“Emerging Wisconsin tech company engineers ‘clean’ wastewater”

By Amanda Ciesielczyk

McFARLAND – Wastewater comes from a surprising blend of sources. Farms, municipal wastewater plants, factory cooling towers, meat industry coolers and even bilge systems on ships are a few examples.

How to efficiently and effectively clean that water is the business focus of BioIonix Inc., a McFarland firm that is commercializing a unique electrochemical engineering technology.

James Tretheway, president and CEO of BioIonix, said the company uses processes that kill bacteria and pathogens by creating mixed oxidants that work together. It is a "green" process that has immediate and high profile uses.

Tretheway noted one current example: All salad vegetables grown in the United States are produced in areas with the most severe water shortages, such as the Salinas and Imperial Valleys of California. BioIonix has shown it can safely clean this rinsing water, thus allowing its reuse for extended periods.

"Industry showed a pressing need within the food processing industry for methods to disinfect and reuse water and cleaning solutions to conserve on water use," Tretheway said. “We have all seen the recalls of spinach and other vegetables brought about by field contamination and inadequate cleaning and disinfection of the produce."

The electrochemical process used by BioIonix uses “very powerful hydroxyl radical and super oxides," said Ajit Chowdhury, the company’s senior development engineer.

This electrochemical process has been known to scientists for nearly 150 years, yet it did not scale up to high flow rates or lengthy operation periods.

"BioIonix developed a proprietary hybrid frequency treatment method," Chowdhury said. "This change reduces energy use and prevents the reactor plates from contamination of metals, minerals or other solids."

BioIonix also developed a new catalytic ceramic plate material. This material enhances performance and extends plate life, even in caustic or acidic streams.

BioIonix is now at a commercialization stage and presented Nov. 5 to potential investors at the 2008 Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium, produced by the Wisconsin Technology Council and its affiliate, the Wisconsin Innovation Network.

"We’ve been members of the Wisconsin Innovation Network since the day we opened our doors," said Russ Schlager, BioIonix sales and business development manager.

BioIonix is also working closely with a major manufacturer of food processing equipment that plans to resell BioIonix products to its customer base.

Tretheway said BioIonix is focused on making first sales to customers and meeting with investors to finalize its $2 million funding round for commercial sales growth.

"BioIonix has already raised close to $850,000, so it is well on its way," Tretheway said.

The company will then continue to develop sales in select portions of the food safety and water reuse markets. BioIonix is applying for government grant funding to start work on further innovations.

"As BioIonix grows it expects to contribute in a positive manner to the local economy," Schlager said. “Sales growth will support new jobs both at BioIonix and at Wisconsin suppliers and sales partners."

Schlager added the company hopes that success will provide encouragement for new engineering-based high-tech companies so Wisconsin's engineering graduates can find good local employment opportunities.

Ciesielczyk is a student in the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the UW-Madison.

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