Brisa Haal's work is organized as a four-stage loop. We don't try to
skip stages, and we don't run stages in parallel until we have data
from the previous one. Each pass through the loop makes the next
pass shorter.
About this page
This page explains the four stages of our work in plain language.
For lab capabilities and partnerships, see the
R&D page. For the outcomes we
measure, see Impact.
The four stages
Click any stage for a deeper description.
STAGE 01
Field Research
Site assessment and field operations.
What we do: Identify collection sites,
characterize the biomass, document seasonal and geographic
variation, build relationships with local partners.
What we measure: Material density, moisture,
baseline composition, weather, and tide conditions.
STAGE 02
Sample Preparation
Cleaning, drying, and characterization.
What we do: Wash, dry, and grind collected
material. Establish baseline chemistry so downstream work has
a stable input.
What we measure: Moisture, particle size,
ash, baseline elemental composition.
STAGE 03
Process Development
Iterative lab-scale testing.
What we do: Run small-scale experiments, vary
conditions, log everything, build toward a reproducible
protocol.
What we measure: Yield, purity, conversion
time, byproducts, energy and water use.
STAGE 04
Scale-Up
Pilot trials of lead processes.
What we do: Move the best lab process into a
pilot reactor. Test throughput, repeatability, and economics.
What we measure: Throughput, unit cost,
environmental footprint, operator hours.
Stage 01 — Field research
It starts on the beach.
Field research is the foundation of everything that follows. We
visit coastal sites, characterize the material we find, and
document the conditions in which it appears. The work is small in
volume and large in time: a typical site visit yields a few
kilograms of carefully-labeled material and a notebook full of
measurements.
We work with local partners — coastal municipalities, cleanup
nonprofits, and community groups — because they know the sites
better than we ever will. The relationships we build in this stage
shape every later stage.
Stage 02 — Sample preparation
A stable input, every time.
Raw material is highly variable — moisture, particle size, and
composition shift with weather, season, and site. To do useful
downstream work, we need a consistent starting point.
Sample preparation is unglamorous and essential. We clean, dry,
and grind material, then run a battery of baseline measurements.
Every batch is logged. Every step is documented. The output is a
stable, characterized input that the rest of the lab can rely on.
Stage 03 — Process development
Where the science happens.
With a stable input in hand, we test conversion processes. The
work is iterative: run a small experiment, measure the outcome,
change one variable, run it again. We log every run.
Process development is also where we work most closely with
academic collaborators. Their depth in specific sub-disciplines
complements our applied focus, and our process data gives them a
steady stream of applied questions worth investigating.
Stage 04 — Scale-up
From the bench to the pilot line.
A process that works in a 1-liter reactor on a Tuesday afternoon
doesn't automatically work in a 100-liter reactor on a Wednesday
morning. Scale-up is its own discipline: mixing, heat transfer,
and operator workflow all change.
We pilot promising processes in our facility, measure throughput
and unit cost, and iterate. The goal at this stage isn't a final
product — it's proof that the economics work, the process is
repeatable, and the footprint is acceptable.
What comes after the loop.
When a process survives scale-up, we talk to partners: offtake
agreements, co-investment, joint development, or licensing. We'd
rather take a process all the way than license it halfway.