Recraft’s tech aims to monetize brewery waste water
A small group of University of Michigan students/recent grads believe they can take what breweries throw away and turn it into a valuable commodity. Recraft is developing technology that takes the nutrient rich water discharge from breweries, cleans it, uses the byproduct for nutrient supplements. "We are a water reuse product company," says Eric Hsieh, co-founder & CEO of Recraft. We reuse the brewery water for other purposes. Brewery waste water is biodegradable but so nutrient rich that it requires more energy to clean it. That means breweries have to pay higher municipal fees to facilitate the discharge of the nutrient-rich water into the a municipality's sewer system. Recraft takes that waste water, mixes it with specific strains of algae which, naturally pull out the problem nutrients and clean the water. The nutrient-rich algae is then used in things like bio-diesel. It used this technology to compete in the recent Michigan Clean Energy Venture Challenge. Recraft is four months old and is working on setting up a wet lab this summer and begin testing the technology. "We're looking at a pilot run after the summer," Hsieh says. Source: Eric Hsieh, co-founder & CEO of Recraft Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
A small group of University of Michigan students/recent grads believe they can take what breweries throw away and turn it into a valuable commodity.
Recraft is developing technology that takes the nutrient rich water discharge from breweries, cleans it, uses the byproduct for nutrient supplements. “We are a water reuse product company,” says Eric Hsieh, co-founder & CEO of Recraft. We reuse the brewery water for other purposes.
Brewery waste water is biodegradable but so nutrient rich that it requires more energy to clean it. That means breweries have to pay higher municipal fees to facilitate the discharge of the nutrient-rich water into the a municipality’s sewer system. Recraft takes that waste water, mixes it with specific strains of algae which, naturally pull out the problem nutrients and clean the water. The nutrient-rich algae is then used in things like bio-diesel. It used this technology to compete in the recent Michigan Clean Energy Venture Challenge.
Recraft is four months old and is working on setting up a wet lab this summer and begin testing the technology. “We’re looking at a pilot run after the summer,” Hsieh says.
Source: Eric Hsieh, co-founder & CEO of Recraft
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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