Dr. Tihomir Lelas
His life and the story behind TMA
Inventor Tihomir Lelas (60) owns more than 300 patents!
It started in 1986 when the Croatian inventor took over the technical
management of FDP, a Vienna-based company that developed building material.
The goal was to optimize grinding techniques for stone and produce products
to protect fine building materials. Zeolite was one of the materials tested
over a five year period for its many effects on the environment.
A new era began in 1987, when Lelas offered to rid a pig farm in Steinermark
of its pungent ammonia odour.
Lelas was already familiar with the beneficial effects of the volcanic rock
zeolite, known to filter and absorb toxic matter. The experiment was a great
success for Tihomir Lelas.
The Croatian scientist's discovery involves the use of a mechanical, instead
of a chemical, production process, enabling a significantly better
distribution of the granule size than the conventional process used prior to
micro-grinding. This has made the production of reactive particles possible.
In the 1950's a Tribo Mechanical Activator was developed, that was used for
extracting carbon. Minerals were moved between two discs that rotated in
opposite directions at high speed. Metal spikes that collided with the
minerals were attached to every disc. This process resulted in a 30% higher
energy value. However, the collisions caused high wear to the metal spikes
on the discs, destroying the machine.
During his work in the 1970's to improve this process, Lelas perfected the
Tribo Mechanical Activation (TMA), by replacing the spikes with lids
enabling a more aerodynamic flow of particles. In this new activator the
mineral particles are moved at a very high speed so that they collide with
each other - on average 4 collisions per millisecond at a speed of up to
four times the speed of sound. These collisions increase the particles'
surface area by decreasing their size from one micron to a few thousands
of a micron (nano particles). The particles' collisions with other particles
of the same mineral create uneven surfaces and tears, destabilizing the
mineral structure and increasing the reactivity and solubility.
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Quote Lelas:
"This technology causes an intense particle collision with a change in
direction due to the high particle acceleration. The process results in a
changed particle form, size and activity. After years of research we have
succeeded in recognising the patterns in which particle sizes are depicted
most clearly and with which we can produce highly active nano particles with
an energy increase of 30,000%."
(Tihomir
Lelas, March 2005)
