[bioundgrd] Opportunty - Sanergy startup

[Janice Chang]

>Subject: Fwd: Could you please send this to Course 7?
>
>Hi Course 7 upperclassmen,
>
>I'm working with a start-up called Sanergy on developing a system to 
>process municipal organic waste, and am looking for a partner to 
>work with.  The project would begin this semester, and will likely 
>continue the coming academic year.  I am looking for someone who is 
>very interested in the issue of organic waste, or waste management 
>in general, and has had some experience with biology/chemistry 
>experimental setup.  Please feel free to contact me with questions, 
>keeping in mind that the deadline for Direct Funding is this coming 
>Thursday at 5pm.  Here's the information about the project:
>
>Project Objective: To develop, prototype, and pilot a profitable, 
>self-contained, small-scale, and low-tech system for conversion of 
>organic refuse by Black Soldier Flies (BSF), to convert mixed 
>municipal organic waste (MOW) into a value-added product in the 
>urban slums of developing countries.
>
>Project Design and Description:
>
>Black Soldier Fly is a common and widespread, yet harmless, species. 
>BSF larvae feed voraciously on all types of decaying organic 
>material from fruits and vegetables to animal manure and human 
>feces, achieving a dry mass volume waste reduction of 55% (Myers et 
>al., 2008; Newton et al., 1995; Sheppard, 1983). The larvae consume 
>organic waste rapidly and migrate from the decaying material about 
>two weeks later.
>
>The proposed self-contained production system will have four primary 
>components (feeding, harvesting, breeding and oviposition) and will 
>be able to control feeding rate, drainage, harvest, temperature and 
>humidity to maintain optimal operating conditions to maximize waste 
>conversion and BSF production.
>
>  Once the BSF larvae have matured to prepupal stage, they will be 
>harvested, dried and processed into meal for animal feed and other 
>products. In the process of developing the BSF refuse conversion 
>system, we will create a data set on the effect of both process 
>variations and machinery on system output.
>
>Expected Results: A working prototype of the commercially-viable 
>organic waste treatment by BSF system piloted in Kenya, as well as a 
>substantial data set on the effect of design variations on the 
>output and cost of the waste treatment system.
>
>Background: Full waste collection coverage is the key to maintaining 
>a hygienic environment and improving public health. But with a high 
>unwillingness to pay for waste collection in most of these 
>countries, waste collection coverage will only improve as the 
>technologies and processes improve to make it profitable to recycle 
>and reuse waste. Increasing the amount of organic waste that is 
>collected, processed and converted to a beneficial form will improve 
>quality of life and significantly reduce pollution in the largest 
>slum in Africa, Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya where our team is currently 
>working. In addition, we aim foremost to create financially viable 
>waste management technologies and products that can be deployed and 
>operated as independent small businesses that earn a living wage for 
>their operators.
>
>Please contact Connie Lu at 
><mailto:connielu at mit.edu>connielu at mit.edu for more information.
>
>--
>Connie Lu
>Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
>Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning
>Massachusetts Institute of Technology || Class of 2011
>
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