New University of Idaho technology to be marketed by Lake City company – Process purifies water cheaply

University of Idaho researchers have come up with a process that they say will strip harmful contaminants from drinking and waste water at a fraction of the cost of existing technology.

By CDA Press staff and
The Associated Press

A Coeur d’Alene startup, Blue Water Technologies Inc., has signed a licensing agreement with the Idaho Research Foundation to market what is being called the "Vandal-Ion process." The company was formed in February.

"It’s been an enjoyable ride," said John Shovic, co-founder of Blue Water. "We feel we have a large potential of growing this company with substantial revenues. With the multibillion markets we’re addressing and a fragmented market, it’s the right market to be entering at the right time."

The process, created by Associate Professor Greg Moller, uses rust to pull phosphorus and arsenic out of water. Shovic plans to have the arsenic prototype ready for commercial use by the middle of next year, pending safe-product testing. He has phosphorous removal devices available.

"We have successfully engineered for that iron to stick to sand particles, and we move them around to allow them to scrub out the arsenic," Moller said. "It’s simple and the simplicity leads to good economics."

Moller said his process is 25 to 40 percent cheaper than the EPA’s most cost-efficient methods of cleaning water. In some communities, purifying the water so it can meet new federal guidelines could cost as much as $1,600 a year per household.

"With this process it’s closer to $30," he said.

About 200 drinking water systems in Idaho do not meet federal standards for levels of arsenic, an element that at even low levels can cause cancer. In wastewater, phosphorus stimulates algae growth, damaging water quality in streams and lakes.

"There was obviously a need from a public health and environmental perspective," said Gene Merrell, the university’s chief of technology transfer.

The process is relatively compact and can be operated from a tractor-trailer rig, making it mobile for servicing small communities.

The marketing firm was founded by Shovic, a businessman who has created two other companies to capitalize on computer-related inventions of university researchers.

The company has exclusive rights to sell the process worldwide for the life of the patent.

http://www.cdapress.com/index.asp?Sec=Business&str=12498