HAYWARD, Calif., Sept. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Microvi's transformative nitrate removal technology has been conditionally approved by the State Water Resources Control Board of California for use in treating drinking water.
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The acceptance, considered a gold standard in the water industry, follows months of extensive testing that has proven Microvi's drinking water solutions to be highly efficient and safe in the removal of nitrate from drinking water. The State Water Board's Division of Drinking Water conditionally approved the new technology.
Microvi will be the first company to install a full-scale biological nitrate treatment system for drinking water in the U.S.
"We're excited that the state of California, with its incredibly high standards, has conditionally approved our technology to treat drinking water. We look forward to bringing Microvi's revolutionary, sustainable solutions to the market to help alleviate the unprecedented water shortages experienced across the state," said Dr. Fatemeh Shirazi, CEO of Microvi.
Results from a large demonstration project provided to the Division of Drinking Water showed that Microvi's MB-N2 technology, developed through the company's proprietary MicroNiche Engineering™ platform, reduced the level of nitrate in drinking water from 35-54 ppm to less than 5 ppm in a matter of minutes. The U.S. EPA's nitrate limit for drinking water is 10 ppm.
Nitrate can have serious effects on infant health, causing Methemoglobinemia, or "blue baby syndrome," and nitrate water contamination is a large problem in California and around the world.
An estimated average 6 percent of the United States has groundwater nitrate contaminations over 5 ppm, according to the EPA. In California, where drinking water is in short supply because of a drought, an estimated 10 percent of the groundwater has nitrate levels over 5 ppm.
Microvi is already certified to treat drinking water in Australia, where the company has working installations treating nitrate-contaminated water for Aboriginal communities. In addition, the company has other installations treating water around the world.
Microvi has developed novel biocatalysts for sewage treatment, metals removal, organics removal, ethanol production and several other water and biobased products. The company works with a wide range of industrial, government, and academic partners to utilize its solutions and push past the limitations of conventional methods in these sectors.
About Microvi
Microvi is a leading biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures, and commercializes innovative biocatalytic technologies in water, energy and chemical industries. Microvi's pipeline of solutions, created using its proprietary MicroNiche Engineering™ platform, enable cost-effective economics, are energy efficient and waste free and deliver higher performance than conventional methods. To learn more please visit www.microvi.com.
Media Contact:
Kevin Kidder, Director of Communications & Marketing, Microvi Biotechnologies
614-353-8098
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