Many may have heard the old saying, “throwing out the baby with the bathwater,” or throwing out the good with the bad. In many instances, this is exactly what industry does. It does not see any value except in the primary product it is manufacturing. Fortunately, this concept is quickly passing into history as many companies search for ways to become more efficient with what they have.
Saw mills burn sawdust for power and heat-producing industries recapture excess heat for non-manufacturing heating and cooling. As simple as the concept may sound, most industries failed to recognize this until energy and the environment became cost issues. Now these same issues have become opportunities. If an investor can find a company that is taking advantage in this area, they will have found an opportunity to profit.
ThermoEnergy Corp., an integrated technologies company, works to develop and commercialize wastewater treatment and clean energy opportunities. The company specializes in the development of wastewater treatment systems with an eye on how it can further capitalize on byproducts derived from the process. Using its advanced systems, the company works to “clean” wastewater of all particulate and chemical matter with the removal of ammonia (nitrogen)- a natural by-product which can cause algae blooms in ocean regions surrounding discharge areas but growth in land based plants – as a primary goal.
Through its recent acquisition of CASTion Corp., the company has moved further into the entire spectrum of wastewater treatment and the various marketable components that the process, in general, offers. Filtration, in its many forms, is perhaps the most notable result of the acquisition, as this aspect is readily transferable to markets other than wastewater. In either wet or dry filtration, the company can now market to applications – industrial, municipal or otherwise – that need to address acid based filtration in air or fluid; particulate filtration (including mercury filtration); and CO2 emissions.
Although the company does not implicitly stress its intentions, it does appear that it is quickly moving toward clean energy production in several areas. Biofuels and fertilizers appear to be fairly near to marketability as the company works to capitalize on the vertical nature of organic solids. In this respect, the removal of ammonia (nitrogen) fits very nicely into manufacturing of fertilizer pellets while solids can also be used for other energy applications.
The company’s ThermoEnergy Integrated Power System (TIPS) also begins a move toward cleaner energy. Through a pressurized process, the company’s TIPS enables the near-complete removal of all hazardous elements during the carbonaceous fuel burning process, allowing those same elements for commodity sale. Generally speaking, when one hears politicians talking about coal-fired power plants burning “cleaner”, this is how they will do it. At present, the US government allocates $3.2 million for this process development. The company has hopes of accessing a part of these funds and more to finish what it has begun.
ThermoEnergy Corp. may be considered a wastewater treatment system developer today, but may well be considered an energy company tomorrow. Many indicate green jobs are coming soon, but this company sees them now and is ready to profit nicely by it.
Let us hear your thoughts below: