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<p>This Phase I project addresses new technology and methods that directly provide for more safe use of Municipal Waste Streams (MSW) by the agricultural community in the production of safer and more healthy foods, and assists in the elimination of unnecessary land-filling and/or combustion of organic materials which impacts the environment through greenhouse gas generation (methane and carbon dioxide) and nutrient leaching/runoff. The Organic fertilizer produced by the technology (worm castings) has been demonstrated to improve food-crop yield, decrease water requirements, and can aid in reducing use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. This Phase I project addresses USDA program priorities associated with Air, Water, and Soils as well as Small and Mid-Sized Farms which includes ongoing "local" food production efforts in suburban and urban locations, and also addresses new "Agricultural-related Manufacturing Technology." This Phase I SBIR Project will evaluate new vermicomposting technology at high production volumes and document the product quality in terms of chemical and microbiological composition. It will also use this data to detail operation costs providing an evaluation of commercial potential. Skolex technology can be used with automation and equipment found commonly on farms and in warehouses. It can also be efficiently operated manually without the need for power or other utilities. This eight-month Phase I project has three (3) primary technical objectives and three (3) primary commercial planning objectives. </p>
<p>The Technical objectives and the Work Plan tasks which address these objectives have been identified and developed to elucidate the strengths and weaknesses of this new organic fertilizer (worm castings) manufacturing technology. Technical objectives include 1) determining the fertilizer production rate of a single module, 2) determining the optimum worm density per module, and 3) determining the optimum feedstock application rates. </p>
<p>The commercial objectives include, 1) determining capital costs for fertilizer production modules, 2) determining operating costs for fertilizer production modules, and 3) evaluating commercialization strategies that can rapidly move this technology to the marketplace.</p>
<p>NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:<br/>The agricultural community's relationship with urban centers has always been complicated and highly dynamic. Recent US Census data indicates that "agricultural America" is growing the fastest at the transition zones near urban areas. At the same time there is strong interest by those living in cities and suburbs to participate in food production and farming. In conjunction with these trends is a strong desire and demand for foods to be produced organically, sustainably, and locally. Meeting these demands can improve food safety, reduce environmental impacts associated with food production, transportation and distribution and aid in bringing together urban and rural communities. New technology and methods are required to 1) meet the needs of space-limited agricultural activities that occur in and near urban and residential areas, 2) protect the
environment (air, water, and soil) in these locations from emissions and discharges that are known to occur with intensive farming activities, 3) reduce the costs of food production and distribution throughout these regions, and 4) take advantage of unique opportunities that exist at the interface between agricultural and urban locations with respect to plant nutrient recycling. <p>This Phase I project will develop elevated vermiculture technology and demonstrate methods that can be used to recycle clean components of Municipal Waste Streams (MWS) to recover valuable plant nutrients that can be used on small organic farms, in urban and community garden programs, and by residential gardeners. In addition to providing food producers with valuable and much needed plant nutritional materials this recycling effort will eliminate the unnecessary transportation and land-filling and/or combustion
of organic materials which impacts the environment through both greenhouse gas generation (methane and carbon dioxide) and nutrient runoff into regional waterways. This Phase I project will demonstrate and evaluate Skolex Biotechnologies new elevated vermiculture technology for the recovery of plant nutrients from clean Municipal Waste Streams (MWS). The Project will generate high value organic fertilizers for use in food production. This new technology is modular, portable, and requires minimal capital to install and operate. Skolex Biotechnologies' technology is suitable for installation at small farms, in suburban and urban garden and horticulture centers, and at the source of clean organic waste stream generation. The commercialization of the technology and materials (organic fertilizers) produced by use of the technology are straightforward as a market now exists for these products.
Materials generated by using Skolex Biotechnologies' technologies and methods are easily packaged and sold in retail stores and online to organic gardeners and food producers.
<p>APPROACH:<br/>The Technical Work Plan is organized into two parts, Part A which addresses feedstock input rates as a function of mass and input timing, and Part B which addresses production rates for fertilizer modules. The rationale for splitting the testing in this manner includes 1) reducing the total amount of feedstock required for the biomass testing with replicates and which is very aggressive for a Phase 1 program, 2) reducing the costs of chemical and biological testing, and 3) allowing a smaller total amount of animal biomass to be required for the full Phase I effort. Feedstocks for both Part A and Part B will involve the preparation and rapid composting of clean retail food service waste. The majority of this waste is currently landfilled. Fertilizer production modules will be evaluated in triplicate. The fertilizer produced will be analyzed by modern
standard laboratory methods in triplicate. Specifically, the chemical, physical and microbiological characteristics of the fertilizer will be determined as a function of the Part A and Part B objectives. Laboratory testing will be conducted by independent third-party laboratories. Chemical testing will include determination of major and minor chemical species. Microbiological testing will include identification of microorganism type and density. The Commercialization Work Plan will utilize the services of experienced independent third-party professionals and will include a full cost reporting and commercial evaluation of the technology and business opportunity and will evaluate strategies for rapidly moving this technology into the marketplace.