As part of Governor DeWine’s H2Ohio initiative, Ohio EPA announced Monday that it has identified 10 emerging technologies that could play an important role in the reduction of harmful algal blooms (HABs) in Lake Erie. The technologies will be further evaluated through the H2Ohio Technology Assessment Program (TAP) which was created at the September 2020 Ohio Lake Erie Commission meeting to guide the State in addressing HABs in Lake Erie.

H2Ohio TAP completed an initial screening of technology proposals, and they have now been submitted to a third-party technical team with experience in environmental technologies. This team will complete a more in-depth evaluation of efficacy and scalability of the proposed technologies in addressing HABs and nutrients, particularly in Lake Erie.

The technologies selected include:

• Automated Drainage Water Management, which was submitted by Ecosystem Services Exchange. Automated drainage water management “weatherproofs” cropland fields by actively controlling water levels in soil to manage for optimal growing conditions in periods of too little to too much precipitation. When applied in a conservation systems approach, this improves the environmental performance of agriculture and farm economic viability in tile-drained landscapes. 

• QuickWash® Phosphorus Recovery, submitted by Applied Environmental Solutions (AES). QuickWash is a two-stage process that recovers phosphorus from wastewaters and liquid manures using acids and hydrated lime, resulting in a product that can be used as a fertilizer. 

• ClariPhos™, submitted by Bishop Water Technologies. ClariPhos is an inorganic liquid coagulant that binds phosphorus in wastewaters and lagoons more efficiently than traditional chemical coagulants. This allows wastewater treatment plants to more effectively lower phosphorus in wastewater to ultra-low levels.

• BioChelate™, submitted by Solugen Inc. BioChelate™ Pro is a bio-based and phosphorus-free high-performance water cooling tower product to prevent corrosion. This product provides industrial users and water treatment plants increased corrosion and scale control protection without the nutrient discharges associated with the traditional phosphonate-based corrosion treatment chemicals.
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 Hypernucleation Flotation Technology, submitted by AECOM Technical Services, Inc. (AECOM). Hypernucleation Flotation Technology is an advanced dissolved air flotation, liquid-solid separation technology that efficiently harvests algae, associated nutrients and algal toxins from water.

• Intermittent Baffled BioReactor, submitted by Frontier Environmental Technology, LLC. Intermittent Baffled BioReactor is a high efficiency, low maintenance technology designed for small flow wastewater treatment in decentralized communities that uses biological processes to remove organic pollutants.

• Phoslock® Phosphorus Locking Technology, submitted by SePRO. Phoslock is a phosphorus binding agent that inactivates excess phosphorus in water bodies by applying it to surface water as a dry clay or slurry, or by injecting it into sediment.

• Electric Cell Lysis, submitted by Neundorfer, Inc. The Electric Cell Lysis technology utilizes, precisely controlled, electrical pulses to break down liquid, organic wastes in manure lagoons. This allows livestock farmers to reduce nutrients, pathogens and odor in land-applied manure, resulting in more effective manure utilization and allowing a reduction in commercial fertilizer application.

• Nutrient Regeneration (Regen), submitted by Kurtz Bros., Inc. Regen is a process for removing nutrients from biomass sources, such as manure lagoons and converting them into stable commodity products that can be marketed and distributed throughout a watershed to provide an alternative nutrient source to synthetic fertilizers.

• Dispersible Granule Struvite Fertilizer, submitted by The Andersons Plant Nutrient Group. Struvite Dispersible Granule technology is a high-efficiency fertilizer in precisely engineered particle sizes that pairs with plant biochemistry to only release nutrients when crops are ready to absorb them.

Additional information about the Technology Assessment Program can be found in the program’s fact sheet.

The Ohio Lake Erie Commission was established for the purpose of preserving Lake Erie's natural resources, protecting the quality of its waters and ecosystem and promoting economic development in the region. The director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) serves as the commission's chairman. Additional members include the directors of the state departments of Transportation, Health, Development Services, Agriculture, Natural Resources and seven additional members of the public appointed by the governor.

Launched by Governor Mike DeWine in 2019, H2Ohio is a collaborative water quality effort to provide clean and safe water to Ohio. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio Department of Agriculture, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and Ohio Lake Erie Commission each has a significant role in H2Ohio through the natural infrastructure of wetlands, the reduction in nutrient runoff and increasing access to clean drinking water and quality sewer systems. To learn more, go to h2.ohio.gov.