Martin Gross, co-founder and CEO of Gross-Wen Technologies, has long been fascinated by the possibilities of algae as a sustainability solution.
Initially, his interest focused on the use of algae to produce biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels. While working toward doctorates in food science and technology and biosystems engineering at Iowa State, he worked with his faculty advisor, Zhiyou Wen, to develop a system for growing algae on vertical conveyor belts, which thought it would be more profitable than the traditional one. methods to cultivate it.
But during a professional conference, Gross’s research caught the attention of Kuldip Kumar, chief environmental scientist at the Chicago Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, one of the largest wastewater treatment systems in the U.S. Kumar asked Gross had never thought about using his system to treat wastewater. The water company was looking for algae-based solutions to reduce nutrients in wastewater. Gross told Kumar that he hadn’t tested that app, but the utility still invited him to work on a pilot study to prove the system worked.
The system grows algae on vertical conveyor belts. Algae digest nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus during treatment, reducing the amounts left in the effluent that typically have the potential to contribute to large algal blooms in water bodies.
“They kind of found us,” Gross says, adding that working with the water company was a game changer, shifting their focus from biofuels to wastewater treatment.
“We learned a lot,” says Gross. “It was very early research.”
One of the key findings was that changing the orientation of their system to be more vertical reduced the amount of space needed to produce algae. Although algae has been an option for nutrient removal in wastewater treatment for decades, its use has been limited because it typically requires large ponds, which require a larger footprint than most have. of municipal wastewater treatment systems, Gross says.
From the laboratory to the field
Gross and Wen founded Gross-Wen Technologies in 2014 and used their treatment system to help the city of Slater, Iowa, meet new wastewater nutrient limit requirements in a small treatment plant of 0, 92 million gallons per day. He is currently working with the City of Pasco, Washington on a project for a new resource recovery facility being built to treat 1.5 billion gallons of wastewater per year and produce renewable natural gas .
Joe Zuback, a former Siemens CTO and water industry veteran who has followed the evolution of algae in wastewater treatment, says, “When I first saw the technology, I thought it had many promises.”
Zuback was also impressed with Gross, who he says has a depth and understanding of the technology he works with that few startup founders have. “Martin has spent years studying algae,” he adds, which helps him think of possibilities that others don’t.
Zuback is a current member of Gross-Wen’s board, although he has no stake in the company. “I have high hopes for their success,” he says.
The company is currently working with an undisclosed large oil and gas corporation to study using the company’s algae-based solution to produce aviation fuel, bringing Gross back to his initial interests.
“This is a great full circle for me professionally, as I got into the space of making biofuels from algae,” he says, now using what he’s learned to “create a lot of value from the algae that’s produce during waste water treatment”. process to make biofuels”.
