The Solution
There is no such thing as waste, only wasted resources. The conversion of waste into reusable resources is critical to sustain the growing human population. An energy efficient lifestyle doesn’t mean cold showers and warm beer. A high standard of living and a sustainable standard of living are not mutually exclusive.
By utilizing fermentation techniques and unique consortia of natural bacteria, BME is able to convert diverse organic biomass into renewable biochemicals and clean-burning natural gas. Feedstock flexibility and a diverse product portfolio make BME’s technologies both environmentally and economically sustainable.
Natural Bacteria
The opportunity to leverage existing microorganisms is largely overlooked. There are approximately 5 nonillion bacteria on Earth (that’s a 5 with 30 zeros behind it), most with undiscovered properties. These microorganisms have adapted to the planet’s most extreme conditions and environmental challenges. Nature has done most of the work for us.
BME’s technology utilizes naturally occurring strains of bacteria in unique consortia. Because BME utilizes natural strains we are able to avoid the cost and timeline barriers, gene stability issues, environmental contamination, and regulatory risks associated with genetically modified organisms. Natural bacteria are a cheap, efficient workforce that never tire and don’t need healthcare.
Renewable Biochemistry
The U.S. chemical industry is one of the world's largest, contributing 21 percent in GDP to the national economy. Chemicals are essential to nearly all consumer goods and enable high tech advances in aerospace, telecommunication, manufacturing, cosmetics, and flavorings in the food industry. Biochemicals represent an enormous opportunity, as they are a significantly under-served segment of both the chemical and green industries.
BME’s patented AGATE (Acid, Gas and Ammonia Targeted Extraction) platform utilizes cultured strains of bacteria to convert biomass into high value specialty biochemicals, including esters, amides and anhydrous ammonia. These chemicals are key industrial building blocks. Due to the high extraction cost of naturally occurring chemicals, nearly all commercial chemicals are currently derived from oil.
Some of our primary biochemical products are esters. There are many different kinds of esters used in manufacturing processes. In different chemical arrangements and concentrations, esters are used as flavorings and fragrances, as solvents and fuels, and as plastics and synthetic textiles such as polyester.
BME’s renewable biochemicals are molecularly identical, drop-in replacements to these petrochemicals. The difference? Ours are bioderived, fully sustainable, and carbon neutral. BME’s biochemical technology will allow manufacturers to replace petroleum with renewable feedstocks and produce some of the chemical industry’s highest value products.
Scalable and Sustainable Energy Production
In addition to high value biochemicals, AGATE generates renewable natural gas as a byproduct of the system. AGATE produces a rich mixture of biogas composed primarily of methane, hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, as well as trace amounts of volatile organic materials like ethane, propane, and butane.
Because AGATE is not dependent on a single low yield feedstock (like manure) it has much higher biogas and product yields than conventional digesters. BME's biogas can be used as a transport fuel in CNG- and LNG-powered vehicles, combusted for the co-generation of heat and electricity, or directly injected into natural gas pipelines. Easily distributed at various levels of scale, BME’s biogas reactors will play a critical role in a diverse, sustainable energy mix.
Feedstock Flexibility
BME’s patented AGATE (Acid, Gas and Ammonia Targeted Extraction) platform is built to be feedstock agnostic. AGATE can handle a variety of cellulosic and polysaccharide fresh biomass feedstocks to create valuable biochemicals and biogas products. Potential feedstocks include food waste, yard waste, grass clippings, spent brewery grain, industrial waste, and invasive/nuisance species such as milfoil and algae. This type of flexibility is the future of biorefining. A biorefinery must be able to handle nearly any material going in, and produce a variety of outputs across the value spectrum.