Bringing ideas to the marketplace
Archived article from Oct 26, 2001
By Michele Hujber
At the recently opened EcoComplex in Burlington County, university scientists, environmental business entrepreneurs and state, county and local officials are putting their heads together to come up with new technologies to tackle environmental issues in New Jersey.
Opened last April, the EcoComplex is already humming with activity, providing environmental businesses with access to laboratories, research personnel, office space and, most importantly, university experts in environmental remediation and restoration, pollution prevention and industrial ecology, solid waste and packaging management, and controlled environment agriculture.
"By offering services and resources to entrepreneurs that are not available anywhere else, we are establishing New Jersey as 'the place to go' for environmental firms in terms of access to environmental technology and entrepreneurial know-how," said Adesoji Adelaja, dean of research, Cook College, and director of research, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.
The center, a joint venture of the experiment station, Stevens Institute of Technology and the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders, has been in existence as a "soft-walled" research center since 1996. Its projects have included a successful demonstration of the use of landfill gas as a source of heat and electricity for homes and businesses.
Now, two environmental companies, Carbozyme Inc. and Acrion, are testing new technologies to see if they are commercially feasible. Carbozyme is using enzymes to remove carbon dioxide from the environment. Acrion is demonstrating the feasibility of its patented technology for converting landfill gas into contaminant-free methane for electric generation and pure carbon dioxide for greenhouse use. These technologies already work in the lab; the EcoComplex will allow the developers to see if they can work on a semi-commercial scale, said Harry Janes, director of the EcoComplex.
The companies can also take advantage of an array of related services and contacts, Janes pointed out. For instance, the New Jersey Corporation for Advanced Technology (NJCAT), created by the New Jersey Legislature and housed at the facility, provides innovators in energy and environmental technologies with the regulatory, commercial and technical assistance required to bring promising new ideas to market.
But even before technologies are submitted to NJCAT, EcoComplex scientists do initial research to determine whether the technology works. "This ensures that technologies submitted to NJCAT do what they claim to do," said Janes.
County governments are also deriving benefits from the facility. Burlington County operates its resource recovery complex from offices located in the EcoComplex and is working with the center's scientists on several research projects, including landfill mining to locate materials, such as plastics or cans, that can be recycled. "These items were placed in the landfill before recycling technologies were developed," said Janes. "Now they represent a valuable resource for recycling companies."
Another research project is searching for ways to reduce odor and fungal spores at landfills. "Fungal spores can potentially cause respiratory diseases, so we need to keep these restrained," said Janes. "We're helping Burlington County to monitor the spores, and we have developed a system to keep them out of the air. This system is now being used at other landfill facilities around the state."
In addition to economic development and research, the New Jersey EcoComplex provides a statewide focal point for environmental education. "There will be programs for people of all age groups, from kindergarten through graduate students and professionals," Janes promised, noting that the building houses a conference center with a 200-seat auditorium equipped with distance-learning technology.
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