced with the prospect of having to truck waste over long distances to alternative landfills, the Air Force sought out processes that could divert organic material from the landfills and extend their useful life.

Under this Air Force SBIR contract, Mainstream Engineering is developing its patent-pending fast-pyrolysis process to convert waste organic material to a liquid fuel commonly called bio-oil. In a previous effort, Mainstream engineers constructed a pilot reactor and tested it with pine wood and mixed waste. The bio-oil that was produced can be used raw as a replacement for heavy fuel oil or can be further refined to gasoline, diesel or jet fuel. Engineers at Mainstream are now making improvements to the pilot reactor to make it self-sustaining and ready for a field demonstration.

Fast pyrolysis was first discovered about 25 years ago but has yet to be adopted at large scale except in niche applications. The engineers at Mainstream are working to circumvent key technical barriers that have prevented biomass fast pyrolysis from taking hold commercially. The company has developed proprietary technology to improve the bio-oil yield and to use process energy more efficiently.

Extending the life of landfills simplifies waste management logistics and reduces operating costs. In addition, expanded on-site generation of renewable energy improves energy security and helps mitigate the risk of power outages. The transportable fast-pyrolysis technology supports the Air Force’s goal of producing more on-base power from renewable sources.

About Mainstream Engineering
Mainstream Engineering Corporation is a solutions-oriented research, development and manufacturing small business with a history of leading-edge research and development that has resulted in advanced, lean-manufacturing, cost-competitive products, which are all made in the USA. Founded in 1986, Mainstream’s mission is to transition advanced thermal control, energy storage and energy conversion technology into high-quality, cost-effective, environmentally safe green, commercial products. Products include lightweight diesel/JP8-fueled engines (including generators and hybrid vehicle drive trains), advanced thermal control units, advanced biomass conversion technologies, refrigerators/freezers for shipping containers and the QwikProducts™ line of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) products. Areas of advanced research include thermal control, energy conversion, engine and emissions research, turbomachinery, chemical technology and materials science.

ROCKLEDGE, FL – December 5th, 2014 – Mainstream Engineering Corporation, a 28-year-old research, development and manufacturing company located in Brevard County, has been awarded a contract from the Air Force Test Center to develop a transportable reactor to convert organic waste material to liquid fuel.

Many landfills across the country, including some on military bases, are reaching capacity. Faced with the prospect of having to truck waste over long distances to alternative landfills, the Air Force sought out processes that could divert organic material from the landfills and extend their useful life.

Under this Air Force SBIR contract, Mainstream Engineering is developing its patent-pending fast-pyrolysis process to convert waste organic material to a liquid fuel commonly called bio-oil. In a previous effort, Mainstream engineers constructed a pilot reactor and tested it with pine wood and mixed waste. The bio-oil that was produced can be used raw as a replacement for heavy fuel oil or can be further refined to gasoline, diesel or jet fuel. Engineers at Mainstream are now making improvements to the pilot reactor to make it self-sustaining and ready for a field demonstration.

Fast pyrolysis was first discovered about 25 years ago but has yet to be adopted at large scale except in niche applications. The engineers at Mainstream are working to circumvent key technical barriers that have prevented biomass fast pyrolysis from taking hold commercially. The company has developed proprietary technology to improve the bio-oil yield and to use process energy more efficiently.

Extending the life of landfills simplifies waste management logistics and reduces operating costs. In addition, expanded on-site generation of renewable energy improves energy security and helps mitigate the risk of power outages. The transportable fast-pyrolysis technology supports the Air Force’s goal of producing more on-base power from renewable sources.

About Mainstream Engineering
Mainstream Engineering Corporation is a solutions-oriented research, development and manufacturing small business with a history of leading-edge research and development that has resulted in advanced, lean-manufacturing, cost-competitive products, which are all made in the USA. Founded in 1986, Mainstream’s mission is to transition advanced thermal control, energy storage and energy conversion technology into high-quality, cost-effective, environmentally safe green, commercial products. Products include lightweight diesel/JP8-fueled engines (including generators and hybrid vehicle drive trains), advanced thermal control units, advanced biomass conversion technologies, refrigerators/freezers for shipping containers and the QwikProducts™ line of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) products. Areas of advanced research include thermal control, energy conversion, engine and emissions research, turbomachinery, chemical technology and materials science.

ROCKLEDGE, FL – November 5th, 2014 – Mainstream Engineering Corporation, a 28-year Brevard County research and manufacturing company, has been awarded a contract from the Chemical and Biological Defense (CBD) agency to enhance self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) equipment. The users of this improved SCBA system will benefit from the increased comfort, mobility, and safety incorporated in Mainstream’s new design.

Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) environments pose a direct threat to military personnel, first responders, rescuers, and victims. For protection against airborne contaminants, people in these situations can wear full-face respirators and SCBA equipment.

Current military respirators and SCBA systems use an isolated oxygen source and an adsorption-based CO2 scrubber. Unfortunately, removal of CO2 by adsorption adds heat to the breathing gas. Heat from the scrubbing system makes the user environment uncomfortable. Users also add their own heat and moisture to the air while breathing. Heat and moisture increases the physiological burden on the user, which can eventually harm the user, and decreases the performance of the protection equipment.

The technology proposed by Mainstream will replace the CO2 absorber with a moisture-removing CO2 scrubber that nearly eliminates the heat added to the system. A complete micro-sensor and controller will be developed for continuous monitoring of breathing and optimized control over system components.

In addition, Mainstream will investigate configurations for advanced gas delivery to enhance visibility through the respirator mask. Minor alterations to the mask to partition and deliver cool and dehumidified air to the upper region of the lens will increase circulation and prevent fogging. This technology requires no moving or mechanical parts, making it robust and low-maintenance.

The synergistic enhancement of the sensors, mask, and CO2 removal system will ultimately reduce equipment size and weight while minimizing the heat and moisture in the system. These enhancements, along with monitoring and controlling the equipment, will yield higher performance for the SCBA respiratory protection equipment.

Mainstream Engineering has a history of leading-edge research and development that has resulted in advanced, lean-manufacturing, cost-competitive products, which are all made in the USA.

About Mainstream Engineering
Mainstream Engineering Corporation is a solutions-oriented research, development and manufacturing small business with a history of leading-edge research and development that has resulted in advanced, lean-manufacturing, cost-competitive products, which are all made in the USA. Founded in 1986, Mainstream’s mission is to transition advanced thermal control, energy storage and energy conversion technology into high-quality, cost-effective, environmentally safe green, commercial products. Products include lightweight diesel/JP8-fueled engines (including generators and hybrid vehicle drive trains), advanced thermal control units, advanced biomass conversion technologies, refrigerators/freezers for shipping containers and the QwikProducts™ line of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) products. Areas of advanced research include thermal control, energy conversion, engine and emissions research, turbomachinery, chemical technology and materials science.

ROCKLEDGE, FL – October 22nd, 2014 – Mainstream Engineering Corporation, a 28-year-old Brevard County research and manufacturing company, has been awarded an advanced R&D contract from the Defense MicroElectronics Activity (DMEA) to develop high-energy-density micro-ultracapacitors.

The integration of microelectronics into everyday products is rapidly growing. To enable this technological growth, “on-chip” capacitors need to be developed, for use in applications, such as micro-sensors, pumps, valves and switches. Mainstream’s novel design results in a capacitor with an energy density greater than the current state of the art. In addition, this fabrication method is low-cost, scalable and compatible with current micro fabrication methods.

Mainstream has successfully demonstrated a 30-fold increase in capacitance over initial values and with this DMEA funding Mainstream believes that this technology can be pushed to achieve a 50-fold increase in capacitance.

The proposed effort fits well within Mainstream’s long-established focus areas of nanomaterial science and engineering as well as electrochemical energy storage and conversion.

About Mainstream Engineering
Mainstream Engineering Corporation is a solutions-oriented research, development and manufacturing small business with a history of leading-edge research and development that has resulted in advanced, lean-manufacturing, cost-competitive products, which are all made in the USA. Founded in 1986, Mainstream’s mission is to transition advanced thermal control, energy storage and energy conversion technology into high-quality, cost-effective, environmentally safe green, commercial products. Products include lightweight diesel/JP8-fueled engines (including generators and hybrid vehicle drive trains), advanced thermal control units, advanced biomass conversion technologies, refrigerators/freezers for shipping containers and the QwikProducts™ line of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) products. Areas of advanced research include thermal control, energy conversion, engine and emissions research, turbomachinery, chemical technology and materials science.

ROCKLEDGE, FL – October 17th, 2014 – Mainstream Engineering Corporation, a 28-year-old Brevard County research and manufacturing company, has been awarded a contract from the Naval Sea Systems Command to develop a wastewater treatment system that cleans and sanitizes greywater produced aboard Navy vessels. This process makes the water available for reuse.

Navy vessels such as littoral combat ships (LCS) must follow local and federal regulations when disposing wastewater in littoral waters. These strict regulations prohibit discharging greywater in many areas. Therefore, the greywater generated by the galley, scullery, and other shipboard operations must be stored aboard the ship until the wastewater can be safely offloaded shore side or at sea outside littoral water limits.

LCS holding tanks are normally designed to only support a 12 hour period of operation, and retrofitting a larger tank is expensive. To avoid the frequent, expensive visits to offload waste ashore, Mainstream Engineering is now adapting a greywater recycling system that they originally developed for recycling Army kitchen wastewater for use aboard ships.

About Mainstream Engineering
Mainstream Engineering Corporation is a solutions-oriented research, development and manufacturing small business. The company’s history of leading-edge research and development has resulted in advanced, lean-manufacturing, cost-competitive products, which are all made in the USA.

Founded in 1986, Mainstream’s mission is to transition advanced thermal control, energy storage and energy conversion technology into high-quality, cost-effective, environmentally safe, green commercial products. Products include lightweight diesel/JP8-fueled engines (including generators and hybrid vehicle drive trains), advanced thermal control units, advanced biomass conversion technologies, refrigerators/freezers for shipping containers and the QwikProduct™ line of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC/R) products. Areas of advanced research include thermal control, energy conversion, engine and emissions research, turbomachinery, chemical technology, and materials science.

ROCKLEDGE, FL – September 11th, 2014 – Mainstream Engineering Corporation, a 28-year-old Brevard County manufacturer with a history of leading-edge research and development, has been awarded a contract from the Navy to develop an enhanced refrigerant distribution microchannel evaporator which has been demonstrated to improve the efficiency of air conditioners.

Military air conditioning is one of the greatest consumers of electric energy in forward operating bases (FOBs). Even small increases in efficiency can lead to significant reductions in generator fuel consumption. Additionally, microchannel evaporators are smaller, lighter, and lower cost than their tube-fin counterparts. This technology will result in smaller, lighter, and more efficient air conditioners for military and commercial A/C applications. Mainstream is the current supplier for the new high efficiency Improved Environmental Control Unit (IECU) and this improved evaporator design will further improve this high efficiency unit.

Mainstream strives to transition efficiency improvements derived from military R&D into the QwikProducts™ (www.qwik.com) line of air conditioning products that can benefit every day consumers.

Cooling to cryogenic temperatures improves the efficiency and operating life of many electronic systems, including high-speed computers, IR detectors, solid-state lasers, and wireless communication transceivers. Stirling cryocoolers are common in these applications because of their high efficiency and long, maintenance-free operating life. However, existing Stirling cryocoolers do not meet the size and weight requirements of many applications.

Mainstream has identified a method to make a significant improvement to the power density of Stirling cryocoolers, particularly in aerospace applications, and is developing an advanced prototype which will allow cryogenic cooling to be applied to systems where previously the size and weight of the cryocooler were prohibitive.

About Mainstream Engineering
Mainstream Engineering Corporation is a solutions-oriented research, development and manufacturing small business with a history of leading-edge research and development that has resulted in advanced, lean-manufacturing, cost-competitive products, which are all made in the USA. Founded in 1986, Mainstream’s mission is to transition advanced thermal control, energy storage and energy conversion technology into high-quality, cost-effective, environmentally-safe green, commercial products. Products include lightweight diesel/JP8-fueled engines (including generators and hybrid vehicle drive trains), advanced thermal control units, advanced biomass conversion technologies, refrigerators/freezers for shipping containers and the QwikProduct™ line of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC/R) products. Areas of advanced research include thermal control, energy conversion, engine and emissions research, turbomachinery, chemical technology, and materials science.

ROCKLEDGE, FL – August 26th, 2014 – Mainstream Engineering Corporation, a 28-year-old Brevard County manufacturer with a history of leading-edge research and development that has resulted in advanced, lean-manufacturing, cost-competitive products, which are all Made in the USA, has been awarded a contract from the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA) to improve the power-density of existing Stirling cryocoolers.

Cooling to cryogenic temperatures improves the efficiency and operating life of many electronic systems, including high-speed computers, IR detectors, solid-state lasers, and wireless communication transceivers. Stirling cryocoolers are common in these applications because of their high efficiency and long, maintenance-free operating life. However, existing Stirling cryocoolers do not meet the size and weight requirements of many applications.

Mainstream has identified a method to make a significant improvement to the power density of Stirling cryocoolers, particularly in aerospace applications, and is developing an advanced prototype which will allow cryogenic cooling to be applied to systems where previously the size and weight of the cryocooler were prohibitive.

About Mainstream Engineering
Mainstream Engineering Corporation is a solutions-oriented research, development and manufacturing small business with a history of leading-edge research and development that has resulted in advanced, lean-manufacturing, cost-competitive products, which are all made in the USA. Founded in 1986, Mainstream’s mission is to transition advanced thermal control, energy storage and energy conversion technology into high-quality, cost-effective, environmentally safe, green commercial products. Products include lightweight diesel/JP8-fueled engines (including generators and hybrid vehicle drive trains), advanced thermal control units, advanced biomass conversion technologies, refrigerators/freezers for shipping containers and the QwikProducts™ line of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) products. Areas of advanced research include thermal control, energy conversion, engine and emissions research, turbomachinery, chemical technology and materials science.

ROCKLEDGE, FL – August 22nd, 2014 – Mainstream Engineering Corporation, a 28-year-old Brevard County manufacturer with a history of leading-edge research and development, has been awarded a contract from the Air Force to build a programmable, accelerated environmental test system for aerospace materials. This system will reduce the evaluation time of new coatings that protect components from corrosion.

Corrosion costs the world nearly $2.2 trillion per year, or 3% of global gross domestic product, in the maintenance, testing, engineering, and failures of manufactured goods. Scientists, engineers, and designers of all disciplines expend great time ensuring their products can endure corrosive conditions.

Hexavalent chromium, a common additive in coating processes known for its leading anticorrosive properties, is extremely harmful in low doses. However, the Department of Defense has been unable to ban the substance because of its widespread use in paint systems, as it saves an estimated $10 to $20 billion per year in corrosion damage. The rapid development of a hexavalent chromium alternative hinges on the availability of a convenient and accelerated test method.

The Accelerated Corrosion Environment (ACE) is Mainstream’s improved test system. It combines many operational forces (corrosion, irradiation, humidity, thermal cycling and mechanical loading) into a single testing apparatus, providing a one-stop shop for environmental testing. The ACE chamber will reduce cycle times by ~50% and could reduce total test time by a factor of 10 because of its synergistic application of environmental effects. Mainstream’s ACE will serve as a tool to the Air Force that can be used to evaluate emerging coatings that will be environmentally acceptable and that will have corrosion-inhibiting properties greater than or equal to hexavalent-chromium-based pretreatments. The unit has great market potential because it could also provide an all-in-one testing center for original equipment manufacturers who are concerned with harsh operating climates.

About Mainstream Engineering
Mainstream Engineering Corporation is a solutions-oriented research, development and manufacturing small business founded in 1986. Our primary mission is to use lean manufacturing principles to transition advanced thermal control, energy storage and energy conversion technology into high-quality, cost-effective, green, commercial products that are made in the United States. Products include lightweight diesel/JP8-fueled engines (including generators and hybrid vehicle drive trains), advanced thermal control units, advanced biomass conversion technologies, refrigerators/freezers for shipping containers and the QwikProducts™ line of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) products. Areas of advanced research include thermal control, energy conversion, engine and emissions research, turbomachinery, chemical technology and materials science.

ROCKLEDGE, FL – July 25th, 2014 – Mainstream Engineering Corporation, a 28-year-old Brevard County manufacturer with a history of leading-edge research and development that has resulted in advanced, lean-manufacturing, cost-competitive products, which are all Made in the USA, has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Marine Corps to develop a waste heat recovery tray ration heater.

Reduction of fuel consumption at forward deployed sites has the potential to greatly improve the safety of our Marines. The burdened cost of fuel to the battle space, both financial and personnel has grown to a level that demands innovation to reduce fuel consumption and improve efficiency. The Tray Ration Heating System (TRHS) currently used by the Marine Corps requires 30 gallons of diesel for 59 hours of operation.

The Marine Corps has contracted Mainstream Engineering Corporation to develop an exhaust gas heat recovery system to replace the TRHS burner and completely eliminate the fuel consumption. The proposed system will use the exhaust heat generated by a military vehicle to heat the water for ration heating. The heat generated by the main vehicle engine is a free source of heat and will require no increase in fuel consumption by the vehicle. Waste heat recovery will improve the utilization of each gallon of fuel that must be supplied to forward operations.

Starting with only one employee in 1986, Mainstream has grown to more than 100 employees. Mainstream Biomass is being developed to use Mainstream’s patent-pending fast pyrolysis technology to create a portable self-contained tractor-trailer unit, that can be driven to any location where trash or waste is available and convert 10 tons per day of waste material directly into number 6 fuel oil. This oil can be sold directly for use in the shipping industry and at fuel-fired power plants. Mainstream is also exploring the spin-off of an engine manufacturing company to pursue diesel and diesel-electric hybrid applications for their highly advanced AMD engine.

About Mainstream Engineering
Mainstream Engineering Corporation is a solutions-oriented research, development and manufacturing small business with a history of leading-edge research and development that has resulted in advanced, lean-manufacturing, cost-competitive products, which are all made in the USA. Founded in 1986, Mainstream’s mission is to transition advanced thermal control, energy storage and energy conversion technology into high-quality, cost-effective, environmentally-safe green, commercial products. Products include lightweight diesel/JP8-fueled engines (including UAVs, generators and hybrid vehicle drive trains), advanced thermal control units, advanced biomass conversion technologies, refrigerators/freezers for shipping containers and the QwikProducts™ line of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC/R) products.

WASHINGTON – June 16th, 2014 – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) presented 25 high-tech small businesses with the Tibbetts award, and Mainstream Engineering Corporation was one of the two Florida companies to win. In fact, Mainstream is in the rather unique position of having won this award twice; initially in 1997 and now again in 2014. According to the company President and Founder, Dr. Robert P. Scaringe, “Mainstream does not exist for the narrow purpose of making a profit, but rather to create and develop technology and product innovations which benefit mankind. Mainstream exists to provide a meaningful contribution by performing the best research and engineering in the world, as such, we are once again honored to have been selected for the Tibbetts award.”

The Tibbetts Award, given by SBA, honors outstanding small businesses who participate in the SBA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. “It is the innovative entrepreneurs and high growth small businesses like our award recipients and Hall of Fame inductees who help power our economy and move it forward by creating new jobs and making our industries globally competitive,” said Maria Contreras-Sweet, SBA Administrator. “Their accomplishments remind us all of how integral the success of high growth small businesses are to making our country more globally competitive.”

Mainstream has been at the forefront of thermal control and energy conversion technology development since 1986. Their philosophy is to use the government funded SBIR research dollars to solve problems for the government, and then spin-off the technology advancements into products for the commercial sector. Among other products, Mainstream has a complete line of air conditioning and refrigeration products, referred to as QwikProducts (www.qwik.com). All Mainstream products are made in the USA.

Mainstream also actively seeks out local universities for joint collaborations. Three excellent examples are:

1. The development of the world’s first commercial Electron-Beam Manufacturing facility. This facility is the result of a cooperative partnership initiated by Mainstream and including NASA, Office of Naval Research, Space Florida, CareerSource Brevard, Space Coast Economic Development Council, and Florida Institute of Technology. It will provide a unique world-class additive manufacturing facility that can be used by local business and universities.
2. Key support in the development of the automotive engineering program at Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). To supplement FIT’s new automotive program, Mainstream has not only donated equipment, it has provided access to their engine test facilities for use by FIT faculty and students.
3. Key support in the development of the Nano Technology and Science program at FIT. To nurture this new program, Mainstream has provided their Nano fabrication and analysis facilities for use by FIT faculty and students.

Starting with only one employee in 1986, Mainstream has grown to more than 100 employees.  Mainstream Biomass is being developed to use Mainstream’s patent-pending fast pyrolysis technology to create a portable self-contained tractor-trailer unit, that can be driven to any location where trash or waste is available and convert 10 tons per day of waste material directly into number 6 fuel oil. This oil can be sold directly for use in the shipping industry and at fuel-fired power plants. Mainstream is also exploring the spin-off of an engine manufacturing company to pursue diesel and diesel-electric hybrid applications for their highly advanced AMD engine.

The Tibbetts Awards are presented to companies and individuals from all over the United States who are beacons of promise and models of excellence in high technology. Tibbetts award winners are selected based on the economic impact of their technological innovation, and on whether they have met federal research and development needs, encouraged diverse participation in technological innovation, and increased the commercialization of federal research.