GRRO Press Release
Local Company’s “Tornado” Technology Offers New Solutions for Waste Management
Jan. 24, 2005
Bradenton,
FL-As sludge dumping continues to spark debate in De Soto County
and other parts of Florida, a modular, drying system is providing
Florida’s 200 wastewater treatment plants and dairy farms with new,
customized options for managing sewage sludge (biosolids), livestock
manure and other organic wastes.
"If you’ve got
a wet product you’re throwing away, this technology can help you dry it
and turn in into an odor-free, value-added product,” said Loran
Balvanz, president and CEO of Global Resource Recovery Organization
(GRRO), which has locations in Bradenton, Fla., Eldora, Iowa., and is
expanding to Fresno, Calif. “Our team of engineers at our new Tempest
Research and Assessment Center (TRAC) can design a modular system that
works for each customer’s needs.”
Taming a tornado
GRRO’s patented Tempest technology creates “controlled tornadoes” of
air within the unit that quickly and efficiently dry wet waste products
ranging from biosolids to animal manure. The end products, which
contain 80 to 85 percent dry matter, can be recycled into value-added
products or can be disposed of in a cost-effective,
environmentally-friendly manner.
The Tempest’s modular components include a motor blower, injection and
controls; a cyclonic package, an emissions package (e.g. water
scrubbers), an in-feed system; and mixing and blending chambers. “The
new modular system lowers the price of the technology and makes
installation faster,” Balvanz said. “Also, the system can be fine-tuned
to a certain application, so customers only have to buy the components
they need to process the desired amount of material per hour.”
The technology is already being used on an Iowa swine farm, and Balvanz
said it can provide an environmentally-friendly nutrient management
system for Florida’s multi-million-dollar-dairy industry, as well. “I
think the Tempest technology could offer a viable solution for
livestock producers,” added Bill Boyd, who leads the USDA’s Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Animal Waste Utilization Team.
Going global
Interest in the modular Tempest technology is spreading across the
country. California-based Hydrolve, LLC, plans to use the equipment to
dry organic waste products from vegetable processors and turn the
material into a livestock feed ingredient. “This system is particularly
beneficial to us because of its low-cost energy requirements,” said
Kevin Doran, Hydrolve’s chairman and CEO. “The modular units also allow
us to process smaller amounts of waste materials on plant-by-plant and
seasonal basis.”
The Tempest technology is also making a name for itself overseas.
GRRO’s Irish distributor, Universal Environmental Techniques (UET),
LTD, views the technology as a solution for the ever-increasing problem
of handling, processing and disposing biosolids in Europe. “This
technology will be welcomed throughout Ireland and the United Kingdom,”
said Dominic O’Reilly, UET president.
Note to media: Digital photos are available to accompany this
story. Please contact Darcy Maulsby at 515-438-4294 or yettergirl@yahoo.com
Formed in 1999, GLOBAL Resource Recovery Organization (GRRO) is an
environmental solutions company that develops and markets cyclonic
technologies. These products provide cost-effective, twenty-first
century alternatives for waste disposal. GRRO’s innovative products and
services process a broad range of waste materials into products that
have enhanced economic value and can be reused.