Hardwood from Softwood
Fixing waste streams
The organisation has already established a subsidiary, N-Fix Technologies, to develop and commercialise a biotreatment and bioconversion system for low-nutrient waste. The petrochemical, food processing and pulp and paper industries produce enormous quantities of nitrogen-deficient wastewater – New Zealand's pulp and paper industry alone produces 90 million cubic metres of waste every year.
Conventional treatment systems use bacteria to mop up the soluble carbon from waste; but the bacteria must be fed huge quantities of nitrogen and phosphorus fertiliser, much of which escapes into the environment. Consequences include eutrophication of waterways, and remediation costs industry plenty – around $5 billion a year for the pulp and paper industry.
The N-ViroTech system exploits the ability of some bacteria to fix atmospheric nitrogen. These bacteria supplement the diet of the other micro-organisms in the treatment system, reducing the quantity of chemicals discharged by 90 percent. The system may be installed cheaply in existing plant and, once tuned, is essentially self-regulating. A Swedish pulp and paper mill trialled the system earlier this year and four international patents are pending. A system (called N-ViroPol) for extracting economically useful polymers from the treatment systems is under development.
Forest Research is also investigating the creation of biopolymers from tannin. Polymers derived from tannin are resistant to chemical attack, don't conduct electricity and are not softened by heat, which makes them suitable for structural applications.
For more information visit Green Seal www.greenseal.co.nz
