Athens, OH-based E3 Technologies, LLC, will develop an Ohio University invention called the GreenBox to clean commercial and agricultural wastewater and produce hydrogen energy — a technology described as “pee power.” Founded by Gerardine Botte, PhD, professor of biomolecular and chemical engineering at Ohio U and inventor of the technology, E3 recently licensed a suite of electrochemical devices and technologies developed by Botte to commercialize for the green energy market.

Through a patented low-energy electrolysis process, the GreenBox converts ammonia and urea in wastewater to hydrogen, nitrogen, and pure water. The electric current in the device creates an electrochemical reaction that oxidizes urea and converts it into carbon dioxide, which is then sequestered in the electrolyte material in the machine. The box also produces hydrogen energy. “It’s a synergistic technology,” explains company CEO Kent Shields. “By reducing emissions, you also get a free, clean source of energy.” The technology could help a variety of industries — from the military and agriculture to wastewater treatment operations and commercial construction companies — to deal with the disposal of ammonia, which the Environmental Protection Agency considers a serious environmental toxin. Urea electrolysis also could be used to produce ammonia for selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxide emissions, Shields says.

In the meantime, Ohio U officials have even bigger hopes pinned on drug development spinoff Interthyr Corp. as their next commercial blockbuster, following on the heels of Diagnostic Hybrids — a maker of test kits for viral infections and thyroid diseases that was sold in January for $130 million to San Diego-based Quidel Corp. After investing $1 million in Diagnostic Hybrids, the university’s take from the sale was a hefty $35 million.

Interthyr has already started to generate some cash for the university — $20,000 last year — thanks to a test for the thyroid disorder Graves’ disease. The company’s still-unnamed investigational drug for inflammatory autoimmune disorders works by blocking signals from a Toll-like receptor that initiate an autoimmune response in cells. Principal investigator Leonard D. Kohn, MD, hopes to file for an investigational new drug application by the end of 2011, which would allow Interthyr to begin testing the drug in humans with the goal of getting it on the market around 2015.

Sources: Power Online and MedCity News

Posted September 1st, 2010 under Tech Transfer

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