BioReactor Technologies

The BioReactor is a unique system that utilizes a combination of technologies to treat waste water and contaminated soil more quickly, efficiently, and at a much lower cost than other products on the market. While BioReactors can be custom designed for essentially any flow rate, those presently installed are capable of processing from 15,000 gallons to 1.5 million gallons of waste water effluent per day.

Bioremediation is a collection of technologies that are playing an increasing role in the clean up of hazardous wastes. Toxic pollutants, primarily organic compounds ( including polycyclic ), can be treated to significantly reduce or eliminate their concentrations in soil, water, and air. Microorganisms metabolize the organic compounds into stable, non-toxic materials that won't create future environmental risks. These are naturally occurring bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms which will consume or transform almost anything - including the most dangerous organic chemicals which man has developed and dumped on earth, in the air, or in the water.

The contaminants that can be treated include; Diesel Oil, PCB's, Herbicides, Gasoline, PCP's, Pesticides, Aviation Fuel, PAHs, Nitroaromatics (TNT etc), Bunker C, Cyanide, Heating Oil, BTEX,TCE-Dichlorethane, Chlorinated Aromatics, Phosphorous, and Heavy Metals. The BioMatrix of the reactor system can handle up to 100 ppm Heavy Metals. For concentrations above this treshold, specially desiged Ion - Exchangers are integrated.

The sequence of changes necessary for bio-degradation differ from compound to compound, but all waste products are eventually reduced to carbon dioxide, water, and microbial biomass. In most bioremediation technologies the supply of oxygen, moisture, and nutrients for the microorganism are the principle factors that contribute to the bioremediation process. The rate at which contaminants are successfully degraded, and the tools and equipment necessary to "adapt" the microorganisms to degrade particular contaminants, are usually corporate secrets. The varieties and effectiveness of this technology, is what gives any remediation company its "competitive edge" in the marketplace.

One of the driving technologies behind the BioReactor is the surfactant mixture. This unique blend of non-toxic surfactants, emulsifiers, and nutrients transforms pollutants (including hydrocarbons and Heavy Metals < 100 ppm) into units that are highly attractive to a wide range of naturally existing bacteria. These units are then hyper-consumed by the bacteria rendering the resulting fluid (water) pollutant free. The impressive functionality of the BioReactor has been tested and confirmed by the Engler-Bute Institute of the University of Karlsruhe, in Germany (documents available). The BioReactor exhibits many characteristics which give it a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

These characteristics are summarized below:

Throughput Rate: The controlled use of oxygen, our product, and completely natural strains of pollutant consuming bacteria provides a throughput rate that exceeds other competing systems by more than a 100 times. Simply stated, the functional capability of the BioReactor will be revolutionary for many different industries.

No Need for Supplemental Nutrients: Many bioremediation approaches require the constant addition of nutrients to feed the microbes. The microbes digest the nutrients and simultaneously produce an enzyme which helps to break down pollutant matter. The shortfall of this technique is that the cleanup process continues only as long as these supplemental nutrients are available in the system. This problem is absent from our BioReactor because the pollutant matter is in essence transformed into the nutrient required by the microbe. Therefore, nutrients only run out when there is no more pollutant matter to be consumed from waste flow.

Highly Concentrated Biofilm: Our BioReactor utilizes "fixed-bed reactors" filled with a specially conditioned substrate of material. This porous carrier has a high specific surface, serving as a setting ground for microbial growth. The biofilm formed inside the porous material is especially protected from mechanical forces, and prevents any wash-out of free-swimming microbes. A further advantage of the porous material is the ability to absorb dissolved organic pollutants, which then become an instant nutrient for the microbes. This in turn encourages enhanced growth of biofilm. The ultimate result of these features is enhanced speed and efficiency of waste consumption.

Minimized Residual Biomass (Sludge): Conventional activated sludge systems produce excess amounts of activated sludge which must be transported and discarded. The residual sludge remaining from our BioReactor treated waste is significantly less than other systems (> 95% sludge reduction ). This results in lower transportationand disposal costs.

Size & Mobility: Our BioReactor is designed to accommodate the required throughput of the user. The greater the throughput, the larger the BioReactor. The specific size of each BioReactor is a function of cubic meters of fixed-bed substrate in the system. It is a relatively uncomplicated equation that is used to determine the specs for each BioReactor. The system is modular and can accommodate designs with several smaller reactors or one large reactor. Each BioReactor system is built inside an environmentally controlled mobile or permanent structure. The footprints of these systems are relatively small compared to competing technologies, and can be configured for virtually any waste treatment application.

Maintenance: Maintenance contracts for BioReactors in the field will be carried by licensed BioReactor Distributors. These distributors will provide both sales and service for the BioReactors and will be subject to a performance clause that will be written into their licensing agreement.

A Typical BioReactor System