Nexus BioEnergy Developing Enhanced Organic Waste Recycling Technology From CSU
Category : Uncategorized
Start-up will turn solid animal waste into high value organic fertilizers and energy
July 28 2015 - Originally published on US Department of Energy Innovation Portal
Success Story Details
| Partner | Location | Agreement Type | Publication Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nexus BioEnergy | Superior, CO |
|
July 28, 2015 |
Summary
An introduction facilitated by the EERE's Energy Innovation Portal has led to the formation of a Colorado start-up company. Syed Reza, now a co-founder of Nexus BioEnergy, originally used the Techportal to search out promising biogas technologies. In a message sent through the portal, Syed contacted Jeremy Nelson, Director of Licensing & Business Development for CSU Ventures, which acts as the university technology transfer office for Colorado State. After several months of discussions with Prof. Sybil Sharvelle and her graduate student, Lucas Loetcher, the inventors of a low water use anaerobic digester technology specially developed for the concentrated animal feeding operations in the arid west, the three decided to found a company to commercialize this technology.
The technology is highly efficient compared to conventional biogas plants with 2-5X lower construction cost, and low operating costs. Furthermore, while conventional biogas plants rarely handle material with >40% solids loading, the CSU technology handles wastes that are as high as 80% solids. In contrast to conventional composting technologies, which result in loss of energy and nutrients from the biomass, the CSU technology produces energy and also recovers valuable nutrients in a product that is nutritionally superior to compost and is highly attractive for organic farming. The system is modular, which provides several benefits:
- It is simple to expand and easily adjusts to variable demand.
- Conditions within each reactor are optimized for each step in the digestion process.
- Additional sources of waste (e.g., food waste, low solids waste) may be straightforwardly integrated into the system.
Nexus BioEnergy is currently seeking strategic partners and early capital investment to demonstrate the technology in a small scale pilot facility. More information, including contact info, can be found at the Nexus website.