Current solutions are based on:
i) engineering of new adsorbents that require regeneration and /or;
ii) subsequent incineration at 1100°C generating nasty fumes.
We turn the toxic and carcinogenic contaminants into their hydrocarbon counterparts which renders the effluent compatible with existing biological reactors.
Current sanitising solutions require a high concentration of active species to achieve good disinfection rates. This is particularly relevant in medical grade applications in which fast reactions are mandatory.
Use of peracetic acid enables for fast disinfection. For instance, recent studies suggest that SARS CoV is completely inactivated by peracetic acid, after < 1-minute exposition and with concentrations as low as 0.035%. However, peracetic acid is currently produced in strong acids (H₂SO₄) which hinders applications in which the acid can generate damage to the equipment, medical applications
We generate peracetic acid at room temperature and ambient pressure without any strong acid. Moreover, we can produce new peracids from natural sources.
Food preservation and oxygen scavenging. Many foods are very sensitive for oxygen, which is responsible for the deterioration of many products either directly or indirectly.
The use of oxygen scavenging packaging materials means that oxygen dissolved in the food, or present initially in the headspace, can potentially be reduced to levels much lower than those achievable by modified atmosphere packaging. In this context, research and developments in the food packaging area have been conducted, aiming to eliminate residual O₂. One of the most attractive subjects is the active packaging concept.
Active packaging includes oxygen and ethylene scavengers, carbon dioxide scavengers and emitters, humidity controllers, flavour emitters or absorbers and films incorporated with antimicrobial and antioxidant agents.
Our catalyst material is highly selective to oxygen and thus can be applied in a suitable formulation within those active packaging concepts.
Large amounts of wastewaters that contain a high load of organic contaminants are produced by industries such as food or snack, and beverage industry. These effluent compositions include sugars, alcohols, volatile fatty acids, and other dissolved compounds. For companies in developed countries and indeed many developing countries, stringent regulation forbids the discharge of water with this high organic contamination directly into rivers and seas. Consequently, this wastewater either needs to be cleaned on-site incurring high capital and operational costs or is discharged to the municipal treatment facility at a hefty surcharge.
Unlike biological reactors in which aeration is not efficient, SweetGen’s technology offers an oxygen transfer efficiency of well over 10% (versus less than 4% for membrane bioreactors) and the reactor does not involve sludge formation. Consequently, abundant reaction-available oxygen can be used to efficiently decrease the contamination (measured as chemical oxygen demand) from various waste streams. Unlike the standard catalytic materials utilised for the oxidation of organic molecules which undergo deactivation and poisoning with loss of activity, our IP-protected catalytic materials are unique.
Our scalable synthesis route is flexible and able to incorporate a wide range of metals as atomic centres into our heterogeneous high surface area carbon matrix. If you want to try a specific element please enquire for discussion and explore the possibility of custom catalyst synthesis.
